Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society

FROM INCEPTION TO INSTITUTION: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE PAKISTAN PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY

Afzal Javed — 2025-06-21

The Pakistan Psychiatric Society (PPS), established amid growing concerns for mental health in the 1960s, has emerged as a driving force in the development of psychiatric services in Pakistan. Budding from the foundational efforts by pioneering psychiatrists in the 1960s, its formal establishment in 1973 marked a turning point in the organised promotion of mental health. Over the decades, PPS has contributed significantly to policy advocacy, professional training, public awareness, and international collaboration. Despite facing political turmoil and limited resources, the society has maintained its momentum through institutional resilience and strategic leadership. This historical account outlines the society’s evolution, key organisational milestones, and its ongoing role in shaping psychiatric education, practice, and research in Pakistan. The trajectory of PPS reflects broader shifts in mental health priorities and serves as a testament to sustained professional commitment in the currently challenging national and global mental health landscape.

The S.E.L.F. 4 HealthTM Model: A Proactive Health Model for Optimal Health and Wellbeing

Zakiuddin Ahmed — 2025-06-27

The modern healthcare system nowadays is largely operated on a reactive sick care model. One that focuses on treatment of diseases rather than prevention or their potential reversal. This approach has a limited impact on reducing the disease burden but imposes significant healthcare expenditure. The proactive health approach on the other hand focuses on prevention and health promotion through healthy lifestyle interventions. The S.E.L.F 4 Health^TMis a holistic model aimed at promoting good health and wellbeing, preventing illnesses and aiding in reversing chronic diseases. It emphasizes on the four fundamental pillars including sleep, exercise, lifestyle and food. It urges the health systems, policymakers and communities to consider wellness as an active and lifelong process. Adopting this model can result in healthier people, stronger societies, and a more resilient global healthcare system.

Keywords:

Healthy lifestyle, Sleep hygiene, Physical activity, Nutrition, Chronic disease

PATTERN OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS AT HIGH ALTITUDE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM SKARDU, PAKISTAN

Malik Awais Amin — 2025-06-27

OBJECTIVES:

To determine the frequency of different psychiatric disorders among patients reporting to psychiatry department and to study their association with age, marital status and education level.

STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Psychiatry, Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Skardu from September 2021 to February 2022.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of one hundred adult individuals, between 21 to 40 years of age, presenting to the Psychiatry department at CMH Skardu, were enrolled in this study after taking written informed consent. All the patients were interviewed by consultant psychiatrist and diagnosis was based on International Classification of Diseases (ICD) version 10.

RESULTS: Out of a total of 100 patients, 81 (81%) were married and 19 (19%) were un-married. The mean age of the patients was 26.94 + 4.35 years. The most common psychiatric disorders among patients living at high altitude were depressive episode in 44 patients (44%), followed by adjustment disorders in 30 (30%), anxiety disorder in 12 (12%), dissociative disorder in 9 (9%) and mood disorder in 5 patients (5%).

CONCLUSION: Depressive episode and adjustment disorder were the most prevalent psychiatric disorders at high altitude.

FREQUENCY OF FACTORS RELATED TO NON ADHERENCE IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA PRESENTING TO PSYCHIATRY DEPARTMENT AT CIVIL HOSPITAL KARACHI.

Anaam Bugti — 2025-06-28

Objective: To determine the factors associated with non-adherence to antipsychotic medication among adult patients with schizophrenia.
Study design: Cross-sectional study

Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi in a period of six months.

Methods: A total of 155 patients were recruited through consecutive sampling. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical history and factors influencing non-adherence were collected using structured interviews.
Results: The mean age of participants was 40.67 ± 11.44 years, with 63.2% being male. Non-adherence to medication was observed in 77.4% of patients, with significant contributing factors including adverse drug effects (61.5%), stigma (42.3%) and financial barriers (46.2%).
Conclusion: Non-adherence to antipsychotic medications is alarmingly high among patients with schizophrenia in Pakistan, necessitating targeted interventions addressing economic, social and clinical challenges to improve adherence rates.
Keywords: Non-adherence, Schizophrenia, Antipsychotic medication, Factors, Pakistan.

PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOM DISORDER

Dr. Farah Rasheed — 2025-06-27

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the symptom type, sociodemographic factors and preceding events in patients with Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder.
STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional study
PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The study was conducted at Nishtar Medical University, Multan in a period of three months from 1^st January 2024 to 1^st March 2024.
METHOD
Data has been collected through purposive sampling technique from a sample of N=50. The Conversion Disorder Questionnaire Australian Paediartic Surveillance Unit has been used in the study as the main tool.
RESULTS
Results showed that symptoms of FNSD were more likely to exhibit in patients who are unmarried, females, with joint families, have lower socioeconomic status or less education. It is also observed that the duration of illness is acute in most of the patients.
CONCLUSION
Female gender, less education, lower socioeconomic status, joint family, rural living and single marital status are sociodemographic factors more prevalent in FNSD.

KEYWORDS
Symptom type, sociodemographic factors, Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder.

CLOSE PARENTAL ATTACHMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH FUNCTIONING IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF OPTIMSIM

Zarmina khan — 2025-06-26

To explore the mediating role of optimism between attachment styles and mental health functioning in university students of Lahore.
STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional study
PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The study was conducted in Lahore in an 8-month period
METHOD
A total of 300 university students from private and government universities of Lahore were surveyed using the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS), Optimism Scale (OS) and Student Problem Checklist Scale (SPCL). Data were entered and analysed with the help of SPSS version 25.
RESULTS
The correlation analysis depicted a significant positive relationship between attachment (Close) and optimism, whereas there was a significant negative relationship between optimism and mental health functioning. Mediation analysis showed that optimism mediated the relationship between close attachment style and mental health functioning.
CONCLUSION
In terms of perceived close attachment, optimism played a protective role in the better mental health functioning of university students.
KEYWORDS
Attachment Styles, Optimism, Mental Health, Students

Narcissistic Tendencies, Psychological Need Satisfaction, And Selfie-Taking Behavior in Youth

Safa Nawaz — 2025-06-27

Objective: To explore the relationship between narcissistic tendencies, psychological need satisfaction and selfie-taking behaviour in youth.

Study Design: Research design of the study was correlational cross-sectional.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted between March 2023 to February 2024 in the Department of Applied Psychology, University of Management and Technology Lahore.

Subjects and Methods: The sample comprised of 200 youth with age range of 18 to 30 years (M= 21.99, SD=2.25) including 79 men and 121 women. The data was collected from eight different universities of Lahore by employing convenience sampling technique. A self-constructed demographic information sheet, Narcissistic tendencies Inventory Scale (NPI-16), Basic Need Satisfaction in General Scale and Selfitis Behaviour Scale were used for the assessments.

Results: The result indicated the positive relationship between narcissistic tendencies and selfie-taking behavior and negative relationship was found between psychological need satisfaction and selfie-taking behavior. Furthermore, no relationship was found between narcissistic tendencies and psychological need satisfaction. The result showed that narcissistic tendencies positively predicted the selfie-taking behavior, however psychological need satisfaction did not predict it. The results also showed men scored higher on narcissism and selfie-taking behavior.
Conclusion: The present study helped us know how selfie-taking behaviors are related to narcissistic tendencies in young educated sample.

Socio-Demographic factors influence on Psychological Distress of undergraduate University Students of Pakistan

uzma jillani — 2025-06-26

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of socio-demographic variables (gender, peer group size) with psychological distress in undergraduate students of university.

RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross sectional study

DURATION AND PLACE OF STUDY: The study was conducted at university of Karachi, Pakistan from June to Aug 2022.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 300 students with age ranged between years 19 to 27 (21.10 ± 1.77). The Demographic Information form and Kessler psychological distress scale K10 was used to collect data.

RESULTS: Results showed significant gender difference was observed in the levels of psychological distress of university students; female scored higher. Further, students with three or more friends had lower level of psychological distress in comparison with students with no friends.

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that gender and peer group size has significant impact on the psychological distress experienced by students. Male gender and having more than three friends was linked with lower level of psychological distress.

KEYWORDS: Psychological distress, University students, Peer group size (number of friends)

In Loving Memory of Professor Emeritus Dr. Syed Haroon Ahmed (1931–2025) A Pioneer in Psychiatry of Pakistan, Advocate for Human Rights, and Champion of Mental Health

Saima Qureshi — 2025-06-27

Professor Emeritus Dr. Syed Haroon Ahmed, a towering figure in Pakistan’s mental health landscape and a lifelong advocate for human rights, passed away in Karachi on Thursday, April 3, 2025. His passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy continues to shine brightly through the countless lives he touched. Throughout his career, Dr. Haroon embodied humility, grace and unwavering integrity. For nearly six decades, he championed not just mental health, but also education, social equity and human rights. His contributions have left an indelible mark on Pakistan’s medical, legal, and social fabric. While his absence leaves a profound void, his vision and legacy will continue to illuminate the path for generations to come. Professor Syed Haroon Ahmed will be remembered not only as a pioneer in Pakistani psychiatry but as a man of conscience who dedicated his life to building a more humane and just society.

Use of Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy (ARET) to treat phobic disorders in underserved areas of Pakistan

Zoya Athar — 2025-06-27

LTE doesn't require an abstract.

The Inter-parental conflict and children's cognitive health decline: How to overcome the consequences.

Tooba Jabeen Tooba Jabeen — 2025-06-27

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