Psychometric properties of the Czech version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory - comparison between diagnostic groups.

OBJECTIVE: Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) is widely used self-rating questionnaire evaluating the severity of anxiety symptoms. The aim of our study was to confirm validity and reliability of Czech version of BAI, identify cut-off points and prove sensitivity to measure improvement after therapy. METHODS: The patients selected for the study were treated in the department of psychiatry, University Hospital Olomouc between January 2008 and 2014. Patients meeting criteria for anxiety, or depressive disorder were involved. RESULTS: 789 patients and 284 healthy controls agreed to participate in the study. Czech version of Beck anxiety inventory proved high internal consistency (α=0.92) and good test-retest reliability over one week (BAI seems to be independent of other used scales - Beck depression inventory and the Clinical Global Impression. BAI is also sensitive to measure change after therapy. CONCLUSION: Czech version of BAI was found to have enough internal stability and test-retest reliability same as the original version. It may also be useful to detect improvement after therapy.

Fighting stigma of mental illness in midsize European countries.

PURPOSE: Stigma is the most powerful obstacle to the development of mental health care. Numerous activities aiming to reduce the stigma of mental illness and the consequent negative discrimination of the mentally ill and their families have been conducted in Europe. Descriptions of many of these activities are not easily available, either because there are no publications that describe them, or because descriptions exist only in local languages. This supplement aims to help in overcoming this imbalance by providing a description of anti-stigma activities in 14 countries in Europe regardless of the language in which they were published and regardless whether they were previously published. METHODS: The review was undertaken by experts who were invited to describe anti-stigma activities in the countries in which they reside. It was suggested that they use all the available evidence and that they consult others in their country to obtain a description of anti-stigma activities that is as complete as possible. RESULTS: The anti-stigma activities undertaken in the countries involved are presented in a tabular form. The texts contributed by the authors focus on their perception of the stigma of mental illness and of activities undertaken to combat it in their country. CONCLUSIONS: Although much has been done against the stigmatization and discrimination of the mentally ill, fighting stigma remains an essential task for mental health programs and for society. The descriptions summarized in this volume might serve as an inspiration for anti-stigma work and as an indication of potential collaborators in anti-stigma programs.

The quality of life of patients suffering from schizophrenia--a comparison with healthy controls.

BACKGROUND: In the past, the first goal of schizophrenia treatment was to reduce psychotic symptoms, mainly positive symptoms. Recently, as a result of an emphasis on patient needs, the concept of quality of life (QoL) has been brought into the treatment. The goal has therefore changed from the alleviation of symptoms to improvement of the patient's satisfaction with social activities. Self-evaluations by people with schizophrenia were previously thought to lack reliability because of the presence of psychopathological symptoms and poor awareness of the disease. Recently the importance of evaluating the satisfaction of patients themselves, however, has been recognized in schizophrenia. Studies on this field showed us, that QoL data from patients with chronic mental illness were reliable and concluded that subjective QoL evaluation was applicable to such patients. AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to compare the QoL in patients suffering from schizophrenia in clinical remission with healthy controls and examine the extent of the effects of subjective cognitive functioning on QoL in these patients. METHODS: Data were obtained using the quality of life questionnaire (Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction--Q-LES-Q), and subjective questionnaire for cognitive dysfunction (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire--CFQ) for 40 schizophrenia patients in clinical remission and 40 healthy controls. RESULTS: Cognitive function correlates negatively with subjective QoL in patients with schizophrenia.