Association of Domestic Violence Against Women With Sociodemographic Factors, Clinical Features, and Dissociative Symptoms in Patients Who Receive Services From Psychiatric Outpatient Units in Turkey.

Domestic violence (DV) against women is a serious problem with its negative effects on all family members and the society. Women exposed to DV not only have physical but also psychological damage. This study investigates prevalence of DV and its relations with some descriptive and clinical features in a psychiatric outpatient population in Turkey. A total of 277 female outpatients were included in the study. After a semistructured clinical interview, they were assessed by sociodemographic data form, DV questionnaire, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ). Prevalence of exposure to DV by intimate partner is found to be 58.8% (n = 163). The current study provided strong evidence that occupation status of the woman, education level of the partner, and family type are predictors of DV. Another predictor of DV exists where the child is battered by either parent. Prevalence of depression, conversion disorder, and other somatoform disorders are higher in women exposed to DV. These women also have higher scores from HDRS, HARS, DES, and SDQ compared with female patients who have not experienced DV (p < .001). Number of women scoring above cutoff levels for DES and SDQ were significantly higher in women exposed to DV (p < .001).

Explanatory Models of Illness, Help Seeking Behaviours and Related Factors in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study from Two Different Provinces of Turkey.

This study aims to identify the help seeking behaviours of patients from two geographically distinct provinces of Turkey. A questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics and help seeking ways was applied to 49 schizophrenia patients from Van, 99 from Ankara. The ratio of patients seeking psychiatric help at the beginning of their illness was 76% in Ankara, the capital city, in contrast to 54% in Van (p = 0.01). Twenty-two percent of patients from Ankara and 69% from Van reported that non-psychiatric help seeking was the choice of their families (p < 0.001). Thirty-five percent of all patients sought religious support when their symptoms started. Patients with lower education levels sought more religious help (p = 0.002). Help seeking behaviours show regional variations. Religious help seeking behaviour is a major way of dealing with the illness. Psychoeducation is a crucial need both for patients and families.

Could psychiatric assessment before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation predict the need for psychiatric consultation during transplantation period?

Psychiatric morbidity seems to be a significant concern associated with all stages of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We aimed to understand whether psychiatric consultation before HSCT procedure could predict the need for psychiatric support during isolation period. Seventy-eight patients undergoing HSCT were included in the study. Patients were diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). Standard anxiety and depression scores were performed. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were performed. Psychiatric consultation was required for 45 (58%) patients during hospitalization. Only pre-HSCT STAI trait scores were higher in patients who were found to have psychopathology at consultation during hospitalization compared to patients without established psychopathology. Sixteen (76%) and 29 (51%) patients needed consultation with and without pre-HSCT psychopathology, respectively. Our study showed that the psychiatric consultation request rate during the transplantation process was higher for cases previously diagnosed with psychopathology and who had high trait anxiety scale scores before HSCT.