Background: Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends and meet other people based on shared interests. An exponential rise in usage of Social Networking Sites have been seen within the last few years. Their ease of use and immediate gratification effect on users has changed the way people in general and students in particular spend their time. Young adults, particularly teenagers tended to be unaware of just how much time they really spent on social networking sites. Negative correlates of Social Networking Sites usage include the decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction. Aims: the aim of the study was to find out whether teenagers, specially those living in cities spend too much time on social networking websites. Materials and Methods: 200 subjects, both boys and girls were included in the cross sectional study who were given a 20 item Young's internet addiction test modified for social networking sites. The responses were analyzed using chi square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: 24.74% of the students were having occasional or 'frequency' problems while 2.02% of them were experiencing severe problems due to excessive time spent using social networking sites. Conclusion: With the ever increasing popularity of social media, teenagers are devoting significant time to social networking on websites and are prone to get 'addicted' to such form of online social interaction.

Background: The industrial workers are exposed to stress and strain due to the tough nature of their duties. There is a need to incorporate simple, cost effective, and easily implementable measures in the industries to tackle this menace of stress. Yoga has been considered a suitable candidate for this job. Hence this study was undertaken to evaluate the psychological benefits of yoga in workers. Materials and Methods: Four hundred healthy young general duty workers were enrolled for this study and made into four matched groups of 100 each. One group was given regular Yoga practice in the morning, another group was given regular physical training in the morning, third group was exposed to regular physical training in the morning and Yoga in the evening, and the last group was exposed to neither of them. All were assessed for their psychological state at base line, 4 weeks and at 12 weeks using specified scales. The findings were statistically analysed. Results: Yoga was found to have more beneficial psychological effect comparable to physical training. However maximum benefit was obtained when Yoga was combined with PT. Conclusion: Yoga has got positive psychological benefits in general duty workers when practiced regularly. The benefits are enhanced when Yoga is combined with PT.

Objective: To find the association of patient characteristic and psychopathology with quality of life in acute phase of schizophrenia. Materials and Methods: Socio-demographic variables of patient, psychopathology and quality of life were assessed. Spearman's Correlation coefficients were measured using SPSS version 15.0. Results: Quality of life of the patients varied in different domains. Male gender, unmarried status and higher educational status predicted a poorer quality of life. The domains of physical and psychological well-being of WHO-QOL were correlated with PANSS general and total scores whereas environmental and social health showed no correlation with PANSS scores. Conclusion: Domains of subjective quality of life in acute phase of schizophrenia are associated variedly with socio-demographic variables and symptomatology.

Background: Scientific studies demonstrate efficacy of yogic treatment methods in stress and anxiety related disorders, psychosomatic disorders and physical illness. Very few studies have been conducted on schizophrenic patients. Aims: This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of yoga therapy on subjective well-being, basic living skills, self-care, interpersonal, communicational and routine functions of schizophrenic patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty chronic schizophrenic hospitalized patients were selected from Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences, Ranchi and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (yoga therapy along with Pharmacotherapy, n=15), and to control group (Pharmacotherapy alone, n=15). Baseline assessment was done using Post Graduate Institute general well-being measure (GWBM), Checklist for basic living skills and Indian disability evaluation and assessment scale (IDEAS). The experimental group attended yoga therapy every day for about 1΍ h including motivational and feedback session. After 1 month post-assessment was done for both the groups. Statistical Analysis: Pearson Chi-square test was used for comparing the results. Results: At the end of 1 month experimental group showed better rating in comparison to control group in PGI GWBM, basic living skills and IDEAS. Conclusion: Yoga could improve patients' subjective well-being, their daily basic living functioning, personal hygiene, self-care, interpersonal activities and communication, and prompted more involvement in routine work.

Background: Personality measuring instrument plays an important role in many fields of human civilization and therefore, present study was aimed to find such an instrument for Bengali speaking juniors. Materials and Methods: Bengali translation of the short-form of the revised junior Eysenck personality questionnaire developed by Corulla was administered on a sample of 226 Bengali speaking students (99 boys and 127 girls) studying in class seven and eight taken from two urban and two rural schools. Internal consistency of each item under a subscale was calculated; internal consistency of each of the four subscales of the translated questionnaire was calculated; test-retest reliability was found with an interval of 3 months and inter-correlations between different subscales were found. Conclusion: The findings provided satisfactory psychometric properties of the extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism, and lie scale.

Background: Research has not adequately focused on the issue of burnout in Psychiatric nurses, despite the fact that they suffer considerable stress in their work. Till date no study has been conducted on burnout among psychiatric nurses in India. Further, there is a particular lack of research in internal variables predicting burnout in them. Aims: To determine whether there are any internal psychological factors relevant to burnout in psychiatric nurses in India. Materials and Methods: We recruited 101 psychiatric nurses scoring less than two in General Health Questionnaire, version 12 (GHQ-12) from two psychiatric hospitals after obtaining informed consent. All subjects filled up a sociodemographic data sheet along with global adjustment scale, emotional maturity scale, PGI general well-being scale, locus of control scale, and Copenhagen burnout inventory (CBI). Correlations between burnout and sociodemographic/clinical variables were done by Pearson's r or Spearman's rho. Signi ficant variables were entered in a stepwise multiple linear regression analysis with total burnout score as dependent variable. Results: Age, duration of total period of nursing, prior military training, locus of control, sense of general well-being, adjustment capabilities, and emotional maturity had significant relation with burnout. Of them, emotional maturity was the most significant protective factors against burnout along with adjustment capabilities, sense of physical well-being, and military training in decreasing significance. Together they explained 41% variation in total burnout score which is significant at <0.001 level. An internal locus of control was inversely correlated with burnout, but failed to predict it in regression analysis. Conclusion: Emotional maturity, adjustability, sense of general physical well-being as well as prior military training significantly predicted lower burnout. Of them, emotional maturity was the most important predictor. Internal locus of control was also correlated with lower burnout.

Background: Although adjustment has been studied in relation with a host of variables, the relevance of empathy and its importance in the process of adjustment has received little attention. It is a well-known fact that personality plays a very important role in our interactions and dealings and also that empathy facilitates this process. Settings and Design: This study evaluated whether these two things combined together affect or predict adjustment. A random sample of 52 young male adults volunteered for this study. Materials and Methods: These 52 male participants filled up questionnaires related to personality (The Jackson Personality Inventory), empathy. The Empathy Quotient) and adjustment (Bell adjustment inventory). Analysis and Results: The data were analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. Personality traits like interpersonal affect, conformity facilitated the process of adjustment, whereas traits like anxiety worked in the opposite direction. Empathy also emerged as a significant contributor to the social adjustment. Conclusions: Results showed that both empathy and personality traits accounted for unique variance in adjustment. Results are discussed in terms of empathy, personality traits and their role in adjustment.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disclosure offers important benefits to people living with HIV/AIDS. However, fear of discrimination, blame, and disruption of family relationships can make disclosure a difficult decision. Barriers to HIV disclosure are influenced by the particular culture within which the individuals live. Although many studies have assessed such barriers in the U.S., very few studies have explored the factors that facilitate or prevent HIV disclosure in India. Understanding these factors is critical to the refinement, development, and implementation of a counseling intervention to facilitate disclosure. Materials and Methods: To explore these factors, we conducted 30 in-depth interviews in the local language with HIV- positive individuals from the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre in Gujarat, India, assessing the experiences, perceived barriers, and facilitators to disclosure. To triangulate the findings, we conducted two focus group discussions with HIV medical and non-medical service providers, respectively. Results: Perceived HIV-associated stigma, fear of discrimination, and fear of family breakdown acted as barriers to HIV disclosure. Most people living with HIV/AIDS came to know of their HIV status due to poor physical health, spousal HIV-positive status, or a positive HIV test during pregnancy. Some wives only learned of their husbands' HIV positive status after their husbands died. The focus group participants confirmed similar findings. Disclosure had serious implications for individuals living with HIV, such as divorce, maltreatment, ostracism, and decisions regarding child bearing. Interpretation and Conclusion: The identified barriers and facilitators in the present study can be used to augment training of HIV service providers working in voluntary counseling and testing centers in India.

Background: Domestic violence is a major contributor to physical and mental ill health of the victim, and it is evident to some degree, in every society of the world. Objectives: 1) To study perception about domestic violence in the study population. 2) To compare prevalence of domestic violence within the three subgroups of the study population (i.e. spouses of psychotic patients, spouses of non-psychiatric patients and hospital staff). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among married men and women coming to Dhiraj General Hospital. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Inquiry was done about their perception regarding domestic violence, own experience any time in their life, and about the form of violence. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS. Results: 42.7% of study participants had never heard the words domestic violence. The overall prevalence of any form of violence in the study population as a whole was 32.3%. There was no significant difference found in the proportion of domestic violence among the three groups. The prevalence of physical, emotional, sexual and economic domestic violence was 16.3%, 25.3%, 2% and 11.3% respectively. Younger age group and female sex were significantly associated with the occurrence of domestic violence. Conclusion: Apart from the high prevalence of domestic violence in the present era, it is evident from the study that the participants' perception about domestic violence was low. Efforts should be made to raise public consciousness and reporting of domestic violence and its attendant consequences.

Objective: To assess the attitude of MBBS student toward concept and practice of psychiatry between groups of students exposed to psychiatry rotation versus those not yet exposed to. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out. Anonymity and confidentiality of the respondent was emphasized. Attitude was measured with 30-item "attitude toward psychiatry" scale. Results: Attitude toward psychiatry was found to be better in groups of medical students exposed to 2 weeks clinical rotation in psychiatry . However, the same reached statistical significance in only 36.7% of the questions. Conclusion: Clinical rotation in Psychiatry in undergraduate has a favorable effect on the attitude of medical students toward concept and practice of psychiatry. Better curriculum and more hours in psychiatry may yield better gain.

Tuberous sclerosis complex is a multi-system disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance, which can affect the brain, heart, skin, kidneys, lungs, and retina. We hereby report therapeutic challenges faced in a case of an adolescent male suffering from tuberous sclerosis.

Amisulpride is a newer antipsychotic, which is very effective on its own, as well as augmenting other antipsychotic clozapine, which is an effective molecule for treatment resistant schizophrenia. In most cases, amisulpride is added on, in partial responders to clozapine. Here a case is reported where clozapine was added on, in an amisulpride partial responder but this produced side effect and had to be discontinued. The case later responded to clozapine alone. It has been discussed about possible reasons of this finding. It has also been suggested if sequence of introduction of medication is critical regarding getting the desired effect of the augmentation strategy.

Alcoholic hallucinosis is a rare complication of chronic alcohol abuse characterized by predominantly auditory hallucinations that occur either during or after a period of heavy alcohol consumption. Bleuler (1916) termed the condition as alcohol hallucinosis and differentiated it from Delirium Tremens. Usually it presents with acoustic verbal hallucinations, delusions and mood disturbances arising in clear consciousness and sometimes may progress to a chronic form mimicking schizophrenia. One such case with multimodal hallucinations in a Defence Service Corps soldier is presented here.

Tokophobia is a pathological fear of pregnancy and can lead to avoidance of childbirth. It can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary is morbid fear of childbirth in a woman, who has no previous experience of pregnancy. Secondary is morbid fear of childbirth developing after a traumatic obstetric event in a previous pregnancy. A case of tokophobia with depression who responded to fluoxetine is being described.

Complexities of the human mind have been beyond the scope of understanding because a intricate neuronal network and difficulty in specific localization and assessment of area responsible for a specific behavior; more so in a freely moving living being. Optogenetics off late has been able to address this issue to great extent and holds promises for future. Relevant literatures in this direction were looked into and the salient aspects of this science is being discussed here with specific relevance to psychiatry.

Opioid use disorders present with distressing withdrawal symptoms at the time of detoxification. The pharmacological agents and methods currently in use for detoxification mainly include buprenorphine, methadone, and clonidine. Many other pharmacological agents have been tried for opioid detoxification. This review takes a look at the newer pharmacological options, both opioid agonists and non-agonist medications that have been utilized for detoxification. Peer reviewed articles were identified using PubMed and PsychInfo databases. The keywords included for the search were a combination of 'opioid' and 'detoxification' and their synonyms. All the articles published in the last 10 years were screened for. Relevant data was extracted from identified studies. Many newer pharmacological agents have been tried in detoxification of opioids. However, the quest for a safe, efficacious, cost-effective pharmacological option which requires minimal monitoring still continues. The role of non-pharmacological measures and alternative medicine needs further evaluation.

Objective: To determine body image satisfaction among newly entrant women students in a professional institution. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study using body image satisfaction described in words was undertaken, which also explored relationship with body mass index (BMI) and other selected co-variables such as socio-demographic details, overall satisfaction in life, and particularly in academic/professional life, current health status using 5-item based Likert scale. Height, weight, hip and waist circumference measurement was carried out using standard protocol. Data collection was carried through personal interview using pre-designed, pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule by female investigators during August-September 2010 and analysis carried out by computing percentages and Chi-square test. Results: Out of 96 study samples, 16.66%, 51.04%, and 32.29% girl students perceived their body image as fair, good and excellent, respectively while overall 13.54% were dissatisfied with their body image. The body image satisfaction had significant relationship with image perception ( P<0.001), current general health status ( P<0.001) and self weight assessment ( P<0.001). Mother's education had a statistically significant ( P=0.004) but negative relationship with outcome variable. Students with low weight (BMI <18.5 kg/m²) had a significantly higher (85.71%) prevalence of body image satisfaction while overweight students (BMI≤23 kg/m²) had a significantly higher (54.54%) prevalence of dissatisfaction ( P<0.001). Discussion: High body image satisfaction is reported in this study and was found to be significantly related to anthropometric measurements. On an encouraging note, this level needs to be preserved for overall mental and healthy development of students. Proactive preventive measures could be initiated on personality development, acceptance of self and individual differences while maintaining optimum weight and active life style.

Background: There is dearth of studies related to pattern of disability among persons who availed psychosocial rehabilitation services in India. We studied the pattern of disability among persons who availed half-way home-care services for psychosocial rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: Out of 130 case files of discharged patients, 50 files were randomly selected for data collection. Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Schedule was used to assess the pattern of disability in the sample. Results: The study revealed that only one-third (35%) of the residents had disability in self-care, 41% in communication and understanding and 47% in interpersonal relationship. Overall, majority (76%) of the respondents had moderate level of psychiatric disability at the time of discharge from half-way home. There was no significant relationship between gender and type of psychiatric illness with the level of disability. The overall disability correlated positively with the duration of illness (r_s=0.39). Conclusion: Three-fourth of the residents who availed half-way home-care services had moderate level of disability.