Helen Hornsby

Seasonality of Mania: A Tasmanian Study

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the seasonal incidence of mania in a new Southern Hemisphere location. Method: Using the Tasmanian psychiatric database, monthly admission rates were compared with expected admission rates for mania for the period 1983 to 1989. ICD-9 criteria for mania single episode (296.0) and mania recurrent episodes (296.1) were used, excluding individuals with a bipolar disorder (296.4 to 296.89). Results: One thousand three hundred and twenty-eight persons were admitted during this period. There was a significant monthly variation with admissions occurring most commonly in the summer, but this was not consistent during the seven year period. Conclusions: There was a statistically significant but inconstant summer excess. The inconstancy of the finding suggests that the phenomenon is not a simple consequence of light duration, and closer examination of these inconsistencies may lead to further elucidation of the phenomenon.

Urban‐rural differences in dietary habits and influences among Australian adolescents

Junior high school students (2,082) in Tasmania, Australia, were surveyed using a printed questionnaire. For 22 commonly‐used foods collectively, MANOVA indicated that rural students differed significantly from urban students in their consumption frequency for the foods, their perception of the usage of the foods by their parents and their friends, their liking for the foods and their perceptions of those foods’ healthfulness. Regression analyses for the 22 foods separately indicated that liking for a food and parental usage of it were generally significantly linked to the respondents frequency of using it; there were few urban‐rural differences in this pattern. A foods healthfulness (as perceived by the respondent) and friends’ usage of it were significantly linked to personal usage frequency only for a minority of foods; the regression analyses suggested that rural students gave less weight than urban students to health considerations and to perceived peer behavior in their food choices. These results suggest differences in food cognition between urban and rural adolescents.

Psychiatric characteristics of female prisoners in Tasmania.

Objective: The aim of the paper is to describe some of the psychiatric, social and criminological features of female prisoners in Tasmania between 1981 and 1990 inclusive. Method: Data were collated from prison records for all 210 women prisoners incarcerated between the above dates. Using the Mental Health Services database it was determined which prisoners had prior contact with State Psychiatric Services, their clinical state, various demographic data and ICD-9 diagnoses. Forensic data obtained from prison records were compared for those with and those without a psychiatric history of attendance at Mental Health Services; appropriate privacy safeguards were used in handling the material. Results: Thirty-five per cent of prisoners had prior contact with the Mental Health Services before imprisonment. They were predominantly persons with an abnormal personality. Non-addictive drug abuse was the next most common psychiatric category (19%). Only 3% suffered from schizophrenia or affective disorder. Those with prior psychiatric presentation had greater social maladjustment, longer sentences for similar offences and a higher recidivism rate. There was an increase in the number of prisoners with and without a psychiatric diagnosis during the decade. Conclusions: Thirty-five per cent of the female prison population had previously attended psychiatric services in the State. This is fewer than reported in Britain and the US, probably because of the different social structure of this community. These persons differ from other prisoners by showing greater impairment in social adjustments and relationships. They appear to be treated differently with respect to sentencing. There was no evidence of a simple reciprocal relationship between deinstitutionalisation and imprisonment.