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Objectives: Differentiating schizophrenia from mania in acutely psychotic patients can be difficult, but is important in determining immediate and subsequent management. Such differentiation is generally addressed by clinical interviews, but an observational approach may assist. This paper therefore describes the development of a relevant observational measure. Methods: We developed a provisional list of 49 items (weighting features with suggested specificity to schizophrenia and mania) for independent completion by two nurses and judged its ability to predict diagnosis provided by consultant psychiatrists. Results: Eighty-seven psychotic patients were recruited, and 173 completed data sets were analysed. We refined the item set to two sets of 10 items that best-differentiated schizophrenia from mania and vice versa. Optimal differentiation was achieved with a score of at least 7 on both the schizophrenia and mania item sets. Difference scores (i.e. schizophrenia items affirmed minus mania items affirmed) were also generated, with a difference score of +1 (i.e. one or more schizophrenia items being affirmed than mania items) showing optimal differentiation (sensitivity 0.67, specificity 0.82) between the two conditions. Evaluating all potential difference scores, we demonstrated that, as difference scores increased, diagnostic accuracy in identifying each condition was very high. Conclusion: Analyses allow the properties of an observational measure (the 20-item Sydney Psychosis Observation Tool) to be described. While a single cut-off difference score was derived with acceptable discriminatory ability, we also established the capacity of varying difference scores to assign both schizophrenia and mania diagnoses with high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Self-efficacy can be conceptualised as a person’s perception of their own ability to produce a desired outcome. Low self-efficacy has been reported to be a mediating variable in developing depression. The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Depressed Adolescents (SEQ-DA) is a 12-item inventory, designed to measure self-perceived ability of the young person to cope with depressive symptoms. This paper presents further information on the psychometric properties of the SEQ-DA in a clinical sample of depressed adolescents.Method: The SEQ-DA was administered to a clinical sample of 130 adolescents with a depressive disorder at baseline, at the end of 3 months of therapy and 6 months following therapy. A diagnosis of depression was made using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children. The ability of the SEQ-DA to identify those adolescents who had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder at baseline, following treatment and at 6-month follow-up was evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of the SEQ-DA in this clinical sample of depressed adolescents was undertaken to establish cut-off scores of the SEQ-DA.Results: The SEQ-DA score at baseline of < 36 and following treatment of < 43 were predictive of a depressive disorder.Conclusions: The SEQ-DA is a very simple self-report measure that can be used to predict which adolescents treated for depression are likely to remain depressed, thus prompting more intensive treatment and follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to assess Australian young people’s awareness of mental health services available for their age group. Of particular interest was awareness of headspace, which was created in 2006 to provide youth-oriented mental health services, and has expanded to 30 centres nationally in 5 years.Method: In 2011, a telephone interview was conducted with a national sample of 3021 Australians aged between 15 and 25 years. Participants were asked questions about awareness of mental health organizations, where they would seek help for themselves and how they would assist a peer with a mental health problem.Results: There were very low frequencies of spontaneous mentions of headspace as a mental health organization, or as a service where respondents would seek help for themselves or refer a peer to. However, when prompted, about half of respondents recognized headspace as a mental health organization. Living within a headspace service area predicted better recognition of headspace. However, past-year psychological distress was unrelated to recognition of headspace as a mental health organization.Conclusions: In order to reach them more effectively, young people need to be aware of youth-oriented services that are available to them and their peers. Awareness campaigns need to be targeted to the subgroups of young people who have the greatest need for headspace services, namely those with recent mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]