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.

[Delinquency by a juvenile with pervasive developmental disorder: a case in which interaction between disorder and family dysfunction played a key role].

Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) is characterized by peculiar psycho-behavioral patterns. Youths with PDD who commit delinquent acts often exhibit strange behavior beyond ordinary comprehension. In order to fully understand and identify PDD it is important to take a comprehensive psychosocial history.