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Objective: To design, create and validate an evaluation tool to measure progress of the patient within the national forensic mental health service. Methods: A methodological study with two sequential stages was used for this study. Stage 1 was the instrument development; stage 2 was expert judgment and each for these stages had 3 steps. Results: The 28-item questionnaire was submitted to 20 experts. Both descriptive and quantitative analysis were undertaken. The descriptive analysis included item ambiguity, median and percentage agreement. The quantitative method included a content validity index, content validity ratio and content validity coefficient. The acceptable values for item ambiguity, median and percentage agreement, content validity index, content validity ratio and content validity coefficient were a range of 3 or more between scores, median of 2.75 and above, 80 percent criterion, 0.79, 0.75 and 0.79 respectively. Conclusion: The 28-item tool met all the set criteria for content validity meeting the parameters established in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Delusional-like experiences (DLE) are prevalent in the community. Recent community based studies have found that DLE are more common in those with depression and anxiety disorders, and in those with subclinical symptoms of depression and anxiety. Chronic physical disorders are associated with comorbid depression and anxiety; however, there is a lack of evidence about the association of DLE with common physical conditions. The aim of this study was to explore associations between the common physical disorders and DLE using a large population sample. Methods: Subjects were drawn from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2007, a national household survey of 8841 residents aged between 16 and 85 years. The presence of DLE, selected common physical disorders and symptoms were assessed using a modified World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) schedule. We examined the relationship between DLE, and physical health-related variables using logistic regression, with adjustments for potential confounding factors. Results: Of the 8771, 776 (8.4%) subjects positively endorsed one or more DLE. Of the six physical disorders examined, only diabetes and arthritis were significantly associated with the endorsement of DLE. Of the seven broad physical symptoms explored, only hearing problems were consistently associated with DLE. Conclusion: Delusional-like experiences are common in the Australian community, and are associated with selected chronic physical disorders and with impaired hearing. The direction of causality between these variables warrants closer research scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Population-based surveys have confirmed that psychotic-like experiences are prevalent in the community. However, it is unclear if these experiences are associated with common mental disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of psychotic-like experiences in those with affective and anxiety disorders. Methods: Subjects were drawn from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy. Delusion-like experiences were assessed with the Peters Delusional Inventory (PDI). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to identify individuals with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) lifetime diagnoses of major depression, anxiety disorder, substance use/dependence, and psychotic disorders. The influence of affective and anxiety disorders on PDI and CIDI psychosis-related items’ scores were assessed with logistic regression, with adjustments for age, sex, and the presence of the other comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. Results: Having either a lifetime diagnosis of major depressive disorder or an anxiety disorder was associated with significantly higher PDI total scores (highest vs lowest quartile adjusted odds ratios [ORs] and 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = 4.43, 3.09–6.36; 3.08, 2.26–4.20, respectively). The odds of endorsing any CIDI hallucination or delusion item was increased in those with a major depressive or anxiety disorder. The presence of current anxiety disorder symptoms was significantly associated with PDI score (OR = 5.81, 95% CI = 3.68–9.16). Conclusion: While psychotic-like experiences are usually associated with psychotic disorders, individuals with depression and anxiety are also more likely to report these symptoms compared with well individuals. Psychotic-like experiences are associated with a range of common mental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study which examines the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis-related outcomes at a hospital in Brisbane, Queensland. It states that cannabis use among 3,801 cohort young adult participants as well as the possible factors that influence substance abuse such as parental mental illness were assessed using logistic regression analysis and sibling pair analysis. Results reveal that early cannabis use is associated with psychosis-related outcomes in young adults.

Objective: Several large population-based studies have reported that otherwise-well individuals endorse items related to delusion-like experiences. The aim of the present study was to examine selected correlates of delusion-like experiences in a sample of non-psychotic individuals. Method: Subjects (n=310) were screened with the Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis in order to exclude psychotic disorders. Delusion-like experiences were assessed with the Peters Delusional Inventory (PDI). Non-parametric statistics were used to assess the relationship between total PDI score and a range of demographic (age, sex, migrant status, paternal age), physical (minor physical anomalies) symptom-related variables (hallucinations, awareness of thought disorder) and family history of mental illness. Results: The median (range) PDI score was 4 (0-26), while one-third of the subjects endorsed seven or more items. The presence of a family history of any psychiatric condition was significantly correlated with a higher PDI score. PDI score was significantly positively correlated with endorsement of hallucinations and awareness of thought disorder. PDI was not significantly associated with sex, family history of schizophrenia, paternal age, migrant status nor scores related to minor physical anomalies. There was a trend level association between younger age and higher PDI score. Conclusion: Delusion-like experiences are relatively common in non-psychotic individuals. The association with a family history of mental disorders provides clues to the mechanisms underlying the profile of delusion-like experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on effectiveness of clozapine for treating people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. They highlight adverse drug reactions such as neutropenia and agranulocytosis associated with clozapine. They discuss risk associated with clozapine prescribing for general practitioners, private psychiatrists, and pharmacists.

In this article, the authors discuss aspects of the studies on the association between childhood adversities (CAs) and adult mental health problems. The authors note that the study by J.G. Green and colleagues on the association between CAs and DSM-IV disorders brought in the nonspecifity between mental disorders and CAs. Moreover, they suggest that there is a need to focus on a research associated to the intervention and prevention of adverse health outcomes caused by CAs.