bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Family Psychiatric Morbidity, Parental Deprivation and Socio-Economic Status in Cases of Mania
Authors: Chopra H. D.
Published: August 2008

Manic-depressive psychosis is considered to comprise two different clinical entities, bipolar and monopolar. This dichotomy is based mainly on Western clinical material. The present study aimed at eliciting any differences that might exist between monopolar and bipolar manic patients in respect of three factors: (i) occurrence of psychiatric illness in first degree relatives; (ii) parental death before the patient's 15th birthday; and (iii) socio-economic status of the patient. Venkoba Rao (1973) studied the differences between monopolar and bipolar endogenous depressives on three factors: occurrence of affective disorder (including suicide) in first degree relatives; parental loss before the patient's 12th birthday, and the extent of ‘jointness' of the patient's family.
The Male : Female Ratio Among the Siblings of Delinquents
Authors: Clarke R. V. G. , Softley P.
Published: August 2008

Those interested in the family backgrounds of delinquents have paid a good deal of attention to family size and position in family (see Mannheim, 1965, for a review), but little to the ratio of brothers to sisters. This is surprising, since it can be argued that boys who come from families with a preponderance of brothers may be particularly at risk of delinquency; for example, their parents might find it difficult to control them; they might be more likely to play out on the streets and thus have greater opportunities for delinquency; and, since delinquency is a predominantly male activity, they might have a greater chance of being set a bad example through the behaviour of their brothers.
The Chronic Patient's Comprehension and Recollection of His Own Clinical Review
Authors: Cheadle A. J. , Morgan R.
Published: August 2008

The patient undergoing rehabilitation is expected to do more than passively accept care and treatment. He is also expected to learn. The doctor or nurse purveying rehabilitation finds that the job increasingly includes teaching as well as treating patients. Most but not all of the transactions between teachers and taught are conducted by means of the spoken word. The extent to which messages are conveyed intact by this means (and without this no learning will occur) will depend among other things upon the speaker's clarity of expression and the listener's ability to understand.
A Further Review of the Results of Stereotactic Subcaudate Tractotomy
Authors: Göktepe E. O. , Young Lucy B. , Bridges P. K.
Published: August 2008

There is accumulating evidence of the clinical effectiveness of selective stereotactic psychosurgery in some severely disabled psychiatric patients who have not responded to other forms of treatment (Ström-Olsen and Carlisle, 1971; Bridges, Göktepe and Maratos, 1973; Kelly et al., 1973). The risks of adverse effects resulting from operation are now small, and their significance is further diminished when related to the distress over long periods of those patients who are suitable for psychosurgery. The criteria for selection have been considered by Bridges and Bartlett (1973).
Further Report on Prophylactic Lithium in Recurrent Affective Disorders
Authors: Hullin R. P. , McDonald R. , Allsopp M. N. E.
Published: August 2008

Evidence continues to accumulate for the proposition that lithium salts have a marked prophylactic effect on recurrent affective disorders. An earlier paper (1), together with reports from Baastrup et al. (2) and Coppen et al. (3) indicate that this effect is a strong one. This paper reports the current position regarding a trial in one centre which has been in progress for eight years, in which the effect of lithium was investigated on the frequency of admission to and time spent in psychiatric hospitals.
Group Counselling of Alcoholics by a Voluntary Agency
Authors: Madden J. S. , Kenyon W. H.
Published: August 2008

The Merseyside Council on Alcoholism (M.C.A.) is the first operative regional council on alcoholism in the United Kingdom; it is a voluntary organization employing full-time staff (Kenyon, 1972). In its first ten years it has counselled over 4,000 alcoholics; about one third of these needed admission to hospital, so arrangements for admission were early established with general and psychiatric hospitals and with the regional addiction unit. After individual counselling by the M.C.A. (aided when necessary by detoxification at home, or in a medical or psychiatric ward) the alcoholics usually return to work.
Suicide in Dublin: I. The Under-reporting of Suicide and the Consequences for National Statistics
Authors: McCarthy P. Desmond , Walsh Dermot
Published: August 2008

This study of suicide in Dublin during 1964–1968 from coroners' records was undertaken to estimate the discrepancy between coroners' verdicts, the national suicide statistics compiled from them and the clinical assessment of probability of suicide by psychiatrists examining the same records. The large difference in numbers of suicides deriving from the two approaches has considerable implications for national suicide statistics, and these have been briefly considered. From the findings presented we believe that we are justified in concluding that: (a) there are real differences in national suicide rates, at least between Ireland, England and Wales, and Scotland, and (b) the Irish suicide rate is low, though not as low as official statistics suggest, and (c) the discrepancy between official and ‘true’ suicide rates in Ireland is greater than in England and Wales and in Scotland.
Psychiatric Morbidity in a North Indian Community
Authors: Thacore V. R. , Gupta S. C. , Suraiya M.
Published: August 2008

In 1965, the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine of King George's Medical College, Lucknow, established an Urban Health Centre in the Alambagh suburb of Lucknow city and registered 500 families representing a cross-section of the resident population with the purpose of training undergraduate and postgraduate medical students in the practice of community health (Gupta, 1966).
A Study of Minor Psychiatric and Physical Symptoms During the Menstrual Cycle
Authors: Beumont P. J. V. , Richards D. H. , Gelder M. G.
Published: August 2008

Premenstrual tension (PMT) has hitherto not been accurately defined. The term refers to a cluster of symptoms, both psychological and physical, which appear episodically in relation to the phases of the menstrual cycle—either strictly in the premenstruum (Rees, 1953), or also at other times, such as at ovulation (Dalton, 1964). Most previous studies of the syndrome have been ‘retrospective’, i.e. women have been asked to report the presence of PMT during a previous cycle. McCance, Luff and Widdowson (1937) and Altman, Knowles and Bull (1941), who required their subjects to chart mood state daily, pointed to a discrepancy between the frequency of the condition as reported in studies using retrospective questioning and in their own findings. It is hardly surprising that there is controversy concerning the prevalence of a condition which is so poorly defined as is PMT.
Arabic Study of Cases of Functional Sexual Inadequacy
Authors: Okasha Ahmed , Demerdash A.
Published: August 2008

The subject of impotence has hardly been approached in the Arab countries though sexual dysfunction of a functional nature is of no less importance there than elsewhere.
Electroencephalographic Findings in Treatment-Seeking Homosexuals Compared with Heterosexuals: a Controlled Study
Authors: Papatheophilou R. , James Sheelah , Orwin A.
Published: August 2008

During the course of research into the reorientating of homosexuals routine EEGs were taken to identify patients with low convulsive threshold to exclude them from treatment (aversion). In an initial series of 28 homosexuals 4 showed EEG abnormalities related to organic conditions, but EEGs of the otherwise apparently normal treatment seeking homosexuals showed more marked overbreathing response than would have been expected by chance.
Models of Mania: An Individual Case Study
Authors: Hemsley D. R. , Philips H. C.
Published: August 2008

A longitudinal study of a single case of manic-depressive psychosis investigated the relationship between psychiatric ratings, reaction time and two measures of autonomic activity. Measurements were made on 19 occasions over a five-month period. The number of slow responses on the reaction time task increased with increasing depression. Manic periods appeared not to be characterized by a slowing of responses, but rather by an increase in the number of premature responses, i.e. those made to the warning signal. A derived performance index discriminated over the complete range from severe depression to severe mania.

Increased depression was associated with lower heart rate resting levels, and increasing mania with increased skin conductance levels. An increased frequency of slow reaction times was significantly associated with lower resting heart rate. Skin conductance measures correlated significantly with the number of premature responses made on the reaction time tasks. Some differences in the relationships emerged when data obtained during the administration of lithium were included in the analysis.

The results are discussed in relation to both the bipolar and the continuum models of manic-depressive psychosis. The latter model is not supported by the present investigation, since manic episodes were not characterized by a more severe departure from normality than depressive episodes on either the number of slowed responses or autonomic measures.
Serum Copper in Schizophrenia in Nigerians
Authors: Olatunbosun D. A. , Akindele M. O. , Adadevoh B. K. , Asuni T.
Published: August 2008

Serum copper concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in 102 schizophrenic patients and 95 healthy control subjects. The serum copper concentrations were significantly higher in the schizophrenic patients than in the normal control subjects. The average serum copper in schizophrenic females was higher than in schizophrenic males, but the difference was not statistically significant
Subjective Aspects of Alpha Enhancement
Authors: Travis T. A. , Kondo C. Y. , Knott J. R.
Published: August 2008

Early reports on enhancing occipital alpha through feedback noted that subjects reported the experience as being pleasant and relaxing. This paper reports the subjective experiences of 140 subjects who participated in four studies which examined the alpha enhancement phenomenon. Under both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions, approximately 50 per cent of the subjects reported that alpha enhancement was ‘pleasant’ and 50 per cent ‘unpleasant/neutral’. With eyes-open training conditions, about half the subjects stated that the experience was ‘relaxing’ and the other half ‘not relaxing’. During eyes-closed training, 63 per cent of the subjects noted that enhancing alpha was ‘relaxing’, while 37 per cent reported that the experience was ‘not relaxing’. However, in the last case the circular relationship between increased alpha and deep relaxation may obtain.
The Potential Difference Across the Rectal Mucosa During Depressive Illness and Lithium Therapy
Authors: Peet Malcolm
Published: August 2008

The potential difference across the rectal mucosa (rectal p.d.) is generated by the active transport of sodium across the mucosa, and it is sensitive to the action of aldosterone. The rectal p.d. values of depressive patients on no treatment, tested whilst depressed or after recovery, were found to be similar to those of control subjects, indicating that sodium transport across the rectal mucosa and the activity of aldosterone were normal in these patients. This contrasts with previous reports of abnormalities of sodium transport and of aldosterone levels in manic-depressive patients. Manic-depressive patients taking lithium carbonate as a prophylactic agent were found to have significantly elevated rectal p.d. values when normothymic. Patients who had become depressed whilst taking lithium, and in whom prophylaxis had therefore failed, were found to have normal rectal p.d. values. Lack of elevation of rectal p.d. in response to lithium administration may be a characteristic of patients who fail to respond to lithium prophylaxis.
The Debate Between Psychiatry and the Law
Authors: Ormrod Roger
Published: August 2008

The reprinting by the Institute of Psychiatry, on its fiftieth anniversary, of Dr. Peter Scott's paper (1) describing Maudsley's work as a pioneer in criminology reminds us of the prominent part Maudsley played in the debate between psychiatrists and lawyers which has been in progress for nearly a century and a half, with, for much of that time, little satisfaction for either side. It is a classic example of the difficulties of inter-disciplinary communication. My only qualification to be the Maudsley Lecturer is that I happen to be doubly qualified in law and medicine, and, as Chairman of the Institute, a good deal closer to psychiatry than most lawyers. My qualities as an interpreter must therefore make good the intellectual deficiencies of which a glance at the list of my forty-seven distinguished predecessors makes me acutely conscious.
Bleuler and Schizophrenia
Authors: Raskin David E.
Published: August 2008

Eugen Bleuler has had a major influence on American psychiatry. His theory of schizophrenia, linking descriptive psychiatry to Freud's psychoanalytic concepts, has had an important influence on diagnosis and treatment, especially in America. This paper will summarize first some textbook descriptions of Bleuler's contribution and then some major issues which Bleuler discusses in his book Dementia Praecox, or the Group of Schizophrenias. I hope to demonstrate that the textbook accounts do not adequately describe the complexity and ambiguity of Bleuler's approach.
The Comparability of Suicide Rates
Authors: Atkinson M. W. , Kessel Neil , Dalgaard J. B.
Published: August 2008

Programmes of suicide prevention require for their planning accurate epidemiological surveys.

Doubt has been cast on the accuracy of many existing surveys because of the realization that suicide is under-reported and because of the lack of consistency in the procedure for suicide ascertainment.

Two studies are described in this paper which attempt to examine the problem.

The first is part of an international study supported by the World Health Organization. In it, Denmark and England are compared, and it is shown that there are striking differences in suicide ascertainment procedure between the two countries. Next, on a blind basis, coroners and their opposite numbers in Denmark examine a sample of each other's case records. It is found that the Danes consistently report more suicides than do the English coroners on the same case material; thus considerable doubt is cast on the supposed difference in suicide rates between the two countries.

In the second study, deaths by poisoning are examined for certain coroners' districts in England and Wales. It is shown that there is considerable variation from one district to another in the relative proportions of these deaths which achieve an accident, an open or a suicide verdict. This suggests that in England and Wales coroners may not be consistent in their suicide ascertainment criteria.

Hypotheses attempting to account for differences in suicide rate based on such epidemiological surveys should be viewed with great caution.
Mental Health Care in Rural India: A Study of Existing Patterns and Their Implications for Future Policy
Authors: Kapur R. L.
Published: August 2008

Three separate studies were carried out to examine the patterns of mental health care in an Indian village. The first examined the conceptual frameworks of the various traditional and modern healers. The second was an attitude study inquiring about the type of healer favoured for psychiatric consultation. The third was a population survey in which every person with one or more symptoms was asked if he or she had consulted anyone for relief of distress.

Besides the modern doctors there were three types of traditional healers: Vaids, practising an empirical system of indigenous medicine; Mantarwadis, curing through astrology and charms; and Patris, who acted as mediums for spirits and demons.

It was found that a large majority (59 per cent) of those with symptoms had consulted someone. The consultation was determined more by the severity of illness than by socio-demographic factors. Modern doctors were more popular, but most people consulted both traditional and modern healers without regards to the latter's contradictory conceptual framework. Literacy and other sociodemographic factors had no influence on the type of consultation.

A conclusion was reached that any scheme for introducing modern psychiatry into rural areas should make use of the locally popular healers, both traditional or modern.
Two Gases of Gilles de la Tourette's Syndrome Treated with Haloperidol
Authors: Perera H. V.
Published: August 2008

Two cases of Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome occurring in Sri Lanka are reported. Both patients had the characteristics of the syndrome as described by Fernando (1967): (1) Childhood onset (below 16 years of age); (2) Multiple motor tics; (3) Unprovoked vocal utterances which may progress to coprolalia. Both responded to haloperidol, withdrawal of medication being followed by relapse, and reintroduction by remission.

The literature on the aetiology of the condition has been reviewed. The weight of evidence favours an organic cause, although psychological precipitation cannot be ruled out.
Psychiatric Aspects of Hypertension
Authors: Wheatley David , Balter Mitchell , Levine Jerome , Lipman Ronald , Bauer Mary Lou , Bonato Roland
Published: August 2008

The physiological response to stress falls mainly on the cardiovascular system, adrenergic stimulation resulting in peripheral vasoconstriction and an increase in systemic blood pressure. The analogous effects that occur in anxiety-provoking situations immediately suggest an association, whether causal or effectual, between raised blood pressure and anxiety. It has also been suggested that hypertensive individuals exhibit more aggressive traits than others and that these may be hidden or suppressed, becoming manifest by abnormal elevation of the blood pressure (Smirk, 1957).
The Usefulness of the Semantic Differential with ‘Mild Grade’ Mental Defectives
Authors: Dow M. G. T. , Ledwith F. , Fraser W. I. , Bhagat M.
Published: August 2008

Although the semantic differential has been quite widely used with mental defectives, its usefulness (in its traditional form) with such a population has not been conclusively demonstrated.

The semantic differential was developed and shown to be valid as an index of representational mediation processes. However, there is also evidence of a mediational deficiency among retardates which, therefore, ought to be reflected in retardates' responses to the semantic differential. Thus, the present study was designed to test two hypotheses: (a) that mild grade retardates, in comparison with subjects of average intelligence, would show less discrimination in the use of the semantic differential, and (b) that such discriminative deficiencies would in turn predispose toward a polarized response bias among the retarded.

The results, which supported both hypotheses, are discussed in terms of their implications for the usefulness of an unmodified semantic differential with the mentally subnormal.
The History of Psychiatry as the History of an Art
Authors: Birley J. L. T.
Published: August 2008

T. S. Eliot, standing on his doorstep, with his Boston Evening Transcript in his hand, ‘turned wearily as he would turn to nod goodbye to Rochefoucauld if the street were time and he at the end of the street’. The same weary gaze characterizes the attitude of most psychiatrists towards important figures in the past history of their subject. A crude indication of this state of affairs is the total absence of any historical questions in most psychiatric examinations. For its jobbing practitioners, psychiatry might as well exist in a historical vacuum. And why not? History has its own snares and delusions. Henry Ford called it ‘bunk’. Alfred North Whitehead remarked that ‘a science which hesitates to forget its founders is lost’. And Karl Popper, who has done a thorough demolition job on the concept of ‘historicism’, has warned us that ‘if our civilization is to survive, we must break with the habit of deference to great men’. In contrast to psychiatrists, students of art study its history for at least a year. If we regarded psychiatry as an art, how does our history look then?
The Assessment of Social Breakdown in Newly-Admitted Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Clemmey W. R. L. , Kennard D. , Mandelbrote B. M.
Published: August 2008

This paper presents a study of patients' social and domestic functioning preceding admission to a psychiatric hospital. A method is described for the quantitative assessment of ‘social breakdown’ in the areas of work, domestic performance and social group activity, based on reports from the patient and from another household member. Complementary changes in the domestic tasks carried out by other family members are also investigated. The sample consisted of 28 women and 17 men. Their usual level of functioning and their degree of breakdown are related to psychiatric diagnosis on admission, to the patient's position within the family and to the social class of the household. Discrepancies between reports are also investigated in relation to these variables.
A Fifteen-Year Review of Female Admissions to Carstairs State Hospital
Authors: Brooks Patrick W. , Mitchell Geoffrey
Published: August 2008

A survey was made of all female admissions to the State Hospital, Carstairs, between the time of the first female admissions in 1959, and 31 December 1973. There were 66 female admissions, constituting 7·1 per cent of the total admissions over the same period. The females fall into two separate sub-groups. The first consists of persistently violent patients transferred from other hospitals, suffering from mental subnormality or personality disorder; they have a poorer prognosis than the second group, who are sent from Courts or prison because of single serious acts of violence often directed at a member of the family, and who suffer from a personality disorder or from schizophrenia. Some features of the two groups are compared and contrasted. There may be an increase in the proportion of patients in the first group being admitted to the State Hospital, and some implications of this trend are discussed.
Mood and Whole Blood Adenosine Triphosphate
Authors: Jenner F. A. , Vlissides Dimitrios N. , Kenyon Patricia , Chard N. , Grant L.
Published: August 2008

The claim of Hansen (1969) and Hansen and Dimitrakoudi (1974) that whole blood adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels correlate with depressed affect was examined. The findings from 84 patients failed to confirm any relationship between mood and whole blood ATP. One patient showing the highest correlation (r = 0·85; p < 0.001) between the ATP levels and mood in the original report was re-examined; no relationship was now found (r = −0·25; p > 0·1).
Academic Psychiatrists
Authors: Brook Peter
Published: August 2008

The training experiences of 35 academic psychiatrists first appointed in the years 1966–72, obtained by a postal questionnaire, are reported and compared with those of N.H.S. consultant psychiatrists appointed in the same period. The academic group reported less satisfactory training in a number of important areas, including psychogeriatrics and work in the community. Academics also differ from consultants in their fathers' socio-economic status and educational background.
Infantile Autism in Twins
Authors: McQuaid Paul E.
Published: August 2008

A pair of MZ male twins concordant for early infantile autism (E.I.A.) is presented. A distinction is drawn between E.I.A. and infantile psychosis (I.P.) with associated mental retardation as a guide to prognosis and the necessity to provide suitable social training and education. The relevance of aetiology is discussed, and the importance of abnormal ante-natal history and delivery status, even in cases with strong genetic predisposition, is noted.
Sterilization: A Review of 98 Sterilized Women
Authors: Enoch M. David , Jones Keith
Published: August 2008

The details of 98 women sterilized over a three-year period are presented. They show that female sterilization is a safe procedure which has a satisfactory result in many cases and confers many secondary benefits. However, some regret is common and is associated with a high incidence of psychiatric and marital morbidity, and this is shown to be related to pre-operative factors. A method of pre-operative assessment is outlined which should minimize the risk of a poor outcome following female sterilization.
Sir Aubrey Lewis's Contributions to Psychiatry
Authors: Gelder M. G.
Published: August 2008

When Sir Aubrey Lewis died, psychiatry lost a major figure. He will surely rank with the great men of the past whose work he knew so well and would have judged substantial and enduring. The present assessment, written a few months after his death, can only attempt a preliminary evaluation of the work of a man who for more than twenty years was the dominant figure in British psychiatry.
Some Personality Characteristics of Patients with Anorexia Nervosa
Authors: Smart D. E. , Beumont P. J. V. , George G. C. W.
Published: August 2008

Twenty-two female patients with anorexia nervosa were assessed by means of objective personality testing. The EPI, Leyton Obsessional Inventory, Cattell's 16 PF and Raven's Matrices were used for this purpose. The personality profile that emerged was of a highly neurotic and introverted person with moderately severe obsessional features and average intelligence.
School Phobia in the Children of Agoraphobic Women
Authors: Berg Ian
Published: August 2008

As part of a survey of agoraphobic women in the general population, it was found that school phobia occurred in their children to a greater extent than would be expected. The average incidence in children aged 11 to 15 was 14 per cent. The women with school phobic children had had school phobia themselves to an undue extent.
The Relationship Between Anxiety-Depression and the Neuroses
Authors: Foulds G. A. , Bedford A.
Published: August 2008

In a recent article a hierarchy of classes of personal illness was proposed (Foulds and Bedford, 1975), consisting of four classes, each with its constituent groups, apart from the highest class. These were: Class 4—Delusions of Disintegration (with, as yet, no groups); Class 3—Integrated Delusions (the groups being ‘Delusions of Contrition’; ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ and ‘Delusions of Persecution’); Class 2—Neurotic Symptoms (Conversion; Dissociative; Phobic; Compulsive and Ruminative symptoms); Class 1—Dysthymic States (states of Anxiety; of Depression and of Elation).
Serum Creatine Phosphokinase in Acute Psychosis
Authors: Soni Som D.
Published: August 2008

Fifty-four patients suffering from a variety of psychotic states were graded by their degree of psychomotor activity. Serum creatine Phosphokinase (CPK) levels were found to be related to the degree of psychomotor activity, irrespective of the diagnostic category. Retarded and withdrawn patients had normal serum CPK, but on their return to normal psychomotor activity the CPK levels tended to rise transiently. It appears that unphysiological motor activity has a more direct relationship to the rise of serum CPK than motor activity per se.
Hostility in Drug Dependent Individuals: Its Relation to Specific Drugs, and Oral or Intravenous Use
Authors: Gossop Michael R. , Roy Alec
Published: August 2008

Although a number of studies have suggested that hostility and drug dependence may be related, there are few systematic studies of this issue. Using the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, the present study compares several drug-dependent groups of patients. Results showed that the intravenous in-patient group was more hostile on several variables than their out-patient counterparts, and also more hostile than an oral in-patient group. Barbiturate abusers were found to have high levels of hostility; amphetamine abusers were the least hostile group, and narcotic dependent patients were intermediate between the two. Correlations between scales of the HDHQ, were all positive, and most were both high and statistically significant, suggesting that hostility represents a relatively generalized trait in drug-dependent subjects. The results are discussed both in terms of patient selection factors—the differential pressures on different types of patients, and in terms of direct drug effects. It is suggested that the hostility of drug-dependent patients may represent an important problem of personal functioning and may require special attention in treatment programmes.
Late Effects of Early Dependency Need Deprivation: The Meal Ticket Syndrome
Authors: Farn William E. , Sussex James N.
Published: August 2008

A psychiatric condition disabling to persons in the fifth and sixth decades is described. Approximately 51 per cent of nearly 1,000 Social Security Disability applicants sampled presented a wide variety of somatic and psychological complaints, but no severe psychiatric disorder. This group is characterized by inability to continue gainful employment. Commencement of full-time employment before age 16 years (59 per cent) and level of education were the only significant differences between this group and psychotic applicants; another 33 per cent began full-time work before age 20 years. 88.5 per cent of the families of these persons remained intact until after they began work. Apparently, being thrust into the responsibilities of adulthood earlier than their peers contributed to the early disability.
Where Do Psychiatrists Come From?
Authors: Brook Peter
Published: August 2008

The medical schools of origin of 531 psychiatrists who had qualified in the U.K. in the period 1961–1970 were ascertained. Psychiatrists were for the purpose of the study operationally defined as those who had taken the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Membership examinations since its inception. There were large discrepancies, as much as five-fold, between different medical schools, and no ready explanation is forthcoming. There were also discrepancies in the proportion of women graduates opting for psychiatry.
Towards Rational Therapy with Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
Authors: Tyrer Peter
Published: August 2008

A rational approach to the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) is outlined. Patients suitable for treatment cannot be classified adequately using conventional diagnostic labels. They include those with primary symptoms of hypochondriasis, agoraphobia and social phobias, irritability, somatic anxiety and anergia; those with primary depressed mood, guilt, ideas of reference and personality disorders seldom respond. There is great variation in the interval between the first administration of these drugs and clinical response, and this may account for the inconsistencies in published trials. The type of drug and its dose may affect rate of response, as may biochemical factors, including acetylator and monoamine oxidase status. To obtain maximum benefit, a course of therapy with MAOIs should last for several months.
Deliberate Self-Harm: A Follow-Up Study of 279 Patients
Authors: Morgan H. Gethin , Barton Jacqueline , Pottle Susan , Pocock Helen , Burns-Cox Christopher J.
Published: August 2008

Two-hundred-and-seventy-nine patients (103 men, 176 women) were followed-up 1–2 years after an act of non-fatal deliberate self-harm. Of 155 patients offered a psychiatric out-patient appointment at the time, only 68 completed the treatment. A further act of deliberate self-harm was committed by 26 men and 41 women within twelve months. The factors most highly associated with repetition were previous psychiatric treatment, a previous act of deliberate self-harm, and a criminal record. These factors held good for a separate series of patients. Significantly more repeaters received prolonged psychiatric care after the initial episode of deliberate self-harm. The implications of these findings for the clinical management of such patients are discussed.
Childhood Separation Experiences and Psycho-Social Status in Primiparous Women: Preliminary Findings
Authors: Wolkind S. N. , Kruk S. J. , Chaves L. P.
Published: August 2008

In a group of British-born primiparous women, admission of a separation experience from parents in childhood was found to be associated with unmarried status, teenage pregnancy, having had psychiatric treatment, housing problems and a high score on a ‘Malaise’ inventory. Within the separated group the unmarried and teenage status were associated only with separations occurring in the context of a disrupted childhood, but were not related to the age of the separations. The Malaise score, however, was raised both for disrupted separations and for those occurring below the age of 5. It is noted that the factors associated with the separation in the mothers are those which have been found to be more common in the mothers of children with behaviour disorders.
Multivariate Analysis: Data Reduction and Treatment Evaluation
Authors: Wilson Allan
Published: August 2008

In a recent article, Everitt (1975) discussed several problems with multivariate techniques. However, two useful applications of multivariate techniques were not covered. The present paper describes the use of factor analysis to reduce a large array of outcome variables to a statistically manageable number, and multivariate analysis of variance to determine the relative effectiveness of several treatment regimes where a single outcome variable cannot be specified. It is concluded that the advantages of a multivariate approach outweigh the disadvantages, provided the researcher is careful in interpreting and reporting his results.
Twenty Rejected Patients: A Four-Year Follow-Up
Authors: Cheadle A. J. , Morgan R.
Published: August 2008

In 1970 we studied the phenomenon of rejection in two units of a psychiatric rehabilitation hospital (Morgan and Cheadle, 1972). The study concluded that 20 patients out of a sample of 110 were rejected to some degree by some members of staff. The method employed to determine this was to ask all members of staff to name the patients who they considered fitted into certain categories. Ten of these categories indicated desirable behaviour such as helpful, co-operative or appreciative; the other ten were of an undesirable nature such as lazy, untrustworthy or attention seeking. The questionnaire used was published as the Appendix to our previous paper. If a staff member placed a patient into more undesirable than desirable categories he was considered as rejecting that patient. If more staff rejected a patient than accepted him, the patient was considered to be a reject.
The Medical Model of the Disease Concept
Authors: Taylor F. Kräupl
Published: August 2008

According to the medical model of the disease concept, a class of patients is homogeneous only when it is characterized by manifestations which have their ultimate intra-organismic origin in a particular kind of physiopathological cause. Most patient classes are still heterogeneous because we are still ignorant of that cause.

The medical model can be applied to the subdivision of all classes of patients, including classes of non-organic psychiatric patients. However, the successful application of the medical model depends on the acquisition of knowledge of relevant physiopathological facts. It is argued that the dimensional model of evaluating psychological abnormalities is not likely to help in acquiring that knowledge.
Hypochondriacal States
Authors: Kenyon F. E.
Published: August 2008

A brief historical introduction traces the evolution of the concept of hypochondriasis. It is suggested that the term should now be used only as a descriptive adjective when there is a morbid preoccupation with health or body. Social and cultural factors are outlined, as well as problems of measurement. The psychopathology, as formulated by Freud and others, is also described. Clinical aspects are discussed under the headings of general symptoms, pain, smell, bodily appearance, sexual, gastro-intestinal, cardio-respiratory, eyes, and ears, nose and throat. Psychiatric syndromes mentioned are: hypochondria as a possible primary state, personality disorders, phobic-anxiety state, neurasthenia, obsessional neurosis, hysteria, depression, paranoid psychosis and organic. In general, hypochondriacal symptoms seem to make the prognosis rather worse. Treatment is to be aimed at the primary condition, which is most commonly depression, anxiety state or conversion reaction.
The Season of Birth of Siblings of Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Hare E. H.
Published: August 2008

The season of birth of the siblings of psychiatric patients was studied to test the hypothesis that an unusual seasonal pattern of maternal conception is the cause of the excess of births in the early months of the year which has been found in national studies of psychotic patients. Information on the month of birth of the siblings was obtained from interviews with psychiatric in-patients born in Britain. The quarterly distribution of births of 670 mentally well siblings of psychotic patients (schizophrenia and manic-depression) was significantly different from that of 1,513 siblings of other psychiatric patients and also from that of all births in England and Wales. The results lend qualified support to the hypothesis, but they were not clear-cut and there was some evidence that the information on birth dates was biased.
Towards a Family Approach in a Psychiatric Day Hospital
Authors: Bennett Douglas , Fox Catherine , Jowell Tessa , Skynner A. C. Robin
Published: August 2008

In a day hospital all staff members must be able to make rapid decisions, even when they cannot refer to their seniors. It is difficult to develop this capability in a teaching day hospital where the staff and student groups are constantly changing. It has, however, been facilitated by regular staff discussions with a visiting psychotherapist. In these staff groups, the study of role attributions and dynamics characteristic of families has diminished the interference caused by ‘family’ type dynamics in daily professional interaction. The paper describes the effect of such discussion in stimulating the adoption of a treatment approach which takes the family situation into account. This family approach is distinguished from family therapy, and its advantages are discussed.
An Evaluation of Psychiatric After-Care in a Developing Country (Fiji)
Authors: Price John , Karim Isaac
Published: August 2008

The effectiveness of a community mental health programme in a developing country (Fiji) is examined. The programme was remarkable in that very little expertise was available in the community for it to be carried through. The results indicate that one category of hospital in-patient will subsequently derive significant benefit, namely the patient diagnosed as having schizophrenia who has been in a mental hospital more than once.

Evidence from this study confirmed observations made by others that benign acute psychotic episodes are not infrequent in this sort of setting.
Polygenic Inheritance of Epilepsy and Febrile Convulsions: Analysis based on a Computational Model
Authors: Tsuboi Takayuki
Published: August 2008

Two series of patients with epilepsy and with febrile convulsions were analysed on Slater's computational model for evidence on the mode of inheritance. The study demonstrated that in both series a polygenic inheritance may be more likely than an autosomal dominant or recessive inheritance.
Socio-Cultural Determinants of Attempted Suicide Among West Indians in Birmingham: Ethnic Origin and Immigrant Status
Authors: Burke Aggrey W.
Published: August 2008

The author studied the significance of ethnic origin and immigrant status in attempted suicide. Epidemiological data (1969–72) indicated that self-poisoning among West Indian immigrants in Birmingham was less prevalent than among natives there but more prevalent than in the West Indies. The association of recent pregnancy with attempted suicide among young immigrant patients was noteworthy.

Attempted suicide among immigrants was often relatively benign; few abused alcohol or drugs or made repeated attempts. The markedly lower male rate of attempted suicide, and its rarity in older persons, confirms previous findings.
Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry
Authors: Szasz Thomas S.
Published: August 2008

Let us try to project ourselves back into the places and minds of physicians and psychiatrists in, say, 1900. When they spoke of disease, what did they mean? They meant, typically, something like syphilis. ‘Know syphilis in all its manifestations and relations,’ declared Sir William Osler (1849–1919), ‘and all things clinical will be added unto you.’ (1). Obviously, this is no longer true. Indeed, how many cases of syphilis do modern medical students see between the time they enroll in school and the time they graduate? In the United States, Osier's maxim has been replaced by another which asserts that ‘mental illness is our number one health problem‘. This would make schizophrenia—the most common and most disabling of the so-called mental diseases—the successor of Osier's syphilis, showing us immediately what a gulf separates us from him. For, clearly, a physician may know all there is to know about schizophrenia, and yet be totally ignorant of medicine.
On the Psychopathology of Transitivism and Appersonation
Authors: Freeman Thomas
Published: August 2008

While the phenomena described under the terms transitivism and appersonation are well known, they have not been studied in detail either from the descriptive or from the psychopathological standpoints. Here only a brief reference is made to the descriptive data. An account of the psychopathological hypotheses on which an explanation of the phenomena is based is followed by a discussion of the relevance of the clinical manifestations for a theory of psychosis.
Schneider-Oriented versus Conrad-Oriented Psychiatric Diagnosis in the same German Clinic
Authors: Koehler Karl , Guth Wolfgang
Published: August 2008

The Chair of the University Nervenklinik in Homburg/Saar was held by Klaus Conrad from 1949-58 and by H.-H, Meyer, a former pupil and colleague of Kurt Schneider, from 1962-72. As the catchment area and admission policy of the clinic remained substantially unchanged throughout, comparison of the relative proportions of all admissions allocated to different diagnostic categories in 1949-58 and 1962-72 can be used to elucidate the similarities and differences between Conrad's and Schneider's diagnostic criteria. The results of this comparison indicate that Schneider's concept of schizophrenia was broader than Conrad's, and his concept of manic-depressive depx-ession more restricted. More detailed comparisons are complicated by differences in nomenclature and in the varieties of functional mental illness recognized in the two periods. However, it seems that Conrad's concept of mania was wider only when the atypical schizophrenia-like psychoses diagnosed during the Conrad era were added to the Conrad-oriented cases of mania; when this was not done, the Schneiderian concept of mania was broader.
Assessing Inter-Rater Reliability for Rating Scales: Resolving some Basic Issues
Authors: Cicchetti Domenic V.
Published: August 2008

This paper extends the recent work of Hall (1974) by presenting the minimal sample sizes and the specific linear agreement weights required for assessing the reliability of rating scales commonly used in neuropsychiatric and other clinico-medicai settings. The weights are shown to vary as a function of (a) whether or not the rating scale contains a point of ‘absence’, and (b) the number of ordinal points on the scale.
Is a Homosexual Orientation Irreversible?
Authors: McConaghy N.
Published: August 2008

In four studies homosexual patients were randomly allocated to receive either different forms of aversive therapy; or aversive therapy or a positive conditioning procedure. Before and after therapy the patients' sexual orientation was determined by measuring their penile volume responses to moving pictures of nude men and women.

The aversive therapies produced reduction in homosexual feelings and behaviour. In the fourth study the reduction was significantly greater following the aversive compared with the positive conditioning procedure. No significant change in measured sexual orientation occurred in the patients who received aversive therapy compared with those who received positive conditioning. The measured sexual orientation of the homosexual patients after treatment differed significantly from that of heterosexual patients who received aversive therapy for sexual anomalies.
Toward a Taxonomy of Psychopathology: The Purpose of Psychiatric Classification
Authors: Blashfield Roger K. , Draguns Juris G.
Published: August 2008

The topic of psychiatric classification has generated more interest and controversy in the last decade than for a long time. Several trends have coalesced to foster its resurgence as a subject of debate. First, a sociological perspective on psychopathology has gained widespread attention (Becker, 1963; Matza, 1969; Scheff, 1966). The exponents of this perspective have focused on the effects of ‘labelling.’ Their writings have stimulated mental health professionals to examine the consequences of applying classificatory systems in psychiatry. Second, the rapid development of behaviour modification has been a source of numerous polemical attacks on the ‘medical model’ and on the classification system derived from the notion that psychological disturbances constitute a finite number of varieties of mental illness (e.g., Ullmann and Krasner, 1975). Third, criticisms have been voiced of the unsatisfactory reliability of the standard/accepted national and international psychiatric classification schemes (e.g., Scharfetter, 1971; Spitzer and Wilson, 1974). Such criticisms have sparked the development of new classificatory systems notable for the specificity and explicitness of rules of diagnostic assignment (Feighner et al, 1972; Spitzer, Endicott, and Robins, 1974).
Associative Intrusions in the Vocabulary of Schizophrenic and Other Patients
Authors: Klinka J. , Papageorgis D.
Published: August 2008

Associative intrusions in the thought of short-term and long-term schizophrenic, non-schizophrenic, and non-psychiatric in-patients were measured using Rattan and Chapman's multiple-choice vocabulary test. This test consists of two subtests, one with associative distractors and the other without distractors, which are matched on discriminating power and thus permit the assessment of differential specific performance deficit uncontaminated by the generalized deficit characteristic of many patient groups.

Results indicated that some susceptibility to associative intrusions characterizes all groups of long-term patients regardless of diagnosis. Short-term patients (with the possible exception of schizophrenic) did not show such heightened susceptibility.

Lengthy illness and/or stay in hospital are apparently implicated in at least this form of thought disorder, which has been often considered to be a uniquely schizophrenic phenomenon.
Further Observation on Study Difficulty in University Students Including ‘Syllabus-Boundness’
Authors: Lucas C. J. , Grown Sidney , Stringer Peter , Supramaniam Saradha
Published: August 2008

The UCLS questionnaire, in a form modified to include a measure of syllabus-boundness, and a questionnaire to measure psychiatric symptomatology (the MHQ) were administered to two groups of students, one seeking help for emotional problems, the other a control group. Groups were compared on tests, test findings were inter-correlated, and scores were related to academic success. The UCLSQ is confirmed as a reliable research instrument. Principal component analysis again indicates a separation of psychoneurotic and motivational components of study difficulty. Syllabus-boundness (‘Sylbism’) emerges as a relatively independent trait, with a significant negative relationship to work satisfaction in both groups. MHQ, scores again show a positive correlation between phobic anxiety and academic attainment for patients.