Based on the Nevid & Morrison Libertarian Mental Health Ideology Scale, the present study shows a conceptual/ideological shift in medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry after a 6-week psychiatry course. The resultant attitudes were more in line with those of teaching staff than those of the clinical team. Overall, the students developed a more positive view of psychiatry.

A two-stage case-identification method, using a modified General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS), was applied in a pilot study of mental disorders in an urban city in Taiwan. The validity of the modified GHQ was proved to be greater than that of the original, with a very high sensitivity and specificity. The Chinese version of the CIS was found to be feasible for community study in Taiwan. The total prevalence rate of all mental disorders was 26·0%, with a higher morbidity among females.

Affiliation preferences among 100 Israeli out-patients with major illness were assessed in waiting room interviews. Patients preferred healthy others over being with fellow sufferers or alone, and avoided illness as a discussion topic. Secondary preference for being alone rather than with co-patients rose slightly with reported anxiety. Findings contradict the emotional comparison hypothesis that misery seeks out co-sufferers.

The gradual shift towards non-institutional treatment for severe and chronic psychiatric illnesses has been accompanied by a recognition of potentially harmful effects (‘burden’) upon the patient's caregivers. This paper aims to provide a framework for the development of further research into the burden of ‘community care’ by offering a clear definition of the burden concept, an exposition of the criteria for evaluating rating scales to measure the concept, a review of major rating scales of burden, and some suggestions for improvements in methodology which are urgently required.

This study examines the problems of client under-attendance at a psychiatric day centre. Demographic, psychiatric, psychometric and Semantic Differential measures were used. Several of these measures were significantly associated with under-attendance. Various methods are suggested for the identification of and reduction of the level of under-attendance.

Two patients with severe anorexia nervosa developed hypoglycaemic coma which was fatal in one case. Physical exertion may have contributed to this complication.

An outline is provided of an experimental study of the classification of mental ill-health presented to general practitioners (GPs). Videotaped real-life consultations were assessed by 27 GPs for the purpose. A high degree of inter-observer variation was recorded. Some of the implications of the findings are discussed.

The study investigated the ability of 10 patients with Asperger's syndrome to recognize and produce non-verbal aspects of facial and spoken (e.g. vocal intonation) communication by use of photographs, audiotape and videotape. It also aimed to establish materials to differentiate individuals with this condition from a comparable non-Asperger group. Asperger subjects tended to be poorer than comparable patients on all subtests.

The parents of 120 children referred for possible tonsillectomy to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon were studied. There was no evidence that a desire for the operation fulfilled ‘psychological needs’ for parents or was a means of coping with a ‘deviant’ child. Parents favouring tonsillectomy were less well informed, and the educational role of the general practitioner in reducing the small number of those who inappropriately pressurize medical services is highlighted.

The 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) were administered to 120 consecutive attendere at a general practice in Northern Italy run by a doctor who had a formal psychiatric training. The Italian versions of both the GHQ and the CIS were found to be feasible instruments for general practice studies in Italy. GHQ misclassification rates, sensitivity and specificity values are presented for different cut-off scores, a total score of 5 or more being the best discriminator between ‘cases’ and ‘non-cases’. The prevalence of confirmed cases in this sample was 47·5%, a rate higher than those reported so far in developed and developing countries.