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Aims. To assess in a sample of people with mental disorders: 1) fear of crime and perceived insecurity; 2) the association between fear of crime and insecurity; 3) the incidence of crimes. Methods. Twenty-four Italian mental health centres have been invited to participate in the study from the network of the Early Career Psychiatrists' Committee of the Italian Psychiatric Association. In each participating centre, the first 20 patients consecutively accessing the mental health centre between February and April 2011 have been recruited. All patients have been assessed using validated assessment tools. Results. The final sample consists of 426 patients. They are mostly female (70.1%), with a mean age of 45 years (±13.5), and with a good level of education. Fifty-two percent of patients have a diagnosis of mood disorders, and 37.8% on anxiety spectrum disorders. About half of the sample declares that the most prominent feeling toward life is uncertainty. Almost all patients report to have at least one big fear, with the most frequently report being: 1) loss or death of a loved one (41.2%); 2) financial constraint (28.4%); 3) physical or mental health problems (26.5%). Discussion and conclusions. Our results show the presence of a common sense of uncertainty among patients, probably as a result of the historical moment we are facing. It is reasonable that this attitude toward life can have a detrimental impact on patients' psychological and physical wellbeing, contributing to high levels of distress. Further studies are needed in order to clarify the possible relationship between fears, uncertainty and mental disorders

Introduction Synthetic cannabimimetics (‘Spice’; SC) were identified in the ‘Spice’ compounds in 2009, and the first SC-related psychotic disturbance was anecdotally described in 2010. Most evidence relating to short/medium-term adverse effects associated with SC intake are based on case reports/series and retrospective toxicology surveys. Method We have already performed a descriptive analysis of psychopathological issues related to SC intake .We aimed here at better describing the typology of the published studies, whilst taking into account the discipline of the peer reviewed journals. Results The typology of the studies included here: toxicology surveys/laboratory studies (32%; 13/41); case reports/series (61%; 25/41), surveys on adverse effects reported by users (7%; 4/41). Main disciplines of journals where the papers where published included: General Medicine/Paediatrics (7/41); Addiction Medicine/Psychiatry (14/41); and Toxicology/Emergency Medicine (19/41). Conclusion Academic psychiatry has traditionally investigated issues associated with an increased risk of psychosis following cannabis/phytocannabinoids’ intake, and research focusing on the link between SC intake and psychotic disturbances is quite new. Although psychopathological issues related to misusing substances’ intake clearly pertain to Addiction Psychiatry, most papers here identified were published by Emergency Medicine/Toxicology Journals. A clear gap/delay between occurrence of SC-related Toxicology/Emergency Medicine (19/41) clinical observations and publishing relevant results was here identified.

time, is associated with potential structural teratogenic effects on the fetus together with perineonatal and postnatal complications pharmacodynamics in pregnancy therefore the guidelines for therapy are based on observational studies and basic principles.All antipsychotics

Aims: This article aims to (1) explore the levels of perceived insecurity in a sample of patients with mood or anxiety disorders and (2) assess whether living in ‘big cities’ can influence the levels of patients’ perceived insecurity and social contacts compared to living in a non-urbanized context. Methods: A total of 24 Italian mental health centers (MHCs) have been invited to participate. Twenty patients consecutively accessing the MHC have been recruited. All patients have been assessed using validated assessment tools. Results: The sample consisted of 426 patients, mostly female, with a mean age of 45 years. Globally, 52.2% of patients had a diagnosis of mood disorders, and 37.8% had anxiety disorders. Half of the sample declared that the main feeling toward life is uncertainty; higher levels of pessimistic views toward life have been detected in patients living in urban areas. A positive association between negative attitudes toward life and higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms, poor social functioning and higher levels of perceived psychological distress has been found. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the presence of a common sense of perceived uncertainty among our sample. Such attitude toward life can have a detrimental impact on patients’ psychological and physical well-being, contributing to high levels of distress.

To assess in a sample of people with mental disorders: 1) fear of crime and perceived insecurity; 2) the association between fear of crime and insecurity; 3) the incidence of crimes. Twenty-four Italian mental health centres have been invited to participate in the study from the network of the Early Career Psychiatrists' Committee of the Italian Psychiatric Association. In each participating centre, the first 20 patients consecutively accessing the mental health centre between February and April 2011 have been recruited. All patients have been assessed using validated assessment tools. The final sample consists of 426 patients. They are mostly female (70.1%), with a mean age of 45 years (± 13.5), and with a good level of education. Fifty-two percent of patients have a diagnosis of mood disorders, and 37.8% on anxiety spectrum disorders. About half of the sample declares that the most prominent feeling toward life is uncertainty. Almost all patients report to have at least one big fear, with the most frequently report being: 1) loss or death of a loved one (41.2%); 2) financial constraint (28.4%); 3) physical or mental health problems (26.5%). Our results show the presence of a common sense of uncertainty among patients, probably as a result of the historical moment we are facing. It is reasonable that this attitude toward life can have a detrimental impact on patients' psychological and physical wellbeing, contributing to high levels of distress. Further studies are needed in order to clarify the possible relationship between fears, uncertainty and mental disorders.

The primary aim of this study was to assess the level of satisfaction with 3 types of formal care systems of the elderly: (1) a day care center, (2) a nursing home, and (3) telecare service in a group of oldest frail elderly, and to describe the characteristics of the population using the services. The study involved a population of 162 oldest elderly using 3 different types of formal care services. Study participants were asked to complete a questionnaire, investigating socio-demographic characteristics and degree of overall satisfaction with the service, as well as eliciting possible suggestions for improvement. In our study, nearly all subjects using the telecare service were satisfied or very satisfied (98.5%), as compared to 75.3% of those residing in a nursing home, and 76.5% of those attending the day care center. This result confirms the findings of previous studies on elderly subjects satisfaction with telecare services. Telecare, therefore, seems to be the service achieving the greatest levels of satisfaction, a service that can also be used by low-income subjects, by whom it is also perceived as a source of social support.

Background The lack of compliance is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and switching or augmentation of therapy when compared with being compliant. A synergy of drug therapy and psychosocial interventions can give more benefits in treatment. Methods A perspective study was conducted on 150 patients with schizophrenia over 15 centers in Italy. The experimental group was treated with drug therapy, traditional psychosocial and psychoeducation for the patients and their families, while the control group received traditional psychosocial and drug intervention over 1 year. Results The experimental group showed a significant statistical improvement (p < 0,05) in almost all the scales that have been assessed (BPRS, SAPS, SANS, SIMPSON-ANGUS SCALE, LANCASHIRE QL SCALE). Significant was the reduction of the number of hospitalizations and of days of hospital stay. Conclusion As it is shown in international literature, psychoeducational intervention with schizophrenic patients and their families can reduce the occurrence of relapse.