Owoidoho Udofia

Psychometric assessment of the Wagnild and Young's resilience scale in Kano, Nigeria

BackgroundResilience seemed to lie at the core of the recent promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing. This concept has been well studied in western countries and less in developing countries, particularly Nigeria. The aim of the study is therefore, to demonstrate the internal consistency and concurrent validity of the Resilience Scale (RS) and its 14-item short version (RS-14) in a Nigerian sample.ResultsThe RS, RS-14, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and two screening questions on experience of recent and upcoming distress were administered to 70 clinical students who consented to participate after a major professional examination. Internal consistency and convergent validity were assessed. The participants mean age was 22.50 years (SD = 0.60). The mean score of RS and RS-14 were 130.23 (SD = 17.08) and 74.17 (SD = 10.14) respectively. Cronbachs alpha coefficient for the RS was 0.87 and that of the RS-14 was 0.81. The mean RS score by gender was 132.04 (SD = 19.08) and 126.52 (SD = 11.50) for males and females respectively and the difference was significant (t = 2.50; p = 0.012). The correlation of RS with RS-14 (r = 0.97; p = 0.000), the HADS depression (r = -0.28; p = 0.017) and anxiety (r = -0.26; p = 0.028) subscales, were significant. The corresponding t-test values for the means of RS and RS-14 scores for both cases and non-cases as determined by HADS, were significant at p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 for the depression and anxiety subscales respectively. The difference between RS means of those who experienced distress (38/125.69) to those that did not (32/134.05) from the recent clinical examination was also significant (t = 2.01; p = 0.045).ConclusionsThe study confirms that the RS and RS-14 may be potentially useful instruments to measure resilience in Nigerians.

The profile and risks of suicidal behaviours in the Nigerian Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being.

BACKGROUND Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide but information about it is sparse in Sub-Saharan Africa. Suicide-related behaviours can provide an insight into the extent of this compelling consequence of mental illness. METHOD Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a representative sample of persons aged 18 years and over (n=6752) in 21 of Nigerias 36 states (representing about 57% of the national population). Suicide-related outcomes, mental disorders, as well as history of childhood adversities were assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). RESULTS Lifetime prevalence estimates of suicide ideation, plan and attempts were 3.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-6.5], 1.0% (95% CI 0.4-7.5) and 0.7% (95% CI 0.5-1.0) respectively. Almost two of every three ideators who made a plan went on to make an attempt. The highest risks for transition from ideation to plan and from plan to attempt were in the first year of having ideation or plan respectively. Mental disorders, especially mood disorders, were significant correlates of suicide-related outcomes. Childhood adversities of long separation from biological parents, being raised in a household with much conflict, being physically abused, or being brought up by a woman who had suffered from depression, anxiety disorder, or who had attempted suicide were risk factors for lifetime suicide attempt. CONCLUSIONS History of childhood adversities and of lifetime mental disorders identify persons at high-risk for suicide-related outcomes. Preventive measures are best delivered within the first year of suicide ideation being expressed.

Comorbidity and impact of chronic spinal pain in Nigeria.

Study Design. A cross-sectional survey of households selected using multistage stratified sampling. Objective. This paper investigates the prevalence of chronic spinal pain, its profile of comorbidity, and its impact on role disability in Nigeria. Summary of Background Data. Study was conducted in 21 states representing 57% of the national population. A probability sample (n = 2143) was interviewed. Methods. Self-reports of chronic spinal pain, other pain conditions, as well as comorbid medical conditions were obtained. Composite International Diagnostic Interview, version 3, was used to evaluate mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Functional role impairment was assessed with questions about days out of role. Results. Chronic spinal pain was present in 16.4% (95% confidence interval, 14.5%–18.5%) of the sample. Prevalence increased with age of respondents, with 1 in 3 persons 60 years of age and older reporting chronic spinal pain. Persons with chronic spinal pain were at elevated risk to have chronic pain at other anatomic sites, to have a range of medical comorbidities, and to have mood and substance use disorders. Even though about one third of the decrement in functional role performance associated with chronic pain condition was attributable to demographics and comorbid conditions, chronic spinal pain was independently associated with significant role impairment. Conclusion. Chronic spinal pain is a common problem in the Nigerian community, and persons 60 years of age and older may be at particularly elevated risk. Chronic spinal pain is associated with increased probability of comorbid physical and mental disorders. These comorbid conditions partly but do not fully explain the disability associated with chronic spinal pain, which therefore constitutes a substantial health burden on the society.

A comparative study of aggression amongst Nigerian University students in Niger Delta region

There is genuine concern over social violence and aggression among youths in many countries. Despite considerable efforts directed toward molding the pattern of model behavior, frequent disturbances and various antisocial vices among youths in our environment may be due to failure to acknowledge the risk factors associated with aggression. The objective of this study was to assess the level of aggressive traits among students in higher institutions, as well as identifying the possible predictive factors. Using a two-stage random sampling method, 515 fifteen students, comprising 306 from arts and 209 from medicine faculties, University of Uyo were screened for aggressive traits; using Buss-Perry Aggression (BPAQ) Questionnaire. A total of 306 arts students and 209 medical students fully completed the questionnaire. Among the arts students, 127 (41.5%) were males and 179 (58.5%) females. Similarly, of the 209 medical students, 143 (68.4%) were males and 66 (31.6%) females. The mean age for arts students was 28.7 years (SD = 7.9); while that of medical students was 23.6 years (SD = 4.9). The difference in the mean was statistically significant (t = 8.15, P = 0.001). A total of 139 (45 .4%) of arts students showed abnormal overall score for aggression as against 74 (35.4%) of medical students. This difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 5.139, P = 0.01). There was also significant difference in the physical and verbal aggression subscales as 123 (40.2%) of arts against 53 (25.4%) medical students showed physical aggression (χ2 = 12.15, P = 0.001), while 82 (26.8%) against 109 (52.2%) showed verbal aggression (χ2 = 34.218, P = 0.001). Verbal aggression was positively correlated with female students; males have 2.98 odds ratio of being aggressive (P = 0.001). There is a high level of aggressive traits among students in higher institutions of learning. This can manifest in behaviors and vices capable of disturbing public peace and academic activities in schools. Therefore, there is need to curb aggression in order to create conducive learning environment and maintain societal norms.

Violence against mental health staff: a survey in a Nigerian psychiatric hospital

Aims and method A survey was conducted to investigate physical assaults against mental health staff of a Nigerian psychiatric hospital in a 12-month period and also during their working career in the hospital retrospectively using a questionnaire method. Results In total, 101 out of 120 questionnaires were completed (response rate 84.2%). Within the period of their employment in the hospital 49.5% of staff had been physically assaulted at least once, and over the previous 12 months 33.7% had been physically assaulted. Nursing staff (82.3%) were more frequently assaulted than doctors, most often during routine assessment of patients (44.3%). In total, 88% of staff sustained injuries requiring medical attention. Vulnerability to assaults was not associated with attending a course on prevention and management of psychiatric patient violence. Clinical implications Assaults by patients against mental health staff, especially nurses, are quite widespread in Nigeria. There is a need to formulate policies on prevention and management of violence in people with mental disorders in Nigerian psychiatric hospitals.

Depression in patients with epilepsy in Northwestern Nigeria: Prevalence and clinical correlates

Background: The impact of seizure disorder on people living with epilepsy (PWE) is worsened by the occurrence of comorbid psychiatric disorders, such as depression, which have been found commonly in PWE. Despite the dire consequences comorbid depression has on PWE, it still remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression and associated clinical factors in PWE in Northwestern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A total of 255 consecutive patients with epilepsy aged 18 years and above, from two health facilities, were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Following completion of a structured proforma detailing sociodemographic and seizure characteristics, Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was administered to diagnose depression in the patients. Results: A total of 255 patients, with a mean age of 32 years (standard deviation = 1.31), comprising 147 (57.6%) males and 108 (42.4%) females were studied. Majority (79.2%) of the patients had primarily generalized seizure type. Overall, depressive disorder was present in 52 (20.4%) patients. A significant association was found between previous hospitalization for epilepsy (P = 0.009), increased frequency of seizures, (P = 0.004), and prolonged duration of epilepsy, (P = 0.006). The independent predictors of depression included duration of epilepsy (P = 0.0001), previous hospitalization for epilepsy (P = 0.011), and frequency of seizures (P = 0.028). Conclusion: Depression was common in PWE. Female gender, previous hospitalization for epilepsy, increased frequency of seizures and prolonged duration of epilepsy were associated with depression in PWE. Previous hospitalization for epilepsy, increased frequency of seizures, and prolonged duration of epilepsy were independent predictors of depression.

Paraphilia Among Undergraduates in a Nigerian University

There is a paucity of information regarding paraphilia in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to take a preliminary look at the prevalence of paraphilia in a population representative of young adults in Nigeria. A total of 871 randomly selected full-time undergraduate students aged 18 or more years and enrolled at the University of Calabar had their paraphilia self-administered proforma analyzed. For the purpose of this study probable paraphilia was defined as paraphilic symptoms lasting over 6 months and associated with moderate to severe distress. The combined prevalence of paraphilia which described the number of subjects with at least one paraphilia was 14.8%. The most prevalent paraphilia subtype was voyeurism while pedophilia was the least prevalent. Paraphilia was significantly more likely to be present among younger students. In contrast to most reports however, there was no significant relationship between gender and paraphilia. Paraphilia research should thus not exclude women or be restricted to populations dominated by men. Longitudinal studies should be carried out in the future to explore the relationship(s) between possible risk factors and paraphilia.

Fear of future terrorism: Associated psychiatric burden

BACKGROUND The mental health burden from fear of future terrorism has not been given much research attention compared to the immediate mental distress such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Such neglected ongoing mental health morbidity associated with threats of terrorism had been described as pre-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). OBJECTIVE The study highlighted this phenomenon (PTSS) in Nigeria by examining the catastrophic burden of the fear of future terrorism and associated psychiatric burden among adult population in Kaduna city. METHOD Participants were students and staff of Kaduna State University (KASU), Kaduna Polytechnic, and students awaiting admission into Kaduna State University. They responded to the following instruments after obtaining their informed consents: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Terrorism Catastrophising Scale (TCS), and the depression and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) portion of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). RESULTS The TCS showed that 78.8% of the participants had from moderate to severe clinical distress on fear of terrorism. The TCS has a Cronbachs alpha of 0.721 and also had significant moderate correlation with depression (r=0.278; p<0.01) and GAD (r=0.201; p<0.01) scales of MINI. CONCLUSION The study illustrated that the mental health burden from the fear of terrorism was high and this was relatively related to depression and GAD. This highlighted the need for ongoing monitoring and called for their effective prevention from the identified underlying cognitive mechanisms.

Personality characteristics, sports types, and demographics of Kano-State professional athletes

Background: Personality traits do influence the type of games that professional athletes participate in. Specific studies on this phenomenon are scare in Nigeria. Purpose of Study: This study examined the personality characteristics that influence some Nigerian professional athletes in their choice of games as individual or team sportsmen. It also relates significant personality traits with participants′ sociodemographic characteristics to identify any influence that may exist. Methods: Personality characteristics of 250 Kano-State professional athletes were assessed using the 100-item International Personality Item Pool. Information was also collected on participants′ sociodemographics, psychoactive substance using status, and game types. Results: Significant differences (P < 0.05) were noted in some personality traits between individual sport athletes and team sportsmen. Specifically, individual athletes were more extraverted and lower in conscientiousness (CO) compared to team sportsmen. Sociodemographic distributions based on significant personality traits of extraversion (EX) and CO show female gender to significantly contribute more to EX and less to CO. Other demographics significantly influencing higher EX is playing as professionals for <6 years. That associated with higher CO is to have <13 years of Western education. Conclusion: The study indicated that professional athletes′ choice of sports types were influenced by specific personality dimensions and that some demographic variables do play some roles in this.

Patient-centeredness: A Comparison of Doctors' Orientation by Specialty in a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria

Context: There is a dearth of research on the orientations physicians bring into the patients physicians relationship in Nigeria. More scare was to find which specialty doctors were high on patient-centered care. To breach this gap, the study looked at doctors′ orientation to patient-centeredness by specialty in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, a major tertiary health institution in North-Western Nigeria. Aim: This study aimed to determine the range of patient-centeredness by medical specialty among doctors working in AKTH, Kano. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which 110 physicians representing eight medical specialties in AKTH, Kano-Nigeria filled the sociodemographic questionnaire and Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). Statistical Analysis Used: Data collected were analyzed using IBM-SPSS 21 software using descriptive statistics to determine the frequency, cross-tabulations, means, and differences and Cronbach′s alphas to assess the PPOS internal consistency. Result: The three topmost patient-centered oriented specialties on all the three outcome scores are psychiatry, obstetrics/gynecology, and maxillofacial/dental unit (in descending order). Conversely, the lowest orientations are noted for internal medicine and family medicine specialties. Specialties with medium patient-centered orientation are surgery, radiology, and pediatrics. Conclusion: Our results concluded that the most patient-centered medical specialty in the place of study is psychiatry. It argued that low mortality rate and the chronic care practice model might be contributory factors. Elucidating on other contributing factors should be one of the challenges of future studies.