Factors associated with the use of solvents and cannabis by medical students.

Introduction: The use of alcohol and other drugs among medical students has been a theme of growing interest and concern on the part of researchers, teaching institutions and medical associations since the decade of the 1960's.

Objective: Recent use of alcohol, tobacco, tranquillisers, amphetamines, cannabis, organic solvents, and cocaine among 456 medical students was surveyed.

Method: Assessment was done by means of a self-report questionnaire according to World Health Organisation guidelines.

Effectiveness of time-limited psychotherapy for minor psychiatric disorders: randomised controlled trial evaluating immediate v. long-term effects.

Background: Psychotherapy research rarely has studied outcome in the longer term.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of brief group dynamic psychotherapy (BGDP) intervention in patients with minor psychiatric disorders compared with the usual clinical management shortly after treatment termination and to investigate whether intervention would show a differential effect at 2-year follow-up.

Method: Patients were allocated randomly to an experimental or control group.