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PURPOSE: To examine the relationships between (1) the levels of each temperament traits and the levels of milk-feeding frequency, oral hygiene care and dental caries, and (2) the difference in mean numbers of decayed surfaces among temperament types. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred and ninety-three (493) 12-month-old infants were assessed for temperaments and characteristics of child-rearing practices. The data were analysed with their dental caries status at 18 months of age. The chi-squared test, Student's t test, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess the association between temperament traits and the following variables; dental caries, oral cleaning habits and feeding frequency. Logistic regression models were used to identify the effect of temperament traits and other factors on dental caries status. RESULTS: The trait of adaptability was found to associate with feeding frequency at night, while those of activity and approach/withdrawal were significantly associated with regularity of oral cleaning habits by the children's caregiver. Three of the nine temperament traits - biological rhythmicity, approach/withdrawal and mood - were significantly associated with dental caries in bivariate analysis. Biological rhythmicity and approach/withdrawal traits were significantly associated with a higher chance of having caries after adjusting for regularity of oral cleaning habits and frequency of night feeding. CONCLUSION: Biological rhythmicity, approach/withdrawal and mood traits were related to caries in these young children.

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BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV) occur commonly and are a violation of basic human rights. There are limited studies to date that examine the impact of IPV, SV and mental health outcomes in Thailand. AIMS: The objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner physical violence and IPV in Thai women and the association between these forms of violence and psychiatric disorders. METHODS: The present study used data from a national cross-sectional, population-based, household design survey. This study analysed data from 3009 female respondents above the age of 18 who were interviewed in person using the World Mental Health-Composite International Diagnostic Interview V.3.0 (WMH-CIDI 3.0). We estimated the lifetime and the 12-month period prevalence of IPV and SV, the lifetime and the past 12- month period correlation of IPV/SV with psychiatric disorders and the OR for psychiatric disorders associated with these types of violence. RESULTS: There was only 5.2 % of the weighted sample that reported experiencing some form of violence, including reported rates of intimate partner physical violence of 3.5% and IPV of 2.0%. Women who had experienced IPV have a lifetime prevalence for common psychiatric disorders of 28.9%, for suicidal behaviours of 12.2% and for substance use disorders of 8.8%. Women who had experienced SV have a lifetime diagnoses for common psychiatric disorders of 21.4%, for suicidal behaviours of 16.5% and for substance use disorders of 19.4%. There was a statistically significant association between IPV/SV and being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder during the past year and also during one's lifetime. CONCLUSION: The association between IPV/SV and psychiatric disorders is significant; therefore, performing a formal assessment for a history of violence in psychiatric patients is often beneficial in refining the diagnosis and treatment.

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This paper reports the translation of the English Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale into Thai and assessment of its psychometric properties. After forward- and backward-translation, Thai experts completed the content validity index with item agreements of .86 to 1.00. Data were collected from 390 psychiatric clinic patients in central Thailand using systematic random sampling. Unweighted least squares factor analysis with Promax rotation identified five subscales. Cronbach's alpha for scale reliability was .88, and correlations for construct validity ranged from r=.55 to .69. These findings support the validity and reliability of the Thai version of the scale.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence rates and associated factors of postpartum depression among Thai women. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross- sectional national survey and descriptive study of 1, 731 women was done. The participants were required to complete a self-administered questionnaire consisting of inquiries on social demographic data, obstetric data, maternal and child health, stressful life events within the past 12 months, support system, and 10 items of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale-Thai version. The prevalence and associated factors of postpartum depression (PPD) were evaluated RESULTS: The prevalence of PPD among Thai women was 8.4%. In the multivariate model, the factors independently associated with PPD included maternal health, marital conflict, economic burden, stressful life events, and previous depression. Support from their families was a protective factor from postpartum depression. CONCLUSION: The present study found that PPD was 8.4%. Screening for depression in women after giving birth should be taken into consideration. Public health intervention targeted for population with PPD may be needed to reduce the prevalence of PPD and its impacts.

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Exposure time, program content and cultural context may affect the impact of television (TV) on the social-emotional competence (SEC) of children. This study examined the effects of TV viewing on the SEC of Thai infants. The study was based on a Thai birth cohort study from which duration and content of TV viewing and data from the Modified Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment instrument at 1 and 3 years of age were available. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine whether scores below the 10th national percentile were associated with TV viewing duration. The relationship between viewing duration and SEC risk was quadratic rather than linear. Viewing duration of 30-120 min/day was associated with a decreased risk of low overall SEC compared to non-viewers after adjustments for confounding factors. However, the beneficial effect diminished when the duration exceeded 120 min/day. Viewing educational programs was associated with a risk reduction of having low overall SEC compared to non-educational programs. These results suggest that a short period of TV viewing may be beneficial for the SEC of Thai infants, especially if the programs are educational.

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This article presents an overview of the psychosocial and mental health response after the Asian Tsunami hit Thailand in 2004. The organization and deployment of service modalities that used pre-existing community and school advisory programmes for rapid emergency response were seen as key elements of the response. Mental health programmes were provided to mitigate and ameliorate the effects of the catastrophic event. We describe these strategies and report on lessons learnt.

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CONTEXT: On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake occurred off the northwestern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The tsunami that followed severely impacted all 6 southwestern provinces of Thailand, where approximately 20,000 children were directly affected. OBJECTIVE: To assess trauma experiences and the prevalence of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among children in tsunami-affected provinces in southern Thailand. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Population-based mental health surveys were conducted among children aged 7 to 14 years in Phang Nga, Phuket, and Krabi provinces from February 15-22, 2005 (2 months posttsunami), and September 7-12, 2005 (9 months posttsunami). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Trauma experiences and symptoms of PTSD and depression as measured by a tsunami-modified version of the PsySTART Rapid Triage System, the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, and the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale. RESULTS: A total of 371 children (167 displaced and living in camps, 99 not displaced from villages affected by the tsunami, and 105 not displaced from unaffected villages) participated in the first survey. The prevalence rates of PTSD symptoms were 13% among children living in camps, 11% among children from affected villages, and 6% among children from unaffected villages (camps vs unaffected villages, P = .25); for depression symptoms, the prevalence rates were 11%, 5%, and 8%, respectively (P = .39). In multivariate analysis of the first assessment, having had a delayed evacuation, having felt one's own or a family member's life to have been in danger, and having felt extreme panic or fear were significantly associated with PTSD symptoms. Older age and having felt that their own or a family member's life had been in danger were significantly associated with depression symptoms. In the follow-up survey, 72% (151/210) of children from Phang Nga participated. Prevalence rates of symptoms of PTSD and depression among these children did not decrease significantly over time. CONCLUSIONS: This assessment documents the prevalence of mental health problems among children in tsunami-affected provinces in southern Thailand at 2 and 9 months posttsunami. Traumatic events experienced during the tsunami were significantly associated with symptoms of PTSD and depression. These data may be useful to target mental health services for children and may inform the design of these interventions.

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BACKGROUND: Many factors have been studied and found to be associated with psychiatric disorders in children. In Thailand, some have been studied but they did not cover the wide range of important factors. METHOD: A two-stage survey designed was used in a community sample of 1698 Grade 4 children randomly selected from 107 schools in Bangkok. Thai Youth Checklist (TYC)-Parent and Teacher form were used in the screening phase together with self-report questionaires to be answered by parent about general information concerning the child and the family. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA) was used in the second phase for 127 parent and child interview. RESULTS: Factors which are significantly associated with behavior and emotional problems are family discord, large family with more than 4 children, death of family members in the previous 6 months, children not living with biological parents, parental mental illness, substance abuse or criminal record and children who repeated grade at school. CONCLUSION: Factors associated with behavior and emotional problems are not different from those reported from other studies. However, children with physical illness was not found to be associated with higher risk in this study.

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