Dorottya Őri

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-50) is widely used to assess autistic traits, yet its Hungarian version has not been psychometrically evaluated. We assessed the reliability, factor structure, temporal stability, convergent validity, and clinical utility of the Hungarian AQ-50 and a revised translation (AQ-50-HU-R) in two samples ( N ₁ = 1967; N ₂ = 423), including autistic and non-autistic participants. The AQ-50-HU-R showed high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. A bifactor model provided the best fit ( χ ² [1125] = 1650.433, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.991; TLI = 0.990; RMSEA = 0.033 [90% CI = 0.030-0.037]; SRMR = 0.083), with 71% of common variance attributable to a general autistic traits factor. The total score distinguished clinically verified autistic participants from participants reporting no ASD diagnosis (AUC = 0.906), with a cutoff of 25. Associations with ADOS scores were weak or nonsignificant. The AQ-50-HU-R is best interpreted as a reliable total-score screening measure, supporting referral for comprehensive autism assessment.

In several European countries, national clinical guidelines for the management of ADHD are lacking. In others, guidelines are outdated or do not address more detailed aspects of care, such as medication titration procedures or specific recommendations for school adjustments. Perceptions of the appropriateness of treatment, which influence the delivery of care for ADHD, are shaped by sociocultural aspects. Consequently, practices in the management of ADHD are expected to substantially vary across Europe. To better understand current practices in both pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of ADHD, as well as clinicians’ perceptions of treatment appropriateness, we conducted an online survey among European qualified child and adolescent (neuro)psychiatrists and general psychiatrists or trainees involved in the care of children and adolescents with ADHD. The survey was developed and implemented by the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ESCAP) Research Academy, with input from the European ADHD Guidelines Group (EAGG). It was completed by 1,441 clinicians of varying seniority from 23 European countries. The findings provide updated insights into ADHD management across Europe and highlight three key unmet needs. First, several clinically relevant areas lack sufficient evidence, including how to personalise treatment and identify practical predictors of treatment response. Second, some existing evidence has not yet been adequately translated into clinical guidelines or routine practice, particularly regarding comparative treatment effects and dose–response relationships relevant to medication titration. Third, some respondents reported needs that are already addressed in existing international guidelines, suggesting that language barriers may limit access to guidance and underscoring the importance of developing country-specific recommendations in local languages. Overall, this survey - to our knowledge the largest of its kind conducted in Europe - provides valuable information to inform future clinical guidelines, research priorities, and health policy. It also informs future training programmes aimed at reducing bias in the perception and delivery of ADHD treatment.

Background: Despite advancements, a proportion of pediatric bone and joint infections remain culture negative, complicating diagnosis and therapy. This study aimed to compare characteristics and outcomes of culture-negative versus culture-positive infections in a pediatric cohort over a 10-year period. Methods: A retrospective, multicenter observational study was conducted across 6 tertiary care centers in Hungary between 2015 and 2024, including hospitalized children with primary hematogenous osteomyelitis or septic arthritis within 2 months of symptom onset. The primary outcome was the requirement for surgical intervention within 30 days of diagnosis; secondary outcomes included the incidence of short-term (at 30 days) and long-term complications (at follow-up end). Postdischarge follow-up continued until the last documented hospitalization or outpatient visit. Results: Ninety-seven patients were included. Osteomyelitis, arthritis and combined infection were diagnosed in 49.5%, 28.9% and 21.6% of cases, respectively. A pathogen was identified in 72.5% of patients, most frequently via intraoperative cultures (74.2%) and blood cultures (53.6%). Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant pathogen (71.2%), followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (11.9%) and Salmonella spp. (6.8%). Within 30 days of diagnosis, the culture-positive group exhibited a significantly higher rate of surgical intervention, compared to the culture-negative group (79.7% vs. 34.2%, P = 0.001). Short-term complications were also more frequent in culture-positive cases (64.4% vs. 42.1%, P = 0.031). No difference was observed in long-term complication rates between groups. Conclusions: In pediatric patients, culture-positive bone and joint infections are associated with a more severe short-term clinical course and an increased likelihood of surgical intervention, particularly when S. aureus is the causative agent.

Understanding the drivers of COVID-19 vaccination intentions remains relevant as public health systems prepare for future pandemics. This study examined how emotional and social-cognitive factors influence COVID-19 vaccination intentions during two key phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: before (April-June 2020) and after (January-February 2021) vaccination rollout. A total of 586 adults completed an online survey assessing beliefs about COVID-19, self-efficacy to adhere to protective behaviours, perceived stress, affect, psychological flexibility, and prosociality. Self-efficacy, prosociality, psychological flexibility and positive affect significantly declined after vaccination rollout. Higher self-efficacy and perceived severity of the disease consistently predicted stronger vaccination intentions across time points. Perceived susceptibility was negatively associated with vaccination intention before, but not after rollout. The psychological variables were not significant predictors of intentions. These findings underscore the importance of social-cognitive factors, especially self-efficacy and perceived severity, in shaping vaccination-related decisions, with implications for designing effective communication strategies in future health emergencies.

Background: Negative symptoms (NS) represent an important unmet need in schizophrenia (SZ) assessment and management. Despite NS are strongly associated with poorer functioning and quality of life, they are frequently underrecognized, inconsistently evaluated, and show limited response to current treatments. Although specific assessment tools and European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on NS have been developed, their impact on routine clinical practice appears limited. This study aimed to investigate the competence and confidence of European Early Career Psychiatrists (ECPs) in NS evaluation and management. Methods: The CARE project was a cross-sectional online survey directed towards ECPs from European countries. Results: 828 ECPs’ responses were collected from 19 countries. The majority of ECPs were trainees (65.8%), reported theoretical training in negative symptoms (NS) and placements in schizophrenia-specialized settings (67.9% and 70.3%), while about half reported extracurricular NS training (51.1%) and involvement in clinical research (46.1%). Only 11% correctly identified NS domains, despite 65.7% felt well-trained in NS assessment tools. Just 15.9% correctly answered questions based on the EPA guidance papers. 46.7% and 25.9% ECPs reported feeling competent in NS evaluation and management, respectively. Gender (men) specialist status, research involvement, theoretical NS training, and placements in specialized SZ services predicted perceived competence. However, in-depth NS knowledge was predicted only by specialist status, engagement in clinical research, and extracurricular NS training. Conclusions: Despite reported exposure to NS training, ECPs demonstrated limited knowledge of NS. Actions need to be taken to ensure that ECPs receive the highest standard of training in NS.

Background: Mental health-related stigma among healthcare professionals is a well-documented global concern, contributing to delayed help-seeking, suboptimal treatment adherence, and poorer patient outcomes. In Slovenia, despite growing public and policy efforts to reduce stigma, no validated instrument existed to measure such attitudes among healthcare providers. Objective: We aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Slovenian version of the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC). Methods: A diverse sample of 280 Slovenian healthcare professionals completed the OMS-HC. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to assess the structure of the scale, and reliability was examined through model-based indices, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability. Convergent validity was evaluated using the MICA-4 scale. Results: Initial confirmatory factor analysis indicated relatively poor model fit for the original 15-item, three-factor model. Subsequent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the use of either a 12- or 14-item version. Both demonstrated strong general factor reliability (OmegaH > 0.69; ECV ≈ 0.60), with the 12-item version offering slightly better model fit, while the 14-item version retained broader conceptual content. Test–retest reliability was good for the total score and good to moderate for the subscales. Moderate positive correlations with the MICA-4 scale confirmed convergent validity. Conclusions: The Slovenian OMS-HC shows good psychometric properties in both its 12- and 14-item formats and is suitable for assessing stigma among healthcare professionals. We recommend the 12-item version for research contexts where parsimony is prioritized, and the 14-item version when broader clinical coverage is needed. Its validation addresses an important methodological gap in Slovenia and provides a reliable tool for stigma monitoring and intervention planning.

Introduction: Paediatric acute haematogenous bone and joint infections (BJIs) are serious conditions. This study aimed to analyse the characteristics of paediatric acute haematogenous osteomyelitis (AHO) and septic arthritis (SA) in Hungary, with a focus on causative pathogens, clinical outcomes, and long-term complications. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a Hungarian tertiary referral centre between 2015 and 2022. Children aged 18 years or younger diagnosed with acute haematogenous osteomyelitis (AHO) or septic arthritis (SA) within two months of symptom onset were included. Exclusion criteria were chronic infection, post-operative infections, or wound-related infections. Complicated AHO was defined by intraosseous abscess or necrosis confirmed radiologically or intraoperatively. The primary outcome was surgical intervention beyond 30 days after diagnosis; secondary outcomes included long-term complications. Results: Forty patients were included (77.5% male, median age 8.7 years). AHO was diagnosed in 8 patients (20.0%), complicated AHO in 22 (55.0%), and SA in 10 (25.0%). MRI had the highest diagnostic sensitivity (97.0%). Pathogens were identified in 72.5% of cases; Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was most common (57.5%), followed by Salmonella and Streptococcus pyogenes (5% each). Surgery was required in 90.0% of SA cases, 77.2% of complicated AHO, and 37.5% of uncomplicated AHO. Long-term complications occurred in 10%, mainly with S. aureus and complicated AHO. Conclusions: Paediatric BJIs, especially due to S. aureus, often require surgery and cause long-term sequelae.

Objective: This study examined mental health literacy and predictors of disorder recognition among primary care providers (PCPs) in Hungary. Methods: 208 PCPs in Hungary completed a survey assessing demographics, mental health stigma, and exposure to mental health (i.e., personal experiences and having a family member/friend with a mental health condition). Participants read six vignettes describing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) harm/aggression subtype (OCD-Aggression), OCD order/symmetry subtype (OCD-Order), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder (PD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) and were asked to identify each condition, perceived disorder causes, and provide treatment referrals. Descriptive analyses were used to characterize disorder recognition rates, perceived disorder causes, and treatment referrals. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the degree to which demographic characteristics, mental health stigma, and exposure to mental health conditions predict accurate disorder recognition. Results: Identification rates for each vignette were: OCD-Aggression (27.9%), OCD-Order (75.5%), SAD (34.1%), GAD (76.0%), PD (78.8%), and MDD (91.3%). First-choice treatment referrals were a psychiatrist for OCD-Aggression (63.0%), OCD-Order (53.8%), and MDD (46.6%), a psychologist/therapist for SAD (58.7%) and GAD (48.6%), and a PCP for PD (39.9%). Mislabeling conditions was significantly associated with older age (for GAD, OCD-Aggression, PD and MDD), male gender (for GAD), greater mental health stigma (for OCD-Order), and lack of exposure to mental health conditions (for SAD). Conclusions: Findings highlight strengths (e.g., depression recognition) and limitations in knowledge of mental health conditions among PCPs in Hungary and identifies targets to address to improve mental health literacy.

Objective: This study examined mental health literacy and predictors of disorder recognition among primary care providers (PCPs) in Hungary. Methods: 208 PCPs in Hungary completed a survey assessing demographics, mental health stigma, and exposure to mental health. Participants read six vignettes describing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) harm/aggression subtype (OCD-Aggression), OCD order/symmetry subtype (OCD-Order), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder (PD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) and were asked to identify each condition and provide treatment referrals. Descriptive analyses were used to characterize disorder recognition rates, perceived disorder causes, and treatment referrals. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the degree to which demographic characteristics, mental health stigma, and exposure to mental health predict accurate disorder recognition. Results: Identification rates for each vignette were: OCD-Aggression (27.9%), OCD-Order (75.5%), SAD (34.1%), GAD (76.0%), PD (78.8%), and MDD (91.3%). First-choice treatment referrals were a psychiatrist for OCD-Aggression (63%), OCD-Order (53.8%), and MDD (46.6%), a psychologist/therapist for SAD (58.7%) and GAD (48.6%), and a PCP for PD (39.9%). Mislabeling conditions was significantly associated with older age (for GAD, OCD-Aggression, PD and MDD), male gender (for GAD), greater mental health stigma (for OCD-Order), and not having a family member/friend with a mental health condition (for SAD). Conclusions: Findings highlight strengths (e.g., depression recognition) and limitations in knowledge of mental health conditions among PCPs in Hungary and targets to address to improve mental health literacy.