Not only normal functioning like thinking, feeling or willing are impaired by psychological problems but also individual’s social, cultural existential and spiritual functioning and each need be addressed. Incorporating religious and spiritual considerations into evidence-based practices should be an iterative process in therapy particularly when treating practicing Muslim patients. This qualitative study of content analysis of semi structured interviews aims to investigate and identify Islamic oriented treatment approaches applied by Bosnian mental health professionals in their own practice. A total of 11 (N=11) mental health professionals were recruited in this study. Results indicate that participants mostly use Qur’an and Sunnah and religious practices like remembrance, repentance and gratitude as therapy interventions with practicing Muslims and Open and Nonjudgmental (acceptance and warmth) and individualised way to approach all the other clients to generate self-awareness and psychological/behavioural and spiritual changes in clients. Such approach, as reported, results in client’s (re)turn to Allah and help in quitting unhealthy habits. The study also reveals specific issues and needs mental health practitioners reported facing whilst working with religious Muslim clients.

Introduction: Globally, the most common mental disorders in the elderly include dementia (5% - 8%), depression (7%), anxiety disorder (4%), and substance abuse (1%). Moreover, 25% of suicide deaths occur among the elderly. Whether the prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders increases in later life is currently debated in the literature. During the previous two decades of their lives, older adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina have experienced many specific psychosocial circumstances. The experience of war aggression on our country, and the post-war period with a very complex socioeconomic environment of the current socio-political climate, were accompanied by special challenges for the mental health of this population. Motivated by a large number of questions and dilemmas related to the state of mental health of this population, we conducted research at the Department of Psychiatry at the University Clinical Center Tuzla.Objective: Our objective was to investigate psychiatric morbidity and comorbidity in people over 55 years of age.Methods: The research sample consisted of all patients older than 55 years treated at the Department for Psychiatry during 2018 (N=281), divided into four age categories. To obtain data, we used medical documentation, i.e., medical records, and we constructed a special questionnaire for research purposes.Results: Diagnoses by ICD-10 groups: 33.4% of patients in the entire sample had affective disorders (F30.0-F39.0): "young" (39.2%), "middle" (43.3%), "older "(75%) (p<0.001); women had significantly more affective disorders (61.8%) than men (26.8%) (p<0.001). Men had significantly more organic mental disorders (F00.0-F09.0) (63.3%) than women (22.6%) (p<0.001).Hypertensio arterialis was the most common comorbid dg. of the entire sample, without significant differences according to age groups and sex (p>0.05). Diabetes mellitus was the second comorbid dg. By frequency in the total sample (19.6%) without significant differences according to age groups and according to sex (p>0.05).Conclusion: In the entire sample, the most common diagnoses are from the affective disorders group; the most common somatic comorbidities are hypertensio arterialis and diabetes mellitus.

Abstract More research on the medium- and long-term effects of childhood exposure to war, including orphanhood, is needed. We compared 50 orphans1 who lost their father during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995) and 50 age- and sex-matched adolescents from two-parent families during 2011–2012 in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral/emotional problems, depression, resilience, maternal mental health, and perceived social support. The two groups differed on sociodemographic factors, that is, number of children, family composition, income, school grades, and refugeehood. Paternal war orphans did not differ in terms of adolescent mental health and resilience from their nonorphaned peers, controlling for sociodemographic variables. The mothers of orphans had comparably more posttraumatic psychopathology. As for perceived resources for social support, orphans identified those comparably more often among distant relatives and in the community, that is, religious officials and mental health professionals, and less often among siblings, paternal grandparents, paternal and maternal uncles/aunts, school friends and teachers. Our findings suggest that contextual factors may play an important role in orphans' postwar mental health.

Introduction Posttraumatic stress disorder in the paediatric population has clinical features. The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5,child and adolescent version (CAPS-CA-5) is the gold standard for the positive diagnosis. Objectives The objectives of our work were to translate the CAPS-CA-5 into Tunisian dialectal Arabic and to validate it in our Tunisian sociocultural context. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the child psychiatry department of Mongi Slim Hospital and the forensic medicine department of Charles-Nicolle Hospital (Tunisia), among children older than seven years who were exposed to a potentially traumatic event at least one month before. We validated the tool through translation, content, construct validity and reliability. The statistical processing for this data was carried out using SPSS 26 software. Results We conducted our study with 150 patients. The validation was made on 146 records after the exclusion of 4 incompleted assessments. We initially translated the CAPS-CA-5 into Tunisian dialect. We validated the content through pre-test and scientific committee evaluation. Afterwards, we validated the construction. We calculated the Bartlett’s sphericity test (p<0.001) .The KMO index that was 0.766. Concerning the reliability study, we found a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient equal to 0.92. We studied also the inter-raters reliability; we found an intra-class coefficient between 0.8 and 1 Conclusions We validated the first Tunisian diagnostic tool for PTSD in children according to the DSM-5 criteria with satisfactory psychometric qualities. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

Background: Globally, life expectancy is increasing, leading to an equal proportion of elderly and young individuals, which carries extensive implications. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the average age at death in 2021 was 77 years, positioning BiH in the middle of the global list of average life expectancy. Current studiesinvestigate whether the prevalence of psychiatric disorders increases or decreases with age, but results are inconsistent regarding the role of age.There is no prior research on mental disorders in the elderly population in BiH. The experience of the previous war in BiH and the post-war complex “transitional period” have been associated with specific challenges to the mental health of this population, inspiring our research topic. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the psychiatric morbidity in hospitalized individuals aged≥55 years. Methods: The sample consisted of all patients over age 55 treated at the Department of Psychiatry in Tuzla between January 2018 and December 2020 (N=637), divided into four age categories. Data were obtained from medical records, and for research purposes, a specific questionnaire was constructed. Results: The predominant psychiatric morbidity stemmed from the category of affective disorders, most common within the “55-64 years” age group, while organic mental disorders were more prevalent in other age groups.Substance use disorders were present in patients aged “55-64 years”, with a sharp decline in their prevalence in older age. Female participants had a significantly higher prevalence of affective, psychotic, neurotic, and stress-related disorders, whereas male participants exhibited an increased prevalence of organic mental and substance use disorders. Conclusion: In total sample, the most prevalent diagnoses belong to the category of affective disorders. Female were most frequently diagnosed with affective disorders, whereas organic mental disorders and substance use disorders prevail in male.

Background Impulsivity, affective instability, and neglect of oneself and other people's safety as symptoms of personality dysfunction are associated with risky behaviors regarding the transmission of infectious diseases either sexually or by intravenous drug abuse. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and personality dysfunction in opiate addicts on opioid substitution treatment. Methods This was a cross-sectional, observational investigation of patients over 18 years of age who were actively participating in opioid substitution treatment at five centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The occurrence of HCV infection was the primary study outcome, and personality functioning, the main independent variable, was assessed using the Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP−118) questionnaire. The association between scores of personality functioning domains items and HCV infection status was determined by binary logistic regression analysis. Results Patients on opioid substitution therapy with HCV infection more frequently had personality disorders (OR 2.168, 95% CI 1.161–4.05) and were treated longer than patients without HCV infection (OR 1.076, 95% CI 1.015–1.14). HCV infection was associated with lower self-respect (OR 0.946, 95% CI 0.906–0.988), decreased capacity to have enduring relationships with other people (OR 0.878, 95% CI 0.797–0.966), and lower capability to cooperate with others (OR 0.933, 95%CI 0.888–0.98). On the other hand, except for self-respect, other elements of the Identity Integration domain (enjoyment, purposefulness, stable self-image, and self-reflexive functioning), when more functional, increased the risk of HCV infection. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that opiate addicts on opioid substitution treatment have a higher risk of HCV infection if their personality is dysfunctional, especially in the aspects of self-respect, enduring relationships, and cooperativity. The risk is even higher in addicts who have an established diagnosis of any kind of personality disorder.