Olivera Zikic

Anxiety and Depressiveness in Students With Childhood War-Related Experiences

The aim of this study was to determine differences in intensity of anxiety and depressiveness, as well as the frequency of the clinically relevant form of these emotions, in students exposed to warfare during childhood. The study included 324 students from Serbia and Kosovo, 18–25 years of age. At the time of the clashes (in 1999), their ages ranged from 6 to 13 years. We used a general questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory I (BDI-I), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Approximately two thirds of the examinees had clinically significant anxiety, while one third had clinically significant depressiveness. Females had a higher intensity of anxiety (16.22 vs. 11.6; p < .001) and depressiveness (9.57 vs. 7.05; p = .004) than males. Examinees who reported war-related experiences (WREs) from two or three types of events had more intense anxiety (p = .013) and depressiveness (p = .013) than a group with one or no WREs. There was an association between WREs during childhood and anxiety as well as depression in adolescence that was more prominent in females.

Prescribing practices in Southeastern Europe – focus on benzodiazepine prescription at discharge from nine university psychiatric hospitals

There is much concern about the widespread long-term use of benzodiazepines. Our manuscript addressed its use in the region of Southeastern Europe, which seems extensive, but insufficiently explored. At nine university psychiatric hospitals (Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia), we retrospectively analyzed discharge summary documents to find the prevalence of discharge benzodiazepine prescriptions and the prescribed benzodiazepine doses. This study included 1047 adult subjects and showed that 81.9% of them had benzodiazepines prescribed in the discharge summary document, with high mean daily dose of around 5mg lorazepam equivalents. Factors associated with the prescriptions were exclusively clinical factors (diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, more lifetime hospitalizations, psychiatric comorbidity, co-prescription of antidepressant or mood stabilizer, shorter duration of the hospitalization), while socio-demographic factors were not found to influence benzodiazepine discharge prescriptions. Similarly, factors which influenced the prescription of higher daily benzodiazepine dose were more lifetime psychiatric hospitalizations and co-prescription of antidepressant or mood stabilizer, as well as the diagnosis of mental/behavioral disorders due to substance use and co-prescribed antipsychotic. Our data are emphasizing an urgent need for guidelines and improved education of both health care professionals and patients, in order to prevent long term benzodiazepine (mis)use and related side-effects.

Anxiety, Depression and Childhood War Trauma

Introduction Previous research has confirmed that various types oftrauma, related to both wartime and peacetime, can negatively affectpsychological development and promote the occurrence of mental disorders inyouth and adults. Results of previous studies in the field of post-conflictmental health suggest that certain psychological consequences can persist foryears after traumatic events. Objectives For this reason we have decided to investigate thepresence of anxiety and depression in young people who were exposed towar-related trauma during childhood. Special emphasis is given to clinicallysignificant forms of these emotions. Aims The aim of the study was todetermine the differences in intensity and frequency of clinically relevantanxiety and depression in students exposed to warfare during childhood. Methods The study comprised 324students from Serbia and Kosovo, aged 18-25, exposed to war-related events(WREs) during childhood. We used the Generalquestionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory I (BDI-I), and the BeckAnxiety Inventory (BAI). Results Approximately 2/3 of all of the examinees had clinicallysignificant anxiety, while 1/3 had clinically significant depression. Thefemales had higher intensity of anxiety (16.22 vs. 11.6; p Conclusions There is an association between WREs duringchildhood and anxiety as well as depression in adolescence, more prominent infemales.

Anxiety in patients with acute coronary syndromes

Anxiety is frequently encountered in acute coronary syndrome. It is believed that the prevalence of anxiety among cardiac patients is between 15 and 50%. The goal of our study was to determine whether there is an association between current anxiety and anxiety tendency in patients with acute coronary syndrome. A secondary goal was to establish possible distinct features of acute coronary syndromes in patients with the anxiety. Methods and results: Our study included 30 patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome. To obtain additional data on physical and mental health, we applied specially designed and validated questionnaires. In a groups without the anxiety and intensive anxiety there were no patients, while in the group with mild anxiety there were 21 patients (70%) and 9 patients had moderate anxiety (30%). The average number of hospital treatments was significantly higher in patients with moderate anxiety (average 2.3). Patients who were first time hospitalized due to cardiovascular disease, at the highest percentage (81%) had low current anxiety. Those patients who had intensive anxiety traits and propensity to anxiety response had the highest average number of hospital days (9 days). Patients who had intensive anxiety traits had the lowest values ​​of internal locus of control (had feeling that only themselves were cause of the disease). Conclusions: Current anxiety and anxious personality structure are strongly associated with the course of the coronary heart disease. In particular, this refers to the length of hospital stay and number of hospitalizations.

How It Looks When Negotiations Fail: Why Do We Need Specific and Specialized Training for International Negotiators?

It would be nice to be capable of anticipating events, particularly those negative ones that happen to everybody during their lifetime. Then, we would be able to better prepare for their coming and fight the potential consequences. Unfortunately, fortune-telling is not one of the skills we have available to us as human beings. We can only rely on our up-to-date experience and available information. It is even worse if such events happen somehow, suddenly and unexpectedly (Aquilar and Galluccio 2008). Just that happened to ordinary Serbians during recent decades. Probably, there were a certain number of those who could have anticipated the future sequence of events, but ordinary people had not even thought that something like that could have happened to us and our country.