Several identified stressors such as financial problems, academic pressures and their consequent effect on social life have an adverse effect on the mental health of students in this environment especially for students of medicine and dentistry. While stressors outside the reach of the school authorities are difficult to control, academic support including providing a conducive learning environment, advice on means for sustenance, added support during periods of transition are key areas for interventions.

The prevalence of social phobia among Nigerian university students is similar to what has been found in other parts of the world. There is a need for increased awareness of this disorder and its association with depression so that sufferers can receive early treatment to prevent long-term disability.

Nigerian schoolchildren, as with Nigerian adults and young people in Western countries, show stigma towards mental illness. This may be underpinned by a lack of knowledge regarding mental health problems. Educational interventions need to be appropriate to area, age and gender to effectively improve mental health literacy, which in turn will influence attitudes and social distance. However, the fact that the schoolchildren were optimistic about recovery is a strength that could be built upon.

Background Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk for a range of psychopathology, including bipolar disorder. It is not clear if they also have impairments in their psychosocial functioning. Methods We compared the psychosocial functioning of three groups of children enrolled in the Pittsburgh Bipolar Offspring Study (BIOS): offspring of probands with bipolar disorder (n=388), offspring of probands with other types of psychopathology (n=132), and offspring of healthy probands (n=118). Psychosocial functioning was assessed at study intake using the schedule of the Adolescent Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation (A-LIFE), the Child Behaviour Check list (CBCL) and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). Results Offspring of probands with bipolar disorder exhibited impairments in various aspects of psychosocial functioning. On all measures, they had worse functioning in comparison with offspring of healthy probands. Offspring of probands with bipolar disorder generally exhibited more impairment than offspring of probands with non bipolar psychopathology. After adjusting for proband parent functioning and the child's Axis I psychopathology, functioning of offspring of probands with bipolar disorder was similar to that of offspring of healthy probands. Limitations Data are cross-sectional and therefore do not allow for causal conclusions about the association between parental psychopathology, child psychopathology and offspring psychosocial functioning. Conclusions Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder exhibit impairments in psychosocial functioning which appear largely attributable to proband parent functional impairment and the child's own psychopathology. As such, interventions to improve parental functioning, as well as early interventions to treat the child's psychopathology may help reduce the risk for long-term functional impairment in offspring.

There is no organised training and service for CAMH in Nigeria. A 3-day course in child mental health aimed at multidisciplinary health professionals was developed and evaluated to inform future training. Developing the course involved multi-professional consultation. Course evaluation involved the completion of questionnaires by delegates (present from 5 of the 6 geopolitical zones of Nigeria) before and after the training. Training needs expressed include skills to manage CAMH problems in their own context, greater understanding of normal child development and strategies to train others. Most participants reported that their expectations were met and would affect their practice especially with regard to collaboration.