Measurement invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition across race with South African university students

Measurement invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition across race (Blacks and Whites) was examined in a sample of university students, from two universities from diverse geographical areas of South Africa ( N = 870). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (i.e., means and covariance structures) was used to test the factorial invariance of the hierarchical four-factor structure, composed of three first-order factors (i.e., Negative Attitude, Performance Difficulty, and Somatic Complaints) and one second-order general factor (Depression) found with South African students. Evidence of measurement invariance was established at the level of configural, metric, and scalar invariance. However, there were some evidence of differential additive response style across race—with two non-invariant intercepts (Item 5 and 14) being identified. Results also revealed significant latent mean differences favoring Black students on the Performance Difficulty and Somatic Complaints factors but not on the Negative Attitude factor. Findings suggest that the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition provides an assessment of the severity of depressive symptoms that is equivalent across race in university students.

Individual Psychotherapy as Treatment of Choice: Preliminary Findings from the UCT Child Guidance Clinic

Individual psychotherapeutic interventions conducted at the University of Cape Town Child Guidance Clinic (CGC) between 2000 and 2009 were investigated quantitatively with a view to offering informed conclusions on the current nature of clinical practice at the Clinic. Considering relevant socio-economic, political and pedagogical contexts of the Clinic's work, some observations are also offered on the applicability of such individual psychotherapeutic practice more generally in the local South African setting today. The 156 individual case files that make up the sample were reviewed and a broad range of clinical information was collated including data on clients' demographics, their presenting difficulties and interventions employed, as well as on clients' apparent clinical outcomes. Results indicated that clients' social class had little or no effect on clinical outcomes. The majority of clients in the sample appeared to have positive outcomes upon termination, despite a significant proportion of clients reporting histories of childhood sexual abuse and othertrauma. Trainee clinicians at the CGC appear to manage well, achieving what appear to be generally positive clinical results over relatively short time frames despite clinical inexperience and clients' often severe presenting difficulties. This, it is argued, attests to the power of individual work to unlock individual potential in the local context.

Prevalence, pattern and determinants of mental disorders in rural Bangladesh

OBJECTIVES

Very few studies have examined mental health morbidity in Bangladesh. This community-based study of rural Bangladesh in 2000-2001 estimated the burden of mental morbidity among rural people of working age.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Community surveys were conducted with one respondent from each household of three selected villages in the service provision area of a non-profit public health organization. General Health Questionnaire 60 (GHQ-60) was used as a screening tool in Stage I, and clinical examination by a Western-trained psychiatrist was undertaken for concurrent validation in Stage II.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders in this rural area was 16.5%. Depressive disorders and anxiety disorders constituted about one-half and one-third of the total cases, respectively. A significantly higher prevalence of mental disorders was found in the economically poor respondents, those over 45 years of age, and women from large families.

CONCLUSION

There is a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in rural Bangladesh. These findings should aid the planning of locally relevant and appropriate mental healthcare programmes. There is an urgent need for a national mental healthcare policy that strengthens primary mental healthcare services.

Descriptive profile of sex and psychiatric diagnosis among rural and peri-urban clinic attenders in South Africa

Of 1,232 patients receiving psychiatric medication in outlying areas of South Africa more than half had diagnoses of schizophrenia. Significantly more men than women had substance-induced psychosis, while significantly more women had depressive and anxiety disorders.