Introduction: The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in Portuguese medical students compared to students of other faculties, and the possible impact those symptoms have on academic performance.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 750 students: 512 medical students and 238 nonmedical students. All students anonymously completed a socio-demographic survey and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation coefficient or Kruskal-Wallis test.Results: We found a prevalence of 21.5% (n = 161) for anxiety symptoms and 3.7% (n = 28) for depressive symptoms. Being a medical student was more significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety (p = 0.034) compared with other students. Depressive symptoms were slightly associated with poor academic performance (p < 0.01). A percentage of 59.6% (n = 96) of students with anxiety symptoms and 46.4% (n = 13) of students with depressive symptoms did not seek medical or psychological care at that time.Discussion: Medical students in this sample seem to have more symptoms of anxiety, possibly explained by a higher number of female students in that sample. Depressive symptoms could be associated with poor academic performance in both groups, but an evident correlation was not established.Conclusion: Considering the high levels of anxiety symptoms, the possible impact of depressive symptoms in academic performance and the lack of psychiatric or psychological follow-up reported in this study, it is urgent to develop adequate means of support to improve students’ well-being and mental health.

Introduction: In the last few decades, the rates of international medical migration have continuously risen. In Psychiatry, there is great disparity in the workforce between high and low-income countries. Yet, little is known about the 'push' and 'pull' factors and the migratory intentions of trainees. This study aims to assess the factors impacting the decisions of psychiatric trainees in Portugal towards migration. Material and Methods: A questionnaire was developed in the Brain Drain study and was distributed to psychiatric trainees in Portugal. Results: The sample consists of 104 psychiatric trainees (60.6% female). Overall, 40.4% of the trainees had prior experience of living abroad and the majority (96.9%) felt that this experience influenced their attitude towards migration in a positive way. About 75% of trainees had 'ever' considered leaving the country, but the majority (70.0%) had not taken any 'practical steps' towards migration. The main reasons to stay in Portugal were personal, while the main reason to leave was financial. The majority of the trainees (55.7%) were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their income, working conditions and academic opportunities. Discussion: Working conditions, salaries and academic opportunities are the main triggers for the migration of psychiatric trainees from Portugal. Conclusion: These results may inform the decisions of stakeholders in the health and education sectors and point out the necessary investments required and the impact it may have on the workforce. RESUMOIntrodução: Nas últimas décadas, a migração médica internacional tem aumentado continuamente. Na Psiquiatria, existe uma grande disparidade de recursos humanos entre países desenvolvidos e com baixo desenvolvimento económico. No entanto, pouco se sabe sobre os fatores que atraem (push) ou afastam (pull) a mobilidade e quais as intenções migratórias dos internos de psiquiatria. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar os fatores que influenciam o processo de tomada de decisão dos internos de Psiquiatria em Portugal relativamente à migração. Material e Métodos: Um questionário foi desenvolvido no âmbito do estudo Brain Drain, e foi enviado aos internos de Psiquiatria em Portugal.Resultados: A amostra é constituída por 104 internos de Psiquiatria (60,6% do sexo feminino). No geral, 40,4% dos internos tiveram uma experiência de mobilidade e a maioria (96,9%) sentiu que esta os influenciou positivamente na sua atitude em relação à migração. Cerca de 75% dos internos já considerou emigrar, mas a maioria (70,0%) não deu nenhum passo nessa direção. A principal razão para permanecer no país prende-se com factores pessoais, enquanto o principal motivo para emigrar é financeiro. A maioria (55,7%) dos internos estava insatisfeito ou muito insatisfeito com o seu salário, condições de trabalho e oportunidades académicas. Discussão: Condições de trabalho, salários e oportunidades académicas são os principais estímulos para a emigração nos internos de Psiquiatria em Portugal. Conclusão: Estes resultados poderão apoiar a...

No abstract

Comprehensive social cognition training programs have been effective to improve social cognition in people with chronic schizophrenia, although there is insufficient quality evidence for recent‐onset psychosis. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) in a sample of recent‐onset schizophrenia outpatients. Sixteen participants who had their first psychotic episode for less than 2 years were randomly allocated to the SCIT group during 20 weeks (weekly sessions) or to a psychoeducation group and completed baseline and post‐training assessment for cognitive biases, social cognition, clinical symptoms and functioning. Permutation‐based analysis revealed improvements in overall functioning (P = 0.036) and blame score (P = 0.070) in the SCIT group compared to the psychoeducation intervention, with large effect sizes (d = 1.438 and d = 1.204, respectively). There were also large effect sizes for hostility, emotion recognition, social perception, positive and total symptoms (d = 0.833‐1.158). These results suggest that SCIT may be an effective tool to improve attributional biases and functional outcomes in recent‐onset schizophrenia outpatients. Future controlled trials with larger sample size and follow‐up assessments should be developed to further understand effective intervention outcomes for this population.

In psychiatric classifications, hallucinations (mainly auditory hallucinations) are one of the fundamental criteria for establishing a schizophrenia diagnosis or any of the related psychotic disorder's diagnoses. The conceptual proximity between delusions and hallucinations was maintained until the end of the XIX century, with several supporters during the XX century. Their limits were not yet definitely defined in terms of Descriptive Psychopathology, and much less so in terms of biochemical and anatomical models. In this article we aimed to analyse the dimensions of both hallucinations and delusions in a sample of patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. We also intend to find the determinants of the main dimensions of hallucinations. One hundred patients with schizophrenia (80) or schizoaffective disorder (20), 64% males, mean age 39.75, from the outpatient and inpatient units of the Psychiatry Department of Hospital de Santa Maria and the Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa were assessed by means of the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS) and a structured interview. In this study we designed an empirical based model by means of bivariate Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, and multivariate statistics (linear regression and multiple multivariate linear regression), where the main dimensions of hallucinations are determined by the central dimensions of delusions.