Journal of the Psychiatric Association of Thailand

The Psychiatric Association of Thailand During the Past 70 Years: From Past to Present

2024-01-31T14:10:23+07:00

The Psychiatric Association of Thailand (PAT) was founded in 1953 by Prof. Phon Sangsingkeo. So, in 2023 the PAT has celebrated its 70^th anniversary. This special article aims to review both academic and social activities of PAT during the past 70 years. Lists of presidents editors and outstanding Thai psychiatrists are presented. Moreover, Thai psychiatrists. who were presidents or members of the executive committee of international psychiatric organizations are also summarized. From the beginning until now, PAT and members have been recognized widely by various organizations such as World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), World Psychiatric Association (WPA) which we should very proud of.

Social skills and associated factors of late elementary school children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at child and adolescent psychiatric unit, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

2023-10-01T19:39:55+07:00

Objective: This study aimed to determine the associations between parenting practices, sociodemographic factors, and social skills in children with ADHD.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, from December 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023. This study recruited parents and children with ADHD who were enrolled in late elementary schools. The sociodemographic status of both children and parents was collected using questionnaires. In addition, child interviews and Thai version standardized tests such as the Screening for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham IV scale (SNAP-IV), the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), and the Social Skill Questionnaire (SSQ) were utilized in this study. Associations between factors and social skills were analyzed using multiple linear regression with a 0.05 significance threshold.

Results: One hundred and twelve ADHD patients and their parents were included in the study. 83.0 percent of the patients were male, and 41.1 percent had at least one comorbidity. Positive factors associated with social skills were positive parenting scores (β=0.2, p=0.04), a good child-teacher relationship (β=4.5, p=0.006 and β=6.51, p<0.001 for children with moderate and satisfactory relationships compared to the poor group, respectively), and receiving behavioral modifications in the past 3 months (β=2.8, p=0.05). Social skills were negatively associated with negative parenting scores (β=-0.3, p=0.009), male gender (β=-6.9, p=0.002), physical illness (β=-11.6, p<0.001), predominant inattentiveness (β=-8.8, p<0.001), combine type (β=-7.3, p<0.001), and symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (β=-5.9, p<0.001).

Conclusion: It is crucial to combine clinical treatments for ADHD using medication and improving environmental factors. This includes offering positive parenting guidance, which consists of involving parents in child-rearing and fostering effective parental roles, along with promoting a healthy parent-child relationship and cultivating a positive teacher-student relationship. These efforts, combined with behavior modification interventions, are likely to yield favorable outcomes for social skills development in children with ADHD.

Behavioral and mental impact of school reopening during the COVID-19 post-pandemic in elementary school students under Bangkok metropolitan administration: A Cross-Sectional Study

2023-12-21T14:59:44+07:00

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of behavioral and mental health challenges in Thai primary school children post-school reopening in the 2022 academic year during the COVID-19 post-pandemic

Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among elementary school students aged 6 - 12 years in randomly selected public schools within the educational institutions under the Office of Primary Education District 1 (Ratchathewi, Phayathai, Dusit) of Bangkok, Thailand, after the onset of Semester 1 in 2022. The survey period spanned from January to March 2023. The Thai version of the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to evaluate children's mental health and behaviors by primary caregivers. Pearson Chi-Square, Fisher’s Exact Test, and multivariable logistic regression models were applied for analyzing associated factors.

Results: A total of 430 Students underwent assessment. Most children (69.3%) were aged 6 - 9 (grades 1 - 3), with almost equal gender representation. Our results indicated that 9.8% of children exhibited behavioral and mental health issues following the 2022 school year commencement. Prevalent difficulties included peer relationship (11.2%), hyperactivity/inattention (10.9%), emotional (8.8%), and conduct problems (7.4%). Although peer relationship problems did not associate significantly with any of the factors, Hyperactivity/inattention problems associate with children who had underlying psychological conditions (OR = 6.74). Emotional issues were associated with sleep disturbances and partial assisting of parents during online courses. Additionally, conduct problems were linked with inadequate online learning access (OR = 3.42) and having child - caregiver conflict (OR=10.11).

Conclusion: Thai primary school children faced various emotional and behavioral challenges upon the reopening of schools in Semester 1 of the 2022 academic year following the COVID-19 pandemic. Key issues included peer relationship problems and hyperactivity/inattention behaviors. These challenges were associated with mental health difficulties, sleep disturbances, inadequate parental support for online learning, and conflicts with parents. Continuous research tracking pre- and post-pandemic mental health changes is crucial for addressing these concerns. Effective support from the government, communities, schools, and families is necessary to facilitate a smoother transition for students returning to physical classrooms and address emotional and behavioral problems.

Weight change and associated factors in children and adolescents with depression after 1 year treatment at Siriraj hospital

2023-11-29T15:31:51+07:00

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate weight changes in children and adolescents with depressive disorder after 1 year of treatment, and to explore the associations between weight gain and associated factors.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on children and adolescents diagnosed with depressive disorder by psychiatrist at Siriraj Hospital from 2013 to 2019. Initial and post-1-year treatment weights were collected and categorized into 5 groups (very underweight, underweight, average, overweight, and obese) based on standard growth curves. Associated factors, including gender, age, type and duration of medication, comorbidities, and substance use, were recoded. Data were analyzed using mean, median, mode, and logistic regression analyses.

Results: This study included 202 cases, with an average age of 13.8 years. After 1 year of treatment, 141 cases (69.7%) showed no changes in weight, 18 cases (9.0 %) exhibited weight loss, and 43 cases (21.3 %) demonstrated weight gain. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the initial weight groups of very underweight (OR=6.78 (1.25–36.37), p=0.026), underweight (OR=10.61 (3.59–31.34), p<0.001), and overweight (OR=10.97 (3.93–30.58), p<0.001) were significantly associated with weight gain compared to the average weight group. Other studied factors were not associated with weight gain after 1 year of treatment.

Conclusions: The majority of children and adolescents with depressive disorder do not experience weight changes after 1 year of treatment. Factors associated with weight change include the initial weight, with the very underweight, underweight and overweight groups showing significant associations with weight gain.

Quality of life and alignment between parent- and child-report among children and adolescents with disorders of sex development at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

2023-11-07T07:56:19+07:00

Objective: The study aimed to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the alignment between parent- and child-report among children and adolescents with disorders of sex development.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital between October 2022, and May 2023. The Thai version Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 Generic Core Scale (PedsQL™) was applied to assessing HRQoL and was administered to forty-seven children and adolescents with disorders of sex development aged 8 to 18 years and their parents.

Results: Forty-seven participants were recruited in the present study, mean age of 13.18 ± 3.24 years, and 51.1% identified themselves as male. The mean total quality of life score from the PedsQL™ was 87.58 ± 9.92 as reported by children, and 72.06 ± 17.94 as reported by parents. The differences between the child-reported and parent-reported quality of life were significant (mean difference = 15.52, t(47) = 6.292, P <.001). Parents rated their children’s quality of life lower than the children themselves in all subscales.

Conclusion: Children and adolescents with disorders of sex development had a more favorable self-perception of their quality of life than what was assessed by parents. In order to support optimal treatment planning and care, it is crucial for physicians to understand the quality of life experienced by these patients.

Reliability and Validity of the Thai version of the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being questionnaire

2023-11-06T09:46:39+07:00

Objective: Currently, positive psychology is being applied in the care of mental health patients, as well as in promoting mental well-being. However, there is still no specific Thai-language well-being assessment tool available for children and adolescents. The objective of this research is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Thai version of the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being questionnaire, which is used to assess the well-being of children and adolescents.

Methods: The EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being questionnaire, which consists of 5 domains (Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, and Happiness), with each domain containing 4 questions, for a total of 20 questions, has been translated into Thai and back-translated by a professional translator. Cognitive debriefing was done and the translated questionnaire was adjusted until obtained a final complete version. The Thai version EPOCH, World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and The Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (PHQ-A) (for depression assessment) were distributed to 240 participants aged 10-18 years from 3 schools in Chiang Mai province. Data was collected at 4-week intervals from a subset of 58 randomized participants. The data was then analyzed, and reliability and validity were evaluated.

Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the overall scale and the Perseverance, Optimism, Happiness domains were 0.897, 0.808, 0.806, and 0.804, respectively, indicating good reliability. The Connectedness domain had a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.730, indicating acceptable reliability, while the Engagement domain had a coefficient of 0.676, indicating questionable reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficients within the scale were 0.740, indicating moderate reliability, and within the domains were in the moderate to good range. There was a significant positive correlation (p<0.001) between the scores of the EPOCH and WHO-5 measures, both in the overall scores and in each domain. The scores of the EPOCH and PHQ-A measures also had a significant negative correlation (p<0.001) in all domains, except for the Engagement.

Conclusion: The Thai version of the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being questionnaire has good statistical reliability and validity and can be used for research purposes and clinical assessments in the Thai child and adolescent population.

The Development of Social Media Users' Quality of Life Scale

2023-10-10T22:07:50+07:00

Objective: To develop the social media users’ quality of life scale. that has confidence in internal consistency and construct validity within acceptable level.

Methods: To develop the Social Media Users’ Quality of Life scale (SMQ), the questionnaire was originally composed of 36 questions, which were then reduced to 30 questions according to the expert’s suggestion. The questions were selected based on the value of communalities and the measurement of internal consistency by identifying Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Moreover, the construct validity was measured through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and the latent profile analysis (LPA) were performed to categorize social media users according to their quality-of-life level.

Results: The research data collection was conducted online. The research samples accounted for 1,293 social media users aged 13 years and older (the mean age 38.17 years) in four generations. The questionnaire was modified to contain 27 questions based on the value of communalities. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that all question items had loading factors of >0.4. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the model fitted with the empirical data at χ2/df = 4.7, GFI= 0.92, CFI= 0.90, RMR= 0.04, RMSEA=0.05. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were measured in four domains: sociopsychological domain, relationship domain, mental and capacity support domain, and physical domain with values of 0.74, 0.82, 0.76 and 0.82 respectively. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of SMQ was 0.78. Latent profile analysis was achieved to provide appropriate cut-off points to categorize the level of quality of life of social media users by generations into 3 groups (low, moderate, and high groups).

Conclusion: The SMQ has quality in terms of validity and reliability is within acceptable level.