A Short Commentary on Non-specialist-mediated Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability delineated by social and communication impairments, restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, and sensory hypo- or hyper reactivity to sensory inputs. Early recognition and timely intervention are essential for individuals with ASD and the long-term prognosis for these individuals. The specialist-mediated interventions can be expensive for patients, their families, and the healthcare system. It is important to provide a naturalistic intervention, especially in the context of cost issues, the impact of early intervention of prognosis, limited resources in developing countries, lack of healthcare providers, and healthcare disparities. The current article reviews non-specialist-mediated interventions of children and adolescents with ASD.

Association of bullying experiences with depressive symptoms and psychosocial functioning among school going children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association of bullying experiences with depressive symptoms and psychosocial functioning among children and adolescents in rural Pakistan. A total of 452 school-going children in Nawabshah, Pakistan were conveniently interviewed to assess rates of bullying experiences and severity of depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents. RESULTS: Experience of victimization was reported by 130 (28.8%) and perpetration by (146, 32.3%). A total of 162 (35.80%) reported mild depressive symptoms, 88 (19.50%) moderate, 33 (7.30%) moderately severe and 19 (4.20%) severe depressive symptoms. Age was not associated with patterns of bullying other than pure bully perpetration (.12, P = .024). Both victims and perpetrators of bullying experienced adverse emotional and social consequences. Bully-perpetrators exhibited the greater severity of depressive symptoms due to distress in psychosocial functioning.

Trends in Bullying and Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties Among Pakistani Schoolchildren: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Seven Cities.

Background: Bullying and peer victimization among adolescents are growing public health concerns that affect victims' emotional well-being, and their social and academic functioning. Despite concerns about this public health epidemic in low- and middle-income countries, most prevalence, policy and intervention studies have been conducted in developed countries and economies. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2016 and July 2017 at seven public and private schools located in five districts in Pakistan: Lodhran, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Multan, Thatta, and Nawabshah. A total of 2,315 schoolchildren were surveyed with a specially designed instrument in Urdu with items about demographics and bullying behavior, together with a strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 14.63 (2.87) years. More than half of the respondents were males (n = 1301, 56.2%), and a majority reported that their mothers were housewives (n = 2,100, 90.7%). A total of 615 (26.6%) respondents reported being bullied at school, and 415 (17.9%) reported being bullied away from school. Perpetration of bullying was reported by 430 (18.6%) participants at school and 376 (16.3%) away from school. Being bullied in the past was strongly associated with becoming a perpetrator of bullying in the future. Internalizing symptoms were significantly associated with male gender, older age, being a victim of bullying, and employment status of the respondent's mother. Externalizing symptoms were significantly associated with male gender, older age, being a victim and perpetrator of bullying, and mother's employment status. Conclusion: Bullying perpetrators have a greater tendency to exhibit externalizing symptoms, whereas victims develop both externalizing and internalizing psychopathologies.

Exploring clusters of defense styles, psychiatric symptoms and academic achievements among medical students: a cross-sectional study in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: The clusters of participants with a homogeneous psychological make-up can be identified using sophisticated machine learning techniques such as the two-step clustering algorithm. It can also help us to identify the synergistic and additive effects of a range of psychometric variables. The identification of synergistic effect of this clustering of defense mechanism has significant practical implications as they share a certain variance. This study aims to identify the clusters of ego defenses and their relationship with academic performance and mental health outcome in medical students. RESULTS: The high achievers scored higher on mature and neurotic defense styles and lower on immature than their counter parts. A higher proportion of medical students in high achievers group had normal scores on depressive symptoms than low achievers. While a majority among low achievers suffered from severe anxiety levels than high achievers group. High achievers scored higher on sublimation, humor, anticipation, suppression, pseudo-altruism, idealization, reaction formation, autistic fantasy, denial, and rationalization.

Suicide and Its Legal Implications in Pakistan: A Literature Review.

In recent decades, great strides have been made in understanding the science of suicide. Thus, it is imperative that Pakistani legal systems bridge the gap between Pakistani law and science. For instance, recent discoveries in public health, psychology, and neurobiology have shaped the etiological model of suicidal behavior and highlighted the high preponderance of certain psychiatric patients towards suicide. We present here a brief overview of psychiatric evidence implicated in suicides to better inform the Pakistani legal system of advances in the psychiatric literature.