Association of personality traits with performance in military training.

BACKGROUND: In today's era of asymmetric and unconventional warfare, psychological fitness is equally important as physical fitness. Personality assessment of soldiers, and more so officers who are leaders of men is essential in deciding what makes a good "War asset" The present study was conducted to explore the correlation between personality traits of cadets undergoing training in an Armed Forces Training Academy and their performance in terms of their military and academic pursuits. METHODS: Personality traits of 607 cadets determined using Revised Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) were compared and correlated with their performance in terms of Officer Like Qualities (OLQ), Outdoor activities (ODT), Academics, and Extracurricular Activities (ECA). RESULTS: Cadets with high personality traits scores in Neuroticism and low scores in Conscientiousness (Work ethics) had performed poorly in all the domains/criteria for evaluation of performance viz Officer like qualities, Outdoor activities, Academics, and Extracurricular Activities. Further, a significant negative correlation was observed between facets of Neuroticism and Academics, ODT, and OLQ. In contrast, personality facets of Conscientiousness (Work ethic) were found to be positively correlated with performance in Academics, ODT, and OLQ. Extracurricular activities were found to be positively correlated with Modesty and Intellectual Curiosity. CONCLUSION: The present study represents the first-ever attempt in Indian Armed Forces to correlate and identify personality traits most suited for military training. The findings of the study indicate that cadets with low scores of neuroticism and high scores of conscientiousness perform well in the military academy. However, more such studies are required to reaffirm the findings of the present study and to conclusively recommend personality traits most conducive for military training.

An assessment of perceived social support among naval personnel.

BACKGROUND: Studies from the Indian Navy have found junior sailors to have higher occupational stress than senior sailors. Positive social support can provide protection against detrimental effects of stress and facilitate in development of individual resilience. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explore the level of perceived social support among naval personnel. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using "Interpersonal Support Evaluation List" (Cohen and Hoberman, 1983) among personnel posted on a capital ship of the Indian Navy. Five hundred sixty-eight sailors voluntarily participated in the study. RESULTS: Personnel living on board (in-living) were found to have significantly lower overall perceived social support score (76.14 ± 13.72) than personnel living in family accommodation (79.40 ± 14.14). In addition, in-living personnel were also found to have lower subscale scores viz "appraisal support", "self-esteem support", and "belonging support" (p < 0.05) but not "tangible support" score (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study brings out that young in-living sailors lack perceived social support. These young in-living sailors, being away from their families, often feel isolated and fall prey to social media, which in turn aggravates feeling of isolation and leads to psychological distress. Therefore, it is important for these individuals to have confidence in his mess mates and belief in commanders who form their primary sources of social support. To ensure this, it is the need of the hour to revitalize the age old divisional system by introduction of concepts of "Keep Your Mates Safe", "promotion of psychological resilience", and so on.

Stigma of mental illness: A study in the Indian Armed Forces.

BACKGROUND: Stigma against mental illness exists across all countries. Stigma devalues the ill person and their relatives and denies them from attaining their rightful place in society. Stigma also prevents the ill person from seeking help. Stigma in the Armed Forces of UK and USA has been identified as a barrier to help seeking and a cause for concern as it could affect operational efficiency. However, studies conducted in the services of this country are lacking. Hence we decided to measure stigma perceived by patients and caregivers of the mentally ill and to assess stigma regarding the mentally ill patients and their caregivers, in the general population. METHODS: A cross sectional survey of patients (302), their caregivers (98), and members of the general population (102) who had no relatives suffering from mental illness was done. The patients were given the Stigma Scale developed by King et al. The caregivers (98) were given the devaluation of consumers scale and devaluation of consumer families scale developed by Struening et al. RESULTS: 90% of patients admitted to experiencing stigma. 86% of patients had experienced discrimination. Females experienced more discrimination than males. Stigma perceived was irrespective to age, mental status, rank and education of the patient. Caregivers perceived stigma and felt blamed by the community. Members of the general population gave similar responses. CONCLUSIONS: Study has brought out the high levels of stigma faced by the patients and their caregivers. High levels of stigma observed are a barrier to care.

Occupational stress and social support in naval personnel.

BACKGROUND: Data show that naval personnel have a high incidence of stress related disorders. A high prevalence of occupational stress was seen in a previous survey carried out on Indian Naval personnel. However, the role of social support in reducing occupational stress was not studied. To study occupational stress in Indian Naval personnel and to study the effect of social support on occupational stress. METHODS: 5077 naval personnel were surveyed using study questionnaires which included Occupational Stress Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12 item version as a measure of psychological health. The data was statistically analysed using chi square test and other non-parametric tests. RESULTS: High occupational stress was seen in personnel serving afloat (66.47%) as compared to those serving ashore (51.55%) and on submarines (53.72%). Among personnel serving afloat, occupational stress was highest among Junior Sailors as compared to Senior Sailors and Officers. Occupational stress was linked to poor psychological health as measured by the GHQ and younger age. Perceived social support was effective in reducing occupational stress in Officers and Senior Sailors but not in Junior Sailors where paradoxically it seemed to lead to greater occupational stress. CONCLUSIONS: High occupational stress was seen in more than half the service personnel studied. Occupational stress is mitigated by social support in Officers and Senior Sailors but not in Junior Sailors.

Serum Serotonin Abnormality in Depression.

BACKGROUND: Serotonin plays an important role in treatment of depression. We evaluated the clinical correlates of plasma serotonin levels in depressed patients before and after treatment. METHODS: Study sample comprised of 40 patients diagnosed on ICD-10 diagnostic criteria, and an equal number of healthy matched controls. Subjects were evaluated on Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and Suicide Ideation Scale (SIS), before and after the treatment. Blood samples were collected from all the cases and controls before starting the antidepressant medication with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's). Serum serotonin levels were measured before and after treatment. RESULT: Significant differences in scores before and after the intervention on BDI, SIS and serotonin levels of cases and controls (p<.000) were noted. Correlation between the serum serotonin levels before and after the treatment, and between the rating scales did not reveal significant association (p > 0.05). Patients with suicidal intentions had lower levels of serotonin. The scores changed after intervention. CONCLUSION: Treatment with SSRI's had shown significant changes in clinical conditions. However these changes did not relate significantly with serum serotonin levels.

Pre-bled-young-rats in genotoxicity testing: a model for peripheral blood micronucleus assay.

Previously we have reported that prior bleeding increases the sensitivity of micronucleus (MN) assay in rats (Vikram et al., 2007 a). Rat peripheral blood micronucleus (PBMN) assay is generally not considered as reliable method for the assessment of clastogenic potential of test chemicals due to selective elimination of micronucleated cells from the circulation. The present study is aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of pre-bled-young-rat model in detecting genotoxins having different mechanism of action. In the present study, young male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (21-24 days old, weighing 60+/-5 g) and swiss mice (24-28 days old, weighing 15+/-2g) were used. Streptozotocin (STZ, 50mg/kg), Methotrexate (MTX, 10mg/kg), N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN, 200mg/kg), Quercetin (QC, 50mg/kg) and Zidovudine (AZT, 400mg/kg) were used in the present experiment. Effect of prior bleeding time (0, 2, 6, 12 and 24h) on the kinetics of MN formation with STZ and AZT was studied and 36 h post chemical exposure was found to be the most suitable time point for sample collection if prior bleeding time was 0, 2 and 6h. Further, the impact of prior bleeding (2h) on the kinetics of MN formation in the bone marrow was evaluated with STZ and maximum MN frequency was observed after 24h. The area under curve (AUC) analysis proves that prior bleeding leads to significant increase in the incidence of micronucleated reticulocytes (RETs) in the peripheral blood as compared to respective non-bled controls. Out of five tested chemicals AZT and STZ induced significant increase in the MN frequency in non-bled animals while at the same dose MTX, AZT, QC and STZ induced significant increase in MN frequency in the pre-bled-young-rats employing PBMN assay as the end point. Positive results with MTX, AZT, QC, STZ and negative results with DEN demonstrate both the sensitivity and specificity of pre-bled-young-rat model in the screening of chemicals for genotoxicity using PBMN assay as the end point.

Use of the alkaline comet assay for the detection of transplacental genotoxins in newborn mice.

Several lines of evidence show that in utero exposure to different toxicants has greater consequences than their exposure during adult life. This may be due to involvement of critical developmental stages, physiological immaturity and the long later-life span over which disease may initiate, develop and progress. The in vivo alkaline comet (single-cell gel electrophoresis) assay has been favoured by the scientific community for the evaluation of genotoxins. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the suitability of alkaline comet assay in detecting transplacental genotoxins using newborn mice. Here, we report the successful use of the comet assay in detecting multi-organ genotoxicity of known transplacental genotoxins in newborn mice. Three well known transplacental genotoxic agents, cyclophosphamide (CP), mitomycin-C (MMC) and zidovudine (AZT) were tested in pregnant Swiss mice. These compounds were administered in the late gestational period (16-20th days of pregnancy) and the comet assay was performed with lymphocytes, bone marrow, liver and kidney cells of newborn mice. Significant DNA damage was observed in all the tissues with tested transplacental genotoxins. The results of the comet assay were confirmed by the micronucleus (MN) assay of the peripheral blood of newborn mice. The results of this study provide sufficient evidence that the comet assay can be applied successfully for the detection of transplacental genotoxins in newborn mice.

Simultaneous estimation of Montelukast sodium and Bambuterol hydrochloride in tablets by spectrophotometry.

Two simple, rapid, accurate and precise methods have been developed for simultaneous estimation of Montelukast sodium and Bambuterol hydrochloride from tablet dosage form. In the first method, the first derivative spectrum was determined. Montelukast sodium showed zero crossing point at 209.5 nm and Bambuterol hydrochloride showed zero crossing point at 238.5 nm. The dA/dlambda was measured at 209.5 nm for Bambuterol hydrochloride and 238.5 nm for Montelukast sodium and calibration curves were plotted as dA/dlambda versus concentration respectively. Quantitative determination of Montelukast sodium and Bambuterol hydrochloride in tablets was carried out using calibration curve by interpolation method. In the second method, Multicomponent mode of analysis was used and the measurement of absorbances at two wavelengths, 283.6 nm (lambda-max of MKST) and 211.8 nm (working wavelength selected for BHC) in 95% methanol, was carried out. These methods were validated statistically as per ICH guidelines. The recovery studies confirm the accuracy of the proposed method.

Psychological Well-being of Medical Students.

BACKGROUND: Training in medicine is emotionally demanding. Psychological well being of medical students is a matter of concern. There is lack of Indian studies in this area. METHODS: A total of 105 medical student of one batch were assessed utilizing psychophysiological state inventory, Institute for personality and ability testing (IPAT) anxiety and depression scale, achievement motivation scale, scale for locus of control and 16 PF in three phases at one-year intervals. RESULT: Majority of the students had average achievement, motivation and adaptability. Anxiety and depression scores fell within normal limits. In personality profile factor 'B', 'M' and 'Q41' had changed significantly. Achievement motivation showed significant decreases and CSS1 and PO1 scores showed significant increase during the years of medical education. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that over satisfaction and relaxed attitude may have poor academic outcome.

Occupational Stress in Naval Personnel.

INTRODUCTION: Increased stress levels have been reported and it has been implicated for mental illness amongst service personnel. However no study has been reported among Indian naval sailors. METHODS: Occupational stress and life satisfaction was measured in 413 naval personnel serving afloat and ashore. RESULT: Naval personnel serving on board submarine and ship had lower levels of occupational stress as compared to those serving on shore establishments. Occupational stress scores were higher among junior sailors (36.7%) as compared to officers and senior sailors (20%). Life satisfaction scores were lower in junior sailors. Greater occupational stress was linked to lower life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The findings of high occupational stress in junior sailors needs to be investigated further with a larger sample.

Changing Pattern of Alcohol Abuse in the Army before and after AO 3&11/2001.

BACKGROUND: The Army Order 3&11/2001 was introduced to curb alcoholism and to weed out habitual alcoholics. Hence a study was carried out in a zonal referral hospital from 01 Jan 2001 to 30 Jun 2003 to assess its effectiveness. METHODS: The subjects consisted of officers, junior commisioned officers and other ranks who satisfied the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 criteria for alcohol dependence. RESULT: Out of 1023 consecutive admissions, alcohol dependent cases numbered 245 (23.95%). They were disposed as under: 57/ 245 (23.6%) in S1 (fit for all duties), 67/245 (27.35%) in S2 (fit for duties with few restrictions), 72/245 (29.39%) in S3 (fit for duties with more restrictions), and 32/245 (13.06%) in S5 (unfit for further service.). CONCLUSION: The data showed that the percentage of cases disposed under fit for all duties had risen four times (23.80 vs 5.86), those invalided out increased by two times (12.70 vs 6.64) and those retained in S2 had reduced (26.46 vs 41.21) after the new policy.

Psychiatric Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury.

In India 30,000 people die and 1,25,000 become disabled due traumatic brain injury (TBI). The psychiatric sequalae of TBI can be acute and chronic. Chronic sequalae of TBI are usually ignored and may take the form of defects of cognition, memory, perception, language or intelligence. It may also lead to inappropriate aggression, sexual behaviour, personality change, mood changes, neurosis and psychosis. Neuropsychological assessment of TBI can be pharmacological or behavioural. Survivors of TBI are referred to a walking wounded and require to be cared for.

Reduction in Drug Prescription using Biofeedback Relaxation in Neurotic and Psychosomatic Disorders.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of Indian studies on effectiveness of biofeedback in reducing drug prescription in neurotic and stress related disorders. METHODS: Study sample of generalized anxiety disorders (GAD), mixed anxiety depression, obssessive compulsive disorder (OCD), dissociative disorder and headache were assigned to three groups of 28, 23 and 27 patients respectively. Group 1 were subjected to drug therapy, Group 2 to biofeedback and Group 3 to drugs and biofeedback for 12 weeks. All were followed up at six months and one year. RESULT: At the end of one year, in Group 1, 60.71 % had mild and 17.86 % had moderate anxiety levels, while 21.43% required no further follow up. In Group 2, 39.13 % showed mild and 43.48 % had moderate anxiety levels, while 17.39 % required no follow up. In Group 3, 22.22% had mild and 11.13% had moderate levels of anxiety, while 66.66% required no further treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Biofeedback relaxation with pharmacotherapy is useful in select group of neurotic and psychosomatic cases.

Cognitive and emotional effects of renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown a high prevalence of depression and cognitive changes in patients with end-stage renal disease (ERSD) and renal transplant recipients. There are few data available on the cognitive and emotional changes in patients undergoing renal transplantation in India. AIM: To evaluate the changes in cognitive profile and depression in renal transplant recipients. METHODS: Thirty consecutive patients undergoing renal transplantation were evaluated 1 month before and 3 months after successful renal transplant with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Weschler Adult Performance Intelligence Scale (WAPIS), Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological battery (LNNB) and Life satisfaction scale. RESULTS: Our study revealed an 86.7% prevalence of depression in ESRD patients as compared to 56.7% in post renal transplant patients. Analysis of neurocognitive functions on LNNB did not reveal any significant impairment. Furthermore, analysis of the Life satisfaction scale revealed most of the patients scored high satisfaction levels despite the stress of their disease. Results on WAPIS brought out significant improvement in intelligence quotient (IQ) after renal transplantation. CONCLUSION: Successful renal transplant is associated with improvement in depression, IQ and life satisfaction.

Psychological Correlates of Outcome after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft.

BACKGROUND: Psychological effects of Coronary Artery Bypass graft (CABG) have been of interest all over the world but there is a paucity of Indian work. METHODS: 30 patients undergoing CABG at a service hospital were included. All patients filled a specially designed proforma. Mini Mental Status Examination, Hospital anxiety and depression scale, Coronary scale, Seattle angina questionnaire and Euro-QOL 5D were performed before and seven days after CABG. RESULTS: 43.3% had significant anxiety and 30% had significant depression before CABG. Following CABG, 36.67% of the patients had significant anxiety while 40% had significant depression. On the Seattle angina questionnaire, physical limitation reduced from 71.6 ± 7.9 to 53.1 ± 14.6. There was significant improvement in treatment satisfaction from 37.8 ± 6.1 to 59.4 ± 4.2 following CABG. On th euro quality of life scale (EQ5D) health status improved from 38.17 ± 9.51 before CABG to 68.5 ± 5.28 after CABG. CONCLUSION: There is a significant incidence of anxiety and depression in patients undergoing CABG, both before and after surgery.

Norms of the Rorschach Test for Indian Subjects.

BACKGROUND: The clinical utility of the Rorschach test in Indians is hampered by the absence of reliable normative data. Method : The Rorschach by Dlopfer's method was administrated to 1256 subjects consisting of 300 normal army personnel, 300 normal civilians, 250 schizophrenics, 300 neurotics and 106 patients with organic disorders. RESULTS: The Rorschach protocols of normal Indian army personnel and normal civilians showed significant differences from one another and also from the western norms. These differences are culturally determined and are not indicative of low intelligence or psychopathology. Patients with schizophrenia, neurosis, head injury and epilepsy show significant differences from the records of normal subjects. The protocols of army schizophrenics show significant deviations from those of normal army personnel and these changes revert to normal with clinical recovery. CONCLUSION: The Rorschach test is not a culture fee test as claimed earlier. In view of the differences from Western norms, Rorschach protocols of Indians should be interpreted using the norms for Indians. In the case of army personnel the norms for army personnel should be used. While the use of the Rorschach to study the personality patterns of normal individuals and as an aid to clinical diagnosis was strongly supported, the findings of the study indicate that the test can also be employed to assess therapeutic response of patients with schizophrenia.

Paraphillia : a case report.

A case of paraphilia presenting with multiple sexual deviations is reported. The disorder occurred against a background of disordered childhood and was later associated with alcohol abuse.