Current psychiatric practice is being influenced by advances in the field of molecular biology, genetic studies, neuroimaging, and psychopharmacology and the approach has become "biological." Social theories of mental illness had once revolutionized the field of psychiatry and are currently being somewhat ignored under the dazzle of biological sciences. Main social theories are functionalism, interpersonal theory, attachment theory, stress theory, and labeling theory. Each of these theories had tried to explain the genesis of psychiatric disorders in their own way. However, each theory has its own limitations and critique. Still, for a holistic approach to treat persons with mental illness, it is essential to take a biopsychosocial approach which can only be done if one understands the contribution and relevance of social theories. Nonpharmacological management has been the cornerstone of treatment of any psychiatric disorder and social theories also form the basis of various nonpharmacological modes of treatment. Overall, social theories are still very relevant in current psychiatric practice and should not be neglected. Efforts should be made to integrate social theories with other theories of mental illness for better understanding and treatment.

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Caregiving of persons with mental illness is challenging as sometimes it is demanding and at other times, it is fulfilling to caregivers. In India, family members are the caregivers for persons with mental illness as there are extremely limited alternative facilities and family members are preferred for caring. The changing social milieu in India such as urbanization and nuclear family is placing significant burden on family members. This article will discuss about the emotional dimensions of caregiving, importance of care receivers, utilizing the caregiving situations to address prevention of mental disorders, promotion of mental health, and fight stigma of mental disorders. In India, majority of the research is on the burden of caregiving on family members and there is less or no research on caregiving in different communities, population groups, and develop programs to make caregiving a positive experience on caregivers and caregiving. In India, there is a need to develop systems of sharing of skills, support, and supervision to caregivers in providing care to the individuals with chronic illnesses. This can minimize the stress of caregiving and maximize the positive feelings of caregiving.

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Background: Teachers can be trained in early identification of possible mental illness and referral which is well-established in the west and lacking in India. Hence, we attempt to study the knowledge and attitudes of secondary school teachers toward mental illness and probable gender differences in these measures. Materials and Methods: Five hundred and twenty teachers from English medium schools of Ahmedabad city were assessed by a self-reported, predesigned and pretested 25 item questionnaire, the first 15 of which assessed their knowledge about mental illnesses and the remaining 10 pertained to negative attitudes. Results: 79.4% of teachers were 45 years or less, 77.5% were female teachers and 86.9% were married. 76% of teachers scored <7 out of 15 which points toward majority of them having inadequate knowledge. 63.6% scored 5 or more on the negative attitudes questionnaire, which points toward high prevalence of negative attitudes. Females had comparatively more knowledge than males about symptoms and management of mental illness, although there was no significant gender difference in the attitude toward mental illnesses. Conclusion: The knowledge of teachers about mental illness is insufficient, and they hold a lot of stigma against mentally ill as demonstrated by their low score in attitude.

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Background/Objectives: Caregivers of persons with schizophrenia experience more stress due to the nature of the symptoms as well as the prolonged duration of illness. The current study is an attempt to understand the subjective components of burden, distress, and social support in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Indian context and its linkage with their sociodemographic profile and patient's illness profile. Methodology: Thirty-two caregivers of patients with schizophrenia from a psychiatric inpatient facility of a multidisciplinary hospital were studied using descriptive research design. Results: The result shows that negative symptoms of patients, subdomains of burden (burden on well-being, marital burden, burden on relations, and burden due to perceived severity) were the predictors of subjective burden. Burden on well-being and respondent's age were predictors of psychological distress. Conclusion: Inclusive treatment services would enhance the quality of life of the caregivers and would help them in ensuring long-term care for the patients with schizophrenia.

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Families of Indian patients with mental illnesses have always been involved in their care. Such involvement arises both from choice as well as the compulsion of being a part of an inadequately resourced mental health system. Regardless, families have had to pay a heavy price for undertaking the task of providing care. An extensive body of Indian research on caregiver burden in a number of mental illnesses shows that providing care for a relative with mental illness is associated with considerable distress and burden for the family caregiver. However, much of this research has not made the shift from the somewhat outmoded concept of caregiver burden to the currently prevalent practice of considering the caregiving experience in its totality. Moreover, most of the research is not driven by contemporary theories of caregiving such as the stress coping model. Indian psychiatry has also had a long tradition of supporting family caregivers while they provide care for their ill members. Nevertheless, the Indian evidence for the efficacy of formal family-based interventions remains inadequate and lacks methodological precision. Finally, day-to-day practice in clinical settings does not seem to have made use of the ample body of research evidence in this area to help families in distress. Despite all these problems, progress is being made in the area of family caregiving for mental illness in India. Despite all these problems, slow but steady progress is being made in the area of family caregiving for mental illness in India. It can be hoped that some day in the near future, this progress would translate into mental health professionals forging a true partnership with families providing care for those with mental illnesses.

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Caregivers for persons with disabilities are very important in the process of recovery and rehabilitation, irrespective of the cause of disability. Their services are equally important as of the health professionals. Often it is the caregivers who bear the major burden by assisting for daily needs of persons with disabilities apart from providing financial and social supports to their dependant persons with disabilities. In the process of caregiving they may have to forego their opportunities to attend work of their choice, to earn money, to progress in career, to spend satisfactory social life, and even to spend time leisurely. Yet, the informal caregiving process and the caregivers as a service provider, for persons with disabilities, have received less attention from civic societies and various state systems. However, change of paradigm of caregiving process as family responsibility to society's collective responsibility and a stronger voice of caregiver associations has brought certain recent changes in this field. There are few governments who have recognized the importance of caregivers for their informal services and sacrifices and started providing benefits for them, thus caring for the caregivers. We review and discuss such policies and regulations which protect the rights of caregiver in this article.

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Background: Childhood abuse has been linked with increased risk of adult psychiatric disorders including major depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders. However, only a few from India attempted to study long-term consequences of childhood abuse. Our study aimed to understand the role of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse along with psychiatric co-morbidities in hospitalized patients. Materials and Methods: Patients admitted to psychiatric inpatient services in the age group of 14-45 years for the 1 ^st time were evaluated for a history of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse on the basis of retrospective chart review. Semi-structured Performa was used to evaluate the patient with a history of child abuse, and they were diagnosed according to International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnostic criteria. Result: The prevalence of child abuse in our inpatient services was 43.29%; emotional abuse (61.9%) was most commonly reported among patient followed by physical (21.43%) and sexual abuse (16.67%). We observed a significant difference in terms of length of hospital stay between abuse (10.29 ± 6.01 days) and nonabuse group (5.90 ± 2.43 days) (t = 4.902, df = 95, P < 0.0001). The boys experienced physical abuse at a younger age (7.43 ± 2.50 years) than girls (13.50 ± 0.70 years). The sexual abuse and emotional abuse were reported at a younger age in girls than boys. We found high prevalence of substance use disorders (40.47%), psychosis (19.04%), and mood disorder (28.57%) among abuse group. Conclusions: The study findings highlight the developing importance of the different forms of abuse on adult psychiatric diagnosis in India. The abused patients are at high risk of the development of psychiatric disorder than the nonabuse group. The increased length of hospitalization among abused group reflects severity and complexity of child abuse. The early detection of social factors contributing to child abuse may be helpful in the prevention of child abuse. Further research is warranted in longitudinal prospective for better understanding the impact of child abuse on psychiatric diagnosis in Indian settings.

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Deinstitutionalization movement in the West brought about community care movement of mentally ill. Because of this, caring for the mentally ill became an important aspect. In resource-rich countries, caregiving is done by trained persons and in resource-poor country (like India), caregiving was done by untrained family members. Cross-cultural factors such as interdependence and greater family involvement in care have contributed for family members' decision-making in caregiving in India. Nevertheless, cross-cultural similarities in caregiving are more striking than differences. Genuine caregiving of mentally ill will make significant difference to the recipient. In India, majority of the persons with mental illness are cared by family members. Family members lack knowledge about the nature of the illness, have little support and advice by the medical professional, and have difficulties in understanding illness-related behavior. Hence, in India, there is need to develop effective, user-friendly, educational modules in all languages; to increase the knowledge of the carers about the mental illness, and help in decreasing their distress.

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Illness trends, health beliefs, healthcare pathways, level of awareness, access to health care resources, level of social support, perceived stigma, burden, coping strategies, care giving appraisal, and cultural acceptance of modes of treatment are different in urban and rural settings along with different caregivers profile. This review will highlight these differences in light of their overall characteristics, and health seeking behavior. This further calls for empowering caregivers, understanding and exploring new dimensions of caregiving, and implementing holistic intervention for patients as well as caregiver's well-being.

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This article is based on my experience in living with mentally unprivileged people in community. This review will be highlighting issues faced by mentally ill female patients, their sufferings, and how the suffering is different from males. Here I share my experience of working with female mentally ill patients and issues faced in their rehabilitation. It should help people in understanding issues involved in female psychosocial rehabilitation and help in planning special rehabilitation services for them.

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Do we need any research on caregivers and caregiving and whether research helps the field of care? During last three decades, there has been a tremendous change in health care service delivery, as well as the development of sustainable policies on long-term care. The research identified need for the training of health professionals for psychiatric care, preventing and managing chronic diseases, and developing people-friendly services and health care settings. This review further highlights how to sensitize policy makers to improve the quality of life of persons with mental health problems and to caregivers and how to prioritize our research in the area of caregiving.

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