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Greece is known to have one of the lowest rates of both completed and attempted suicides. Yet during the last three decades the pattern of suicide attempts has shown some differentiations, which point to possible changes in family structure and social behavior, bringing the pattern closer to that of western countries. While in 1971–72 the ratio of male to female attempters was 1:4.6, in 1994–96 it was 1:2.3 – the mean age rose from early to middle adulthood – more married people attempted suicide than before – more attempters took alcohol before the act etc. There are, nevertheless, many steady features, e.g. the low rates of attempters in old age (above 65 years: 7.9% of the total), the methods used, the type of preceding stressful life events (more financial than emotional in males), no drug abuse etc. Since the low rates of suicide attempts in Greece have been attributed to cultural parameters and the close bonds in the family, psychodynamic studies were also carried out, which showed that adolescent attempters preserve the ability for outward aggression and their self-destructive act is due to other than intrapsychic factors (usually social and relational problems).

Muscular dystrophies are a heterogeneous group of mainly hereditary diseases that affect the functioning of the muscle system. Few studies have focused on the psychological adjustment of parents of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This study's objective was to investigate the parents' experience and the process of adjustment to the complex nature of their child's disorder. The study used a qualitative research design. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from parents (n=9) of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (n=10) using the technique of semi-structured interviews. The parents' experience is characterized by painful and recurrent losses, which intensify their feelings of isolation and parental responsibility. On the other hand, parents develop internal coping mechanisms and identify sources of empowerment, which they evaluate as positive aspects of their experience. Recurrent losses alternate with periods of stability, hope and efforts toward normalcy in family life. Results of this study implicate the importance of adequate psychosocial interventions that will allow parents to cope with complex challenges, elaborate on their experiences and identify internal and external resources.

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Mental health during pregnancy is a very important public health issue with negative effects on both maternal and child outcomes. The aim of our study is to examine the possible association between conception via in vitro fertilization (IVF) and anxiety or depression during the third pregnancy trimester in the Greek population during the years of financial crisis. Materials and MethodsThis single-center prospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital during the period 2017-2018. Pregnant women attending the Antenatal Care Program between 30th-32nd gestational week were asked to complete Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). A propensity score match for 10 variables was conducted in a 1:3 ratio. ResultsOf the 521 eligible patients, 446 women were included in our study. Four hundred fourteen of them conceived spontaneously, and 32 via IVF. After propensity score matching, 76 remained in the analysis, of whom 57 conceived spontaneously and 19 with IVF. The IVF group had a higher rate of anxiety (18.8%) and a lower rate of depression (9.4%) than the spontaneous conception group (13.5% and 13.5%, respectively), but the differences were not statistically significant before and after propensity score matching. ConclusionOur study showed that pregnancies after IVF had a higher incidence of antenatal anxiety and a lower incidence of antenatal depression in comparison to pregnancies that were conceived naturally, although the differences did not reach statistical significance.