The objective of the study was to analyze associations among quality of sleep, profile of the studies, and lifestyle factors among the students of three different study profiles (medicine, economics, and law). Material and methods. A total of 405 randomly selected students from the first and fourth years of studies from 4 different universities in Lithuania answered the standardized questionnaires consisting of two parts: 1) the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for subjective evaluation of sleep quality; 2) the questionnaire about sleep and lifestyle habits and impact of poor sleep on the quality of life developed by the researchers. Results. More than half (59.4%) of the students scored higher than 5 on the PSQI, which allowed suspecting sleep disorders. A significant difference in the frequency of poor sleepers was found regarding the profile of studies (P<0.05) showing the highest frequency of sleep disturbances among medical students. There was a significant correlation between quality of sleep and subjective evaluation of quality of life (P<0.01). Medical students experienced the highest impact of poor sleep on the quality of life (P=0.008). Students studying before going to sleep, spending more time studying, and having less leisure time had worse quality of sleep (P<0.01). A significant difference was found among three profiles of studies regarding the anxiety about studies (P<0.0005) and subjective estimation of success in studies (χ²=27.9, P<0.0005), showing the highest anxiety and worst satisfaction among students of medicine. Conclusions. The incidence of sleep problems is high among students in Lithuania, reaching 59.4%. Medical students have worse quality of sleep and worse impact of poor sleep on the quality of life compared to students of law and economics. A significant difference was found between medical students and their peers in other profiles of studies regarding their attitudes and habits related to studies: medical students spent more time for studying, were more anxious about studies and less satisfied with the results, studied more often before going to sleep.

Background: Lithuania currently has the highest suicide rate in Europe and the fifth highest worldwide. Aims: To identify the factors that influence the suicide intervention skills of emergency medical services (EMS) providers (doctors, nurses, paramedics). Method: Two hundred and sixty-eight EMS providers participated in the research. The EMS providers were surveyed both prior to their training in suicide intervention and six months later. The questionnaire used for the survey assessed their socio-demographic characteristics, suicide intervention skills, attitudes towards suicide prevention, general mental health, strategies for coping with stress, and likelihood of burnout. Results: Better suicide intervention skills were more prevalent among EMS providers with a higher level of education, heavier workload, more positive attitudes towards suicide prevention, better methods of coping with stress, and those of a younger age. Six months after the non-continuous training in suicide intervention, the providers’ ability to assess suicide risk factors had improved, although there was no change in their suicide intervention skills. Conclusions: In order to improve the suicide intervention skills of EMS providers, particular attention should be paid to attitudes towards suicide prevention, skills for coping with stress, and continuous training in suicide intervention. Abbreviations: EMS: Emergency medical services; SIRI: Suicide intervention response inventory

This study evaluated levels of and predictors of emotional and behavioral symptoms in youth with pre-existing mental health conditions over the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 across G...

To validate the Lithuanian version of the Self-Evaluation Negative Symptoms Scale (Lith-SNS). A double translation from French to Lithuanian and back was performed. We included patients from in-patient and out-patient settings that had a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia according to ICD-10 criteria and were screened as free from acute psychotic symptoms using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Participants were evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BRPS) and completed the Lith-SNS scale. We measured internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of Lith – SNS comparing its scores with BPRS negative and positive symptom subscores. A total of 67 participants were evaluated. Cronbach’s alpha (α) for all 20 items of Lith-SNS (α = 0.82), and for the five subscores (α = 0.76) showed good internal consistency. Factor analysis showed a 2-factor solution which accounted for 70.12% of the variance with the first factor accounting for 53.3% and the second factor accounting for 16.8% of the variance. Lith-SNS total scores and all five subscores significantly correlated with BPRS negative symptoms subscores showing good convergent validity. There was a correlation between the Positive subscore of BPRS and the alogia subscore of Lith-SNS (r = 0.39, p = 0.001), but no correlations with other subscores or the total Lith-SNS score showing adequate discriminant validity. Lithuanian version of SNS is a valuable tool to evaluate negative symptoms of schizophrenia with good internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validity.

Background: Effective suicide management skills of emergency medical services (EMS) providers are crucially important in Lithuania, which has the highest suicide rates in Europe. Methods: Respondents were 268 EMS providers, doctors (n=78) and nurses (n=190), who agreed to participate in suicide prevention/intervention training and completed the survey twice. Study was conducted in five steps: adaptation of Lithuanian version of Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI-LT); initial assessment of suicide counseling skills of the EMS providers using SIRI-LT; suicide prevention/intervention training; second assessment of suicide counseling skills using SIRI-LT 6 months after training; data analysis evaluating the skills and effectiveness of the training among different groups of EMS providers (doctors vs nurses, age groups). Results: SIRI-LT showed good internal consistency: Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.85 (pretest) and 0.73 (posttest). The value of Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.849. A four-factor solution was forced and accounted for 40.8% of the variance. The SIRI-LT mean total scores before suicide prevention/intervention training were significantly higher for doctors than for nurses (13.01±5.24 vs 11.36±5.14, respectively; P=0.031). Younger respondents with a shorter period of employment and heavier workload were significantly more effective at suicide management than older respondents with a longer period of employment and lower workload. After suicide prevention/intervention training, SIRI-LT mean total scores decreased for doctors (13.0±5.24 vs 11.02±4.76; P=0.031) and significantly increased in older (≥55 age) respondents (11.85±3.82 vs 9.28±4.44; P=0.022). Conclusion: SIRI-LT has good internal consistency and can be considered a good instrument for assessing suicide management skills of EMS providers. Our results suggest that ability to find appropriate responses to suicide situations may be multidimensional, related to cultural setting and influenced by age, education, motivation, engagement, and emotional distraction. Particular attention should be paid to active listening and empathic communication skills when developing suicide prevention/intervention training for EMS providers.

We know that there are significant differences between generations of our patients in certain aspects related to the differences in historical and socioeconomic circumstances of their development. New informational technologies – smartphones and mobile Internet – are taking the role of an ever-present auxiliary ego for the generations born in the twenty-first century. This development is influenced by the characteristics of these technologies and by changes in parenting patterns. Psychoanalytic literature tends to focus on only the negative influences of these factors on the development of personality, identity, and interpersonal relationships. Probably this reflects our own fears about the invasion of new technologies into our lives and limits our understanding of the possible positive potential of these technologies for the younger generations. We still need to gain a better understanding of what it brings to our analytic work, and our transference–countertransference relationships with adolescent patients.