Prevalence and predictors of stress disorders following two earthquakes.

Background: Studies about stress disorders following a disaster have mainly been based on single-event trauma with little emphasis on multiple traumas.

Aims: This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of stress disorders following two earthquakes in China.

Methods: Subjects were randomly sampled from 11 villages in rural China.

International study on antidepressant prescription pattern at 20 teaching hospitals and major psychiatric institutions in East Asia: Analysis of 1898 cases from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

The purpose of the present study was to review the prescription patterns of antidepressants in different countries in East Asia. The survey was conducted in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan from October 2003 to March 2004 using the unified research protocol and questionnaire. Twenty teaching hospitals and major psychiatric hospitals participated and a total of 1898 patients receiving antidepressants were analyzed.

Teachers' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes concerning schizophrenia- a cross-cultural approach in Japan and Taiwan.

Background: Mental health literacy of the general public is essential for the effective promotion of society's mental health. However, there has been no investigation of the general public's mental health literacy with Japanese and Taiwanese socio-cultural backgrounds.

Methods: A total of 129 Japanese and 150 Taiwanese elementary school teachers were surveyed about knowledge, beliefs and attitudes concerning schizophrenia by means of a questionnaire with a vignette describing a case of the disease.

Natural disaster and mental health in Asia.

The purpose of the present article was to review the literature on disaster mental health in relation to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and cyclones throughout Asia. Articles reviewed show that disaster psychiatry in Asia is beginning to emerge from and leave behind the stigma attached to mental health. The emergence of the acceptance of disaster mental health throughout Asia can be attributed in part to the acceptance of the notion of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).