title: Instruction in developmental psychiatry: preliminary findings at the undergraduate level in Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although knowledge on developmental psychiatry is fundamental for the early recognition, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders, this subject has not been incorporated into the medical curriculum or psychiatric practice in Brazil.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of a short course on developmental psychiatry for undergraduate students and to expand education policies concerning developmental psychiatry in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Before and after attending an extracurricular 12-hour, 4-day course on the fundamentals of developmental psychiatry, undergraduate health sciences students were tested regarding their knowledge of the subject. The pre-test/post-test included 12 randomly selected multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate knowledge related to developmental psychiatry and was administered together with a questionnaire designed to evaluate students' attitudes. To compare performances between groups, nonparametric analyses of ordinal categorical data were employed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The final sample comprised 43 students. The mean post-test score was significantly higher than the mean pre-test score (65.0% vs 39.9%; p < 0.0001). We found that strongly positive attitudes correlated with better performance. The 3rd and 4th year medical students performed better than the 1st and 2nd year medical students and the non-medical students. Sex differences favoring males were also observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings encourage additional educational policies related to developmental psychiatry which may result in direct clinical implications.
authors.affiliation: Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Erika Neves de Souza
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scivoletto
authors.forename: Vitor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fossaluza
authors.forename: Joaquim Edson
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Euripedes Constantino
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Miguel
authors.forename: Pedro Gomes de
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D001938:Brazil; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D011640:Public Policy; D055815:Young Adult