bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pornography, the Law and Mental Health
Authors: Kenyon F. E.
Published: August 2008

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in pornography, particularly in Great Britain and the U.S.A. There have been many more publications on the subject, as well as various surveys and enquiries; some of these have been officially sponsored. Well-publicized prosecutions have helped to keep the topic in the public eye, but at the same time have drawn attention to uncertainties and ambiguities in present-day legislation (Tribe, 1973). Underlying all this is a continuing concern about the possible harmful effects of pornography, its implications for mental health and the need for more research and informed psychological guidance.
Multivariate Analysis: The Need for Data, and other Problems
Authors: Everitt B. S.
Published: August 2008

Multivariate analyses are an aid to, not a substitute for critical thinking in the area of data analysis. Meaningful results can only be produced by these methods if careful consideration is given to questions of sample size, variable type, variable distribution etc., and accusations of subjectivity in interpretation can only be overcome by replication.

The computer revolution has produced many problems for statisticians, not least of which is the ease with which experimenters may access packages of programs for multivariate analysis, and so bypass a ‘difficult’ (by which is meant one who will not do simply as he is told) statistician. Of course there are many abuses of univariate statistical methods. Here, however, the abuses are not likely to lead to such seriously misleading results as in the multivariate case.

Perhaps a major cause of the continuing misuse of statistical methods is the insistence of many journal editors in psychology and related areas, on articles being laced with multivariate analyses, and on encouraging the pedantic use of significance levels, i.e. the inevitable p < —, as if such inclusions lent an air of respectability to their journal which it might not otherwise have had. Research workers in these fields would be better encouraged to devote more time to an initial screening of their data using simple graphical techniques, to ensure that their data are at least approximately suitable for more complicated multivariate analyses.
Reduced Central Serotonergic Activity in Mania: Implications for the Relationship between Depression and Mania
Authors: Mendels J. , Frazer A.
Published: August 2008

For the past decade there has been extensive interest in the hypothesized association between brain amine function and disturbances in mood (either depression or mania). The more influential theories have postulated that clinical depression is associated with adecreasein aminergic function (either norepinephrine, dopamine or serotonin) while mania is associated withincreasedactivity of these amines. This essentially ‘bipolar’ approach has tended to dominate most studies in this area. Evidence supporting these theories has been extensively reviewed (11, 61, 70) and need not be detailed here.
Red Cell Folate and Macrocytosis During Long-Term Anticonvulsant Therapy in Non-Anaemic Mentally Retarded Epileptics
Authors: Eastham R. D. , Jancar J. , Cameron J. D.
Published: August 2008

In a previous study, macrocytosis was found in non-anaemic mentally retarded epileptic patients treated with anticonvulsants, and a direct relationship was found between drug dose and the degree of macrocytosis, when the sole anticonvulsant given was phenobarbitone (Eastham and Jancar, 1970a and b). An attempt to use the measurement of red cell size to detect folate deficiency during anticonvulsant therapy before the development of overt anaemia was unsuccessful. Following these findings, yeast tablets were given as a natural source of folate to both epileptic and non-epileptic mentally retarded patients, and preliminary results showed that folate deficiency associated with long-term anticonvulsant therapy could be corrected within three months, without increasing either the frequency or the severity of convulsions in epileptic patients (Eastham and Jancar, 1971). Supplementary yeast tablets were therefore given routinely to all epileptic patients on anticonvulsant therapy in the hospital; there were no side effects from this medication.
Brom-ergocryptine in the Treatment of Phenothiazine-Induced Galactorrhoea
Authors: Beumont P. , Bruwer J. , Pimstone B. , Vinik A. , Utian W.
Published: August 2008

An ergot alkaloid, 2-br-alpha-ergocryptine (CB 154), referred to hereafter as brom-ergocryptine, has been reported to inhibit puerperal lactation (Varga, Lutterbeck et al., 1972), and to terminate breast secretion in patients with inappropriate lactation (Lutterbeck, Pryor et al., 1971). Besser, Park et al. (1972) found that the drug suppressed elevated levels of plasma prolactin in five patients whose inappropriate lactation was due to a variety of causes. This hormonal effect was accompanied by clinical changes such as the disappearance of galactorrhoea, return of menstruation, and an increase in sexual potency.
Suicide in Dublin: II. The Influence of Some Social and Medical Factors on Coroners' Verdicts
Authors: Walsh Brendan , Walsh Dermot , Whelan Brendan
Published: August 2008

This paper presents an analysis of the factors which influence coroners in their decision to classify some deaths as suicides and others as accidental or ‘open‘. The most important influence on coroners' behaviour was seen to be the manner by which the person died. Those who died by cutting, hanging, drugs or gas were significantly more likely to receive a suicide verdict than those whose deaths were due to drowning, jumping, shooting or poisoning. If the deceased left any intimation of a suicidal intent, this increased the likelihood that a suicide verdict would be returned. Finally, persons aged under 40 were significantly more likely to be returned as suicides than older victims, especially those aged over 70. All of these results show that coroners operate by observing the law as it defines suicide, that is, by looking for evidence of intent of self-inflicted death. Our findings concerning the factors associated with the suicide verdict help to clarify the meaning of the official data on suicides in Ireland, and illuminate the reasons why, using clinical rather than legal criteria, a much higher rate is obtained.
‘Suicidal Behaviour’ in New South Wales
Authors: Kraus J.
Published: August 2008

For about fifteen years now a tradition has been evolving in the psychiatric literature towards a taxonomic separation of suicides and attempted suicides, on the assumption that they involve distinct psychogenic factors (Stengel and Cook, 1958; Farberow and Schneidman, 1961). However, even the originator of the distinction agreed that a better understanding of attempted suicide could be gained if it is regarded as conveying a degree of uncertainty that the attempt will succeed or fail (Stengel, 1958), and that the separation of ‘… suicide and attempted suicide … is artificial (as) … it is possible to view suicidal acts as a whole and irrespective of outcome’ (Stengel, 1969, p. 121). The latter view has been reflected in the recent introduction and usage of the term ‘suicidal behaviour’ which includes both suicides and attempted suicides (Hetzel, 1971).
A Repertory Grid Investigation of the Concept of Illness by Parents of Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Liakos Ans , Papakostas John , Stefanis Costas
Published: August 2008

It is common clinical knowledge that parents of schizophrenic patients show an apparent disability to comprehend their children's illness. They often minimize its severity or show complete lack of insight and deny gross psycho-pathological symptoms. The concept of illness by parents of schizophrenic patients is the subject of the present investigation. Investigations of such attitudes are not common in the literature. They are impeded by the lack of appropriate objective techniques of measurement. The Repertory Grid method (Kelly, 1955) provides a flexible and sensitive instrument for investigation of single subjects. According to Kelly's theory, each person has his own unique way of construing. He evaluates a set of elements within his range of comprehension, using Personal Constructs in a network of interrelationships. Difficulties occur, however, when groups of people are to be compared. One can compare groups by the way they use Constructs to evaluate a set of Elements; but one must ensure not only that the Elements are within the range of convenience of all subjects of the group but also that Constructs used by the group occupy some significant place in the construct system of each person of the group. The work reported in this paper was performed in two distinct phases.
Information Leading to Accurate Diagnosis in the Elderly
Authors: Kellett John M. , Copeland John R. M. , Kelleher Michael J.
Published: August 2008

Psychiatric diagnosis in the elderly has been examined in order to extract the information which leads to later modification of the diagnosis. Initial diagnoses of neuroses and toxic states were least stable, 14 out of 29 changing to a different category. Information from relatives and further interviews contributed most to the modification of the initial diagnosis, though affective and neurotic syndromes were particularly susceptible to change resulting from conceptual differences, and dementia to change consequent on physical examination.

It is concluded that an adequate initial interview of a patient and his next of kin will achieve a diagnosiswhich iscorrectin itsmajor categoryon 95 per cent ofoccasions.
Educational Attainment in Adolescent School Phobia
Authors: Berg Ian , Collins Tony , McGuire Ralph , O'Melia John
Published: August 2008

The educational attainment of 100 school-phobic youngsters was compared to that of 100 other psychiatric patients, using the reading quotient as the main measure. Age and IQ were allowed for. RQs were, on average, higher in the school phobic group than in the other subjects, except in a small number of younger children of high IQ. Additional comparisons with another group of psychiatric patients and with the general population, using regression equations, failed to provide any evidence of poor educational attainment in school phobia.
Accidents and Drug Treatment in a Psychiatric Hospital
Authors: Ballinger Brian R. , Ramsay Anna C.
Published: August 2008

A survey of 351 accidents occurring in a two-year period in a psychiatric hospital showed that 77 per cent of the accidents involved female patients and 48 per cent involved patients with organic psychoses; 236 accidents were falls and 280 occurred in the ward setting.

In 277 instances adequate controls were available. Seventy-five per cent of the accident patients had received a psychotropic drug on the day of the accident as opposed to 61 per cent of the controls. The possibility that the side-effects of psychotropic drugs may have contributed to some of these accidents is discussed.
Lithium in Non-Manic-Depressives: Antiaggressive Effect and Red Blood Cell Lithium Values
Authors: Worrall Ernest P. , Moody J. P. , Naylor Graham J.
Published: August 2008

Lithium was given to eight aggressive, non-manic-depressive female defectives in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. The group as a whole showed a reduction in aggression scores while on lithium (p < 0.01): three patients became less aggressive, one became worse and two were unchanged. Both affective and predatory aggression seemed to be reduced. Two patients had to be withdrawn from the trial at an early stage because of the development of neurotoxicity.

R.B.C./plasma lithium ratios showed a wide inter-patient variation in this group of non-manic-depressives.

The study adds further weight to evidence that lithium has an antiaggressive effect at normal therapeutic dosage in non-manic-depressives. The implications of this for hypotheses about the mode of action of lithium and its putative specificity for manic-depressive psychosis are discussed.
A Technique of Insight-Directed Psychotherapy for Health Service Use
Authors: Haldane F. P.
Published: August 2008

A technique of psychotherapy seemingly compatible with psychoanalytical knowledge is described, and compared and contrasted with psychoanalysis. Its mode of action, efficacy, advantages and difficulties, and its suitability for once-a-week individual or group psychotherapy and therefore for Health Service use is discussed.
The Lesion in Stereotactic Subcaudate Tractotomy
Authors: Newcombe R. L. G.
Published: August 2008

The anatomical distribution of 25 stereotactic tractotomy lesions is described. The posterior half of these lesions lie in a subcaudate position and the anterior half, for the most part, lies beneath the central segment of frontal white matter.
The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses
Authors: Spencer John
Published: August 2008

The function of religion in human society is complex. The part played by religion in psychiatric disorders is even more obscure. Previous literature and theories are divided into two groups: one school believes that intense religiosity is a symptom-complex indicative of psychiatric disorder, while the opposing view is that religious belief in some way acts as a defence mechanism protecting the individual and his psyche.

The present study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia suggests that members of this section of the community are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and nearly four times more likely from paranoid schizophrenia than the rest of the population at risk.

These findings suggest that being a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith may be a risk factor predisposing to a schizophrenic illness. Further studies would be interesting in investigating whether pre-psychotic people are more likely to join the sect than normal people and what part (if any) membership has in bringing about such a breakdown.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Some Familial and Social Factors in Depressive Illness
Authors: Fernando S. J. M.
Published: August 2008

A study of familial and social factors among Jewish and Protestant depressives and non-psychiatric controls revealed the following positive findings:

Depressives compared to normals as a whole had: (a) a higher rate of psychiatric illness in their families; (b) lower scores on maternal overprotection; and (c) a higher rate of marriage in both ethnic groups and both sexes, except in the case of Jewish men. Religiousness was associated with depression among Jews but not among Protestants. Jewish fathers compared to Protestant fathers were: (a) less strict in the normal group; and (b) less strict, less ‘dominant’ and more ‘inadequate’ in the depressed group. Ethnic links among depressed Jews were probably weaker than those among depressed Protestants.

The findings suggest that: (a) depression among Jews may be related to mental stress arising from ‘marginality’; and (b) single Jewish men may be particularly vulnerable to depression.
Factors Predictive of Outcome in Neurosis
Authors: Sims Andrew
Published: August 2008

A follow-up study was conducted on 146 patients, all the first admissions of one year with the diagnosis of neurosis, admitted as in-patients and day-patients to a hospital giving a general psychiatric early treatment service in Birmingham. Tracing exceeded 97 per cent. Various methods of treatment had been used. Patients were followed up with an interview at their home 12 years after discharge. There were two interviewers, a social worker and a psychiatrist. Assessment at follow-up was on a five-point graded scale in which contributions to the total outcome were made by the social and symptomatic state of the ex-patient.

Twenty-six statistically significant predictive factors were found from the detailed initial information when a graded rating for total outcome at follow-up was compared with presence or absence of the factor. When individual factors were combined, unsatisfactory marital and sexual relationship, poor material management, unsatisfactory social state, and unsatisfactory early environment were predictive of poor outcome. Tests for validity and reliability of the method were carried out.
Psychiatric Morbidity in a Sample of a London Coroner's Open Verdicts
Authors: Holding T. A. , Barraclough B. M.
Published: August 2008

A coroner concludes an open verdict if there is insufficient evidence to record any of the other verdicts, namely, suicide, accident, homicide and natural causes (Purchase and Wollaston, 1957). In practice, open verdicts are most often used when the coroner cannot decide between suicide and accident. They are therefore of interest to doctors, especially family doctors and psychiatrists, and to social scientists, because suicides may be so classified for want of evidence of intent to die. Thus the study of open verdicts may increase knowledge about suicide itself and the accuracy of suicide statistics. To further these aims we describe, for the first time, a consecutive series of such deaths which occurred in a London coroner's district. The psychiatric aspects have been given special emphasis.
The Relationship between Personality and the Symptoms of Depressive Illness
Authors: Serra Adriano Vaz , Pollitt John
Published: August 2008

The Maudsley Personality Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory, with additional items to assess depressive functional shift features and outlook on life values, were administered to 100 patients diagnosed as suffering from depressive illness. Patients’ scores for questions eliciting information about symptoms assumed to be dependent on personality correlated at substantial and significant levels with N scale scores of the Maudsley Personality Inventory. Similar levels of correlation were found for the added items for assessing life values. Items believed to assess changes in functions independent of personality, such as the features of the Depressive Functional Shift, showed no correlation with either N or E scales of the Maudsley Personality Inventory, while demonstrating a substantial level of correlation with the depression scale. It is concluded that whereas changes in innate biological functions independent of environment are direct indications of the depressive illness process, psychological symptoms of the illness may reflect changes in personality dependent on upbringing, education and cultural background, thereby producing greater variation in this group of psychological symptoms.
Attitudes towards Self-Poisoning among Physicians and Nurses in a General Hospital
Authors: Ramon S. , Bancroft J. H. J. , Skrimshire A. M.
Published: August 2008

Twenty-five doctors and 50 nurses working in the medical wards of a general hospital were interviewed. They were asked to indicate typical motives for self-poisoning and were then shown brief accounts of four typical case histories. They were asked to choose from a list of motives those they considered applied to each case. They then rated each motive for acceptability and understandability, and each case for sympathy and readiness to help.

Motives were of two principal types—‘manipulative’ (i.e. aimed at eliciting a response from others) and ‘depressive’ (i.e. communicating despair and aimed at withdrawal, escape or death). ‘Depressive’ motives were more acceptable and evoked more sympathy or readiness to help in both doctors and nurses than ‘manipulative’ motives.

Doctors and nurses differed in various ways. Nurses were generally more accepting, more sympathetic and more likely to seek professional help as an alternative way of coping. Doctors distinguished more clearly between ‘suicidal’ motives, of which they were relatively accepting, and ‘manipulative’ motives, which they accepted less. Attitudes to the four cases differed, primarily in the motives attributed. Those differences may also reflect differing severity of problems, personal responsibility for problems, social class, sex or age.
The Concept of Disease and its Implications for Psychiatry
Authors: Kendell R. E.
Published: August 2008

It has often been suggested in recent years that there is no such thing as mental illness; that the conditions psychiatrists spend their time trying to treat ought not, properly speaking, to be regarded as illness at all, or even to be the concern of physicians. Szasz is the best-known exponent of this viewpoint, and the core of his argument is essentially this: that as prolonged search has never demonstrated any consistent physical abnormality in those regarded as mentally ill, and as their ‘illness' consists simply in behaving in ways that alarm or affront other people, or in believing things which other people do not believe, there is no justification for labelling them as ill, and to do so is to use the word illness in a purely metaphorical sense (Szasz, 1960). Schneider had previously been led by the same reasoning to the conclusion that neurotic illness and personality disorders were ‘abnormal varieties of sane mental life’ rather than disease, but he took care to exempt schizophrenia and cyclothymia by assuming that both would in time prove to possess an organic basis (Schneider, 1950). The argument Eysenck puts forward in the first edition of his textbook, though written from the quite different standpoint of academic psychology, is a similar one. After observing that ‘the term psychiatry does not denote any meaningful grouping of problems or subjects of study’ he went on to suggest that the traditional subject-matter of psychiatry should be divided into a small medical part ‘dealing with the effects of tumours, lesions, infections and other physical conditions' and a much larger behavioural part ‘dealing with disorders of behaviour acquired through the ordinary processes of learning’, thereby implying that most of what doctors regarded as mental illness was really learnt behaviour rather than disease, and therefore much better understood, and dealt with, by psychologists than by physicians (Eysenck, 1960). A third line of attack is provided by R. D. Laing, and a fourth is exemplified by the sociologist Scheff. Laing argues that schizophrenia, far from being a disease or a form of insanity, is really the only sane or rational way adolescents have of coping with the intolerable emotional pressures placed on them by society and their families (Laing, 1967). Scheff has developed the somewhat similar argument that what psychiatrists call mental illness is largely a response to the shock of being labelled and treated as insane and the expectations this produces; in other words that schizophrenia is created by the people and institutions that purport to treat it (Scheff, 1963).
Treatment of Chronic Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis by in-vivo Exposure
Authors: Marks I. M. , Hodgson R. , Rachman S. J.
Published: August 2008

Twenty patients with chronic obsessive-compulsive rituals were treated in a partially controlled design by in-vivo (real life) exposure with self-imposed response prevention. Treatment included 4–12 weeks as in-patients, and lasted a mean of 23 sessions. All patients were followed-up for at least two years. No patients dropped out during the trial, though one refused domiciliary treatment after discharge. Significant improvement in compulsions was found after three weeks of real-life exposure, and continued during follow-up. At two years follow-up 14 patients were much improved, one improved and 5 unchanged; in a third year of follow-up the improved patient became symptom-free after further exposure treatment. Improvement after three weeks exposure predicted good outcome at 6 and 12 months follow-up.

Muscular relaxation treatment had no significant effect on rituals. Modelling of exposure conferred no advantage over exposure alone for the group as a whole, though it may help selected patients. The role of response prevention is unknown. Patients' commitment to treatment facilitates exposure. Domiciliary treatment with involvement of family members in therapy seems crucial in some cases. Pilot group treatment of patients and families together suggests that this may be a useful adjuvant to individual treatment by increasing motivation and aiding follow-up.

Compulsive slowness presents special treatment problems but can be improved by a prompting and pacing approach.

The course of rituals was often independent of that of agoraphobia, marital problems and depression where these had initially coexisted with rituals. Depressive episodes were common before, during and after treatment, and required tricyclic medication.

The trial sample was predominantly female but was otherwise typical of patients with compulsive rituals. Of the 125 obsessive-compulsives seen in the first author's unit over four years 96 per cent were offered behavioural or antidepressant treatment. One quarter refused behavioural treatment after it was offered.

Real-life exposure with self-imposed response prevention is usually an effective procedure for lasting reduction of chronic compulsive rituals in well motivated patients.
The Problem of Generalization in the Operant Conditioning of Social Speech in the Severely Subnormal
Authors: Barton Elizabeth Spindler
Published: August 2008

Many severely subnormal patients talk little to each other. In this experiment, three pairs of subjects were reinforced for talking to each other, and learned to do so quite quickly. Whether social speech would continue to occur without the benefit of external reinforcement was examined by observing the subjects through a one-way mirror in a bare interview room adjacent to the teaching room immediately after each training session. On some occasions untrained subjects were observed in the bare room with the trained subjects.

The reinforcement of social speech was demonstrated to be effective by the use of a reversal design (baseline, reinforcement, no reinforcement, reinforcement), where the rate of speech increased considerably when reinforcement was available but decreased when it was discontinued. Generalization of the increased social speech, however, was very poor and only significantly above baseline levels with the pair who seemed responsive to social as well as material reinforcement. The implications of this for training programmes are discussed.
Schizophrenia in a 47,Xyy Male
Authors: Faber Raymond , Abrams Richard
Published: August 2008

A case of schizophrenia in a 47,XYY male diagnosed according to strict phenomenologicai criteria is presented. The authors suggest that the 47,XYY chromosome anomaly should be added to the list of possible causes of symptomatic schizophrenia, and express the hope that future investigations of the effects of an extra Y chromosome on brain function will yield clues as to the aetiology of idiopathic schizophrenia.
Assessment of Intent—an Approach to the Preparation of Court Reports
Authors: Briscoe O. V.
Published: August 2008

In a minority of persons interviewed for the purposes of a court report it will be found impossible to determine retrospectively their intention at the material time with any exactness. This in itself is an indication of an abnormal mental state when the alleged crime was committed, irrespective of Bow the accused may appear when interviewed later. As well as issues arising under the McNaughton Rules or Diminished Responsibility to which intention is relevant, many offences require a specific intention to be proved so that the reporting psychiatrist should enquire into the accused's intention when preparing a court report.
The Social Setting of Hysteria
Authors: Mayou Richard
Published: August 2008

Previous reviews of hysteria have emphasized the most severe and disabling forms and ignored evidence from a wide variety of sources. It is argued that hysteria is more prevalent in medical settings than is usually recognized, that the same psychological mechanisms are of wide occurrence, often being accepted as normal for the culture. Discussion of the social factors affecting prevalence suggests that there is a universal potential for the hysterical reaction, with individual variation in susceptibility in appropriate circumstances.
X-Linkage and Manic-Depressive Illness
Authors: Loranger Armand W.
Published: August 2008

Thirty years ago it was suggested that the apparently higher incidence of manic-depressive illness in women might be due to X-linked heredity. The hypothesis was undermined by subsequent reports of the frequent occurrence of father to son transmission. Winokur and his associates recently revived it, providing data which indicated that such transmission is absent or rare in the bipolar form of the illness. Additional support has come from linkage studies with known genetic markers located on the X chromosome. The present study, based on the 400 parents of 100 male and 100 female bipolar manic-depressive probands, failed to discover a lack of father-son compared to other affected parent-child pairs. This finding, together with a review of the literature, would indicate that it is premature to invoke X-linked heredity as a general explanation for bipolar manic-depressive illness, though there is mounting evidence that it may account for the illness in some family pedigrees.
Drug Therapy in Mental Handicap
Authors: Kirman Brian
Published: August 2008

Definitions of mental handicap are imprecise in practice, and a wide spectrum of patients are provided for under this heading. There can be no question of specific treatment for ‘mental handicap’ as such. Many situations arising in institutions for the mentally handicapped derive from the nature of the institution and the regime. Drugs may be used ‘faute de mieux’ when environmental manipulation would be more appropriate. There is much overprescribing, and the choice of drugs is not always logical; monitoring of dose is seldom employed. A major source of behaviour disturbance in the mentally handicapped is lack of suitable occupation. Apart from a few specific indications, use of sedatives and tranquillizers for the mentally handicapped should be seen as a holding device, to enable a different system of management to be adopted or to disrupt an undesirable behaviour pattern.
Psychiatric Diagnosis in New South Wales Compared to England and Wales
Authors: Parker Gordon
Published: August 2008

Comparative studies of first admission rates to psychiatric hospitals have revealed significant differences in the rates of diagnoses of functional psychoses between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The present study examined the diagnoses of indigenous patients born between 1921 and 1955 and first admitted to hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, and England and Wales. Admission rates for mania were in striking agreement. The rate in New South Wales for schizophrenia was slighdy higher and for psychotic depression considerably less than in England and Wales.

A similar trend in diagnostic dissonance would appear to exist between England and Wales and New South Wales as between England and Wales and the United States for schizophrenia and psychotic depression, but this is considerably less in degree.
The Spouses of Attempted Suicides: A Personality Study
Authors: Bhagat M.
Published: August 2008

The 16 PF was administered to 30 female attempted suicides and their spouses, to 20 male attempted suicides and their spouses and to 50 control men and their spouses. Both the female and male attempted suicides show personality disturbance, but there are also sex differences. The female attempted suicides and their spouses appear to share similar personality characteristics, but the spouses of male attempted suicides appear quite dissimilar from their husbands. The effect of the personality of the spouses is briefly discussed in the context of marital relationships of attempted suicides.
A Comparative Study of Attentional Strategies of Schizophrenic and Highly Creative Normal Subjects
Authors: Dykes Margaret , McGhie Andrew
Published: August 2008

Frequent references have been made to the similarities between highly creative and psychotic thinking. This study attempts to test the hypothesis that one explanation for such a correspondence lies in the fact that individuals in both these populations habitually employ common attentional strategies which cause them to sample an unusually wide range of available environmental stimuli.

A group of highly creative adults and a group of equally intelligent but low creative adults were compared with a group of acute non-paranoid schizophrenic adults on three tests designed to assess attentional and other cognitive styles.

The results offer support to the view that both highly creative and schizophrenic individuals habitually sample a wider range of available environmental input than do less creative individuals. In the case of the schizophrenic this involuntary widening of attention tends to have a deleterious effect on performance, while, in contrast, the highly creative individual is more able to successfully process the greater input without this incurring a performance deficit.
The Daily Rhythm of Plasma Tryptophan and Tyrosine in Depression
Authors: Niskanen Pekka , Huttunen Matti , Tamminen Tapani , Jääskeläinen Juha
Published: August 2008

The study dealt with the level of and diurnal alterations in the concentration of tryptophan, free tryptophan and tyrosine in the blood plasma of 20 inhibited depression patients and 10 healthy controls.

The results suggested that there was no distinct relationship between either the total plasma tryptophan or plasma tyrosine level and depression. On the other hand, the free plasma tryptophan level was, at all the times of day at which measurements were made, either significantly or almost significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. It was further found that the results of measurement were related to the patients’ clinical improvement, as measured by the Hamilton test, in such a way that after four weeks of treatment the free plasma tryptophan level in ‘poorly improved’ patients continued to be significantly higher in comparison with the controls, whereas the values for the ‘well improved’ patient group did not differ greatly from the corresponding values for the control group any longer.

It may be hypothesized that the rise in the free plasma tryptophan in depressive patients might represent an effort made by the peripheral body to compensate for the slowed-up serotonin metabolism of the brain, whereby the tryptophan mobilized from the periphery would serve as a sort of ‘endogenous antidepressant’ provided by the organism itself.
The Outcome of Adolescent School Phobia
Authors: Berg Ian , Butler Alan , Hall Gabrielle
Published: August 2008

A hundred-and-twenty-five school phobic youngsters had been treated in a psychiatric in-patient unit for young adolescents of secondary school age over a seven-year period; a hundred of them were reviewed on average three years after discharge. About a third of cases were found to have improved little; they had persistent severe symptoms of emotional disturbance and continuing social impairment. Another third had improved appreciably and were affected by neurotic symptoms rather than social impairment. The remaining third had improved substantially or completely. School attendance difficulties had remained in about half of all cases. Subsequent difficulties in going to work were less pronounced. The best predictor of outcome was clinical state on discharge. High intelligence also emerged as a significant predictor of poor outcome. Five girls and a boy had already developed severe and persistent agoraphobic difficulties when reviewed. It was found that severe school phobia in early adolescence resembled adult affective disorders in some clinical features and in outcome.
The Homeless Person and the Psychiatric Services: An Edinburgh Survey
Authors: Priest Robert G.
Published: August 2008

A representative sample (R.S.) of 79 subjects living in Edinburgh common lodging houses was compared with a clinical series (O.S.) of 44 patients from the same type of residence. C.S. patients were more likely to be out of work, to be under 55 years of age, and to have been married at some time. They had spent much shorter times in lodging houses, in Edinburgh and at their current address. Alcoholism was rather more often diagnosed in the C.S., and personality disorder much more often. Schizophrenia tended to be found more in the R.S. The O.S. obtained higher Personal Illness and ‘Character Disorder’ scores. It is concluded that those subjects presenting to the psychiatric services are a highly selected group quite unrepresentative of homeless single persons in general.
Depression in Patients with Parkinsonism
Authors: Robins Ashley H.
Published: August 2008

Forty-five patients with parkinsonism were carefully matched for age and sex with 45 chronically disabled control patients with a significantly more severe grade of physical handicap. Depression was measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale, and it was found that the parkinsonian group was very significantly more depressed than the control group (p < 0.0001). Depression scores in both groups were unaffected by the patient's sex or by the severity of the disability. Analysis of the individual ratings of the Hamilton Scale showed that parkinsonian patients had significantly higher scores on items relating to suicide, work and interests, retardation, psychic anxiety, general somatic symptoms, and loss of insight. It was concluded that patients with parkinsonism suffer a degree of depression which cannot be solely a reaction to the stress of physical disability. This finding is discussed with reference to the monoamine hypothesis of depressive illness.
The use of Autocorrelation Analysis in the Longitudinal Study of Mood Patterns in Depressed Patients
Authors: Huba G. J. , Lawlor W. G. , Stallone F. , Fieve R. R.
Published: August 2008

The statistical method of autocorrelation, commonly used in econometrics and engineering, was applied to the daily mood scores of ten depressive hospital in-patients. The analyses made possible the quantification of two aspects of the longitudinal course of individual patients' psychopathology, the degree of day-to-day stability and the degree of periodicity in mood. Quantification of the degree of day-to-day mood stability yielded wide variations between patients and suggested that patients might be usefully categorized in terms of this characteristic. Mood stability during periods of severe depression was found to be less pronounced than during periods of relatively moderate depression. Furthermore, the existence of ‘mini-cycles', cyclical fluctuations in mood of one to two weeks' duration occurring during the course of depressive episodes, was demonstrated in three cases.
The Leeds Scales for the Self-Assessment of Anxiety and Depression
Authors: Snaith R. P. , Bridge G. W. K. , Hamilton Max
Published: August 2008

Self-rating scales are finding an increasing use in psychiatric work. Not only are they widely used in research, but they provide the clinician with a score indicating the patient's psychiatric state at any one time, and these scores if repeated throughout the duration of treatment may be considered to provide a continuing measure of the severity of the illness, as does a temperature chart in a febrile illness. Most scales could be improved by item analysis, and in this study the Wakefield Self-Assessment of Depression Inventory, with added items, was subjected to statistical analysis. It was found that valid scales could be constructed for the measurement of anxiety and of depression in general psychiatric disorder, as well as scales for the measurement of the severity of endogenous (primary) depression and of anxiety states. In addition, the derivation of a ‘diagnostic’ score was confirmed in a cross-validation study and may be found of use both in research and in clinical practice.
A Biochemical Study of Short-Cycle Manic-Depressive Psychosis in Mental Defectives
Authors: Naylor Graham J. , Reid Andrew H. , Dick David A. T. , Dick Elizabeth G.
Published: August 2008

Four mentally defective patients who were suffering from short-cycle manic-depressive psychosis were each studied under metabolic ward conditions for about six months. Weekly estimations of erythrocyte Na-K ATPase activity, ouabain sensitive potassium influx, sodium concentration, whole blood cell ATP concentration and blood haematocrit were made. The findings in each patient differed, but the erythrocyte Na-K ATPase activity, sodium and ATP concentration appeared to show cyclic changes related to, though out of phase with, the clinical state.
Impotence: Prognosis (A Controlled Study)
Authors: Ansari J. M. A.
Published: August 2008

Sixty-five patients primarily referred for erectile impotence were investigated and treated in a psychiatric out-patient department. Information was obtained from patients and wherever possible from their partners. Subjects were treated either with chemotherapy or with a modified form of Masters and Johnson's technique. A controlled group were not given any specific treatment. Results indicated that neither chemotherapy or behaviour modification (modified Masters and Johnson's technique) were in any way superior to no treatment. The prognosis was related to the clinical features of the subjects rather than to the form of treatment. Subjects in whom impotence was caused by a specific psychological or physical trauma showed a much better prognosis than those who had an insidious decline in sexual potency without any discernible psychological or physical factors. The decline in these latter subjects with a very poor prognosis was possibly due to inherent physiological factors.
The Expectation of Outcome from Maintenance Therapy in Chronic Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Johnson D. A. W.
Published: August 2008

The results from a prospective follow-up study of a group of schizophrenic patients suggest that a significant proportion (41 per cent) are likely to relapse during a two-year period despite the prescription of long-acting injectable neuroleptic drugs. Some will relapse because of a failure of the regime, but others (32–37 per cent) because the pharmacological protection of these drugs would appear to be less effective in certain patients. Even with the major advantages of the long-acting injectable neuroleptics over oral medication, the schizophrenic patient population remains a group with a high incidence of psychiatric and social morbidity which continues to require the full resources of both the hospital and community services.
Plasma Tryptophan Concentration in Depressive Illness and Mania
Authors: Peet M. , Moody J. P. , Worrall E. P. , Walker P. , Naylor G. J.
Published: August 2008

Total and free plasma tryptophan levels were measured in depressive and manic patients before and after recovery. No change was found in total or free plasma tryptophan concentration on recovery from depressive illness. Free plasma tryptophan levels were higher in recovered manics than in active manics, and a group of four manic patients tested before and after recovery showed a significant increase in free plasma tryptophan concentration on recovery.
The Personality and Mental Health of Flat Dwellers
Authors: Moore N. C.
Published: August 2008

The proportion of persons with neurotic personalities in flats was not significantly greater than that in houses. Extraversion was not correlated with psychiatric illness or with the tendency to consult a doctor. Flat dwelling, but not house dwelling, was sufficient stress for neurotic personalities to cause, among them, an increase in clinical psychiatric illness. The resulting increase in the overall level of psychiatric illness of all flat dwellers was too small to be significantly greater than that of all house dwellers.
Temporal Stability of Symptom Patterns in Depression
Authors: Paykel E. S. , Prusoff B. A. , Tanner J.
Published: August 2008

Temporal stability of symptom patterns was examined in 33 depressives studied initially at the height of illness and again some months later in a relapse following earlier recovery. Relapse symptoms were significantly less severe at the time of rating, and initial and relapse severity were not significantly related. Nevertheless there were significant correlations between initial and relapse scores on two factors orthogonal to severity. One of these reflected symptom patterns important to the endogenous-neurotic distinction, the other a contrast between depression and anxiety. These findings indicate some consistency in symptom patterns in successive episodes of depression, and thereby support the value of clinical classifications depending on symptom patterns.
A Controlled Trial of Phenothiazine Withdrawal in Chronic Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Andrews P. , Hall J. N. , Snaith R. P.
Published: August 2008

Phenothiazine drugs were withdrawn from 17 chronic schizophrenic in-patients, with a control group of 14 patients remaining on active medication. The trial was conducted under double blind conditions over a period of 42 weeks with weekly assessment of the patients by ward nurses. Of the placebo group 35 per cent relapsed, relapse being related to the level of previous active medication.
A Comparison Between the Hamilton Rating Scale and the Beck Inventory in the Measurement of Depression
Authors: Bailey J. , Coppen Alec
Published: August 2008

Correlations were made between ratings on the Hamilton Rating Scale for depression and the Inventory for measuring depression devised by Beck. Satisfactory and significant correlations were observed in only two-thirds of the patients, and often very divergent results were found in the remaining third.
A Twin Study of Human Red Blood Cell Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase
Authors: Grunhaus Leon , Ebstein Richard , Belmaker Robert H. , Sandler S. Gerald , Jonas Wulff
Published: August 2008

Significant sibling-sibling and within-family correlations of human red blood cell catechol-o-methyl transferase activity have suggested a high degree of genetic control over levels of activity of this catecholamine-related enzyme. However, family studies do not disentangle genetic from environmental similarities as causative of within-family correlations. We therefore undertook a human twin study using the monozygotic-dizygotic comparison method. Twelve pairs of monozygotic twins had an intraclass correlation of .90 in red blood cell catechol-o-methyl transferase activity, and seven pairs of dizygotic twins had an intraclass correlation of .37. Heritability of the enzyme activity was estimated by different methods as between 68–100 per cent.
Attempted Suicide Among Asian Immigrants in Birmingham
Authors: Burke Aggrey W.
Published: August 2008

This retrospective study describes the epidemiology of attempted suicide among Asian (Bangladesh, India and Pakistan) immigrants in Birmingham during the period 1969–1972.

The hypothesis of no difference in the distribution of attempted suicide among native and immigrant groups was not upheld. The immigrant group was under-represented among all the admissions to Birmingham's hospitals. It is estimated that the crude adjusted rates for attempted suicide among the male and female Asian immigrants aged 15–64 years are 57 and 126 per 100,000 population per annum respectively. These are lower than the rates found among natives in Britain, but the female immigrant rate is higher than that found in India.

Asian patients who attempt suicide in India and Birmingham are younger than 45 years of age, rarely abuse drugs and alcohol, and make repeated attempts infrequently. In Birmingham, however, immigrants and native patients swallow similar, mostly psychotropic, tablets and not insecticides as in India. It is noteworthy that an interpersonal dispute precedes attempted suicide more frequently among immigrant patients than among native ones in either area.