Social Capital of Parents of Children and Adolescents and Its Relation to Psychiatric Disorders; A Population-Based Study.

Social capital is a complex concept that is considered an effective factor in the development of societies. Considering the importance of burdens of psychiatric disorders in Iran, we studied the relationship between various dimensions of social capital of parents of children and adolescents and psychiatric disorders among them. In this cross-sectional study, 18,940 parents of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years old were randomly selected from all provinces of Iran and were evaluated by the Millon clinical multiaxial inventory-III (MCMI-III) and a modified version of Nahapiet and Ghoshal questionnaire. MCMI-III was designed as a self-report tool for investigating psychiatric clinical disorders and personality traits in the general population. Modified Nahapiet and ghoshal questionnaire has 20 items and measures four components of social capital included trust, values, communication, and collaboration. Validity and reliability of both questionnaires have been approved in Iran. In the regression model, the relationship between social capital components and clinical and sever clinical syndromes, in the form of regression weight and standard weight for trust was - 0.558 and - 0.062 with p value less than 0.0001, and for values was - 0.466 and - 0.057, respectively, with p value less than 0.0001. There was a reverse correlation between social capital components of parents of children and adolescents and psychiatric disorders in Iran. In regression statistical models, the two components of values and trust were negative predictors of psychiatric disorders. Considering the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iran, it seems that the strengthening of cognitive and structural aspects of social capital of parents of children and adolescents is one of the effective factors in reducing the prevalence of these disorders among them.

A Survey on Mental Health Status of Adult Population Aged 15 and above in the Province of Golestan, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: This research aims to determine the mental health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of Golestan in 2015. METHODS: The statistical population of this cross-sectional field survey consisted of residents of urban and rural areas of Golestan province in Iran. An estimated sample size of 1200 people was chosen using systematic random cluster sampling. The access was provided by the contribution of Geographical Post Office of Gorgan, Gonbad-e-Qabus, and Aqqala cities. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used as the screening tool for mental disorders. The analysis of data in the current study was carried out using the SPSS-18 computer software. RESULTS: Using GHQ traditional scoring method, the results showed that 12.8% of the subjects showed to be at risk of mental disorders (13.3% of females and 12.3% of males). Urban areas (13%) were more at risk of mental disorders compared with rural residents (12.3%). Anxiety and somatization symptoms were more frequent than depression and social dysfunction among respondents. The obtained data revealed that the prevalence of mental disorders increased with age. The results also indicated that mental disorders were more common in certain subgroups, in particular women, those aged 65 years and above, the divorced and widowed, illiterate and retired adults. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that one eighth of the participants were at risk of developing mental disorders. Although the prevalence of these disorders has decreased from 39.1% to 12.8% between 1999 and 2015, it is still of great importance to further promote mental health policies and advocate psychological welfare of those suffering from mental disorders along with their re-empowerment.