bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parental abnormalities of verbal communication in the transmission of schizophrenia
Authors: Hirsch Steven R. , Leff Julian P.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A carefully controlled comparison of communication defects and deviances in parents of schizophrenics and neurotics was undertaken using the 41-category Rorschach manual of Singer and Wynne. Subjects were tested and scored blindly and scoring was shown to be reliable. Although a statistically significant difference was found between the two groups, the marked overlap of the distribution of scores found in this study is not compatible with theories advanced by other authors concerning communication abnormality in parents of schizophrenics. Evidence is presented which provides a more parsimonious explanation of the difference between groups and leads to a hypothesis which would explain the failure of this study to confirm the striking differences between groups reported by previous workers.
Akinetic mutism with recovery after repeated carbon monoxide poisoning
Authors: Smith J. Sydney , Brierley H. , Brandon S.
Published: July 2009

A 27-year-old man developed signs of personality change after exposure to carbon monoxide. One month later a second exposure was followed by an akinetic mute state with unusual motor seizures, probably associated with tentorial herniation and brain-stem compression. Elimination of carbon monoxide was unduly prolonged after the second exposure. The patient showed clinical evidence of dementia, but there has been a gradual improvement in cognitive and social functioning over two years.
Blood barbiturate levels in a patient dependent upon amylobarbitone sodium
Authors: Watson J. P. , Radford M. D.
Published: July 2009

In a barbiturate dependent patient, the blood barbiturate was less than 0·2 mg% two and a half hours after an oral dose of 200 mg amylobarbitone sodium. Amylobarbitone was withdrawn, and the patient was maintained on phenobarbitone, with a blood barbiturate level that remained at about 4·0 mg% over several weeks. Themost likelyexplanation of the findings is that the oxidation of amylobarbitone, but not phenobarbitone, is accelerated in patients dependent on the former drug.
Dieting changes serotonergic function in women, not men: implications for the aetiology of anorexia nervosa?
Authors: Goodwin G. M. , Fairburn C. G. , Cowen P. J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The increase in plasma prolactin which follows intravenous administration of L–tryptopha (LTP) was used to assess changes in brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) function in normal male and female subjects, following a three week period of dieting. In women, but not men, there was a marked increase in the prolactin response to LTP, suggesting that dieting had caused alterations in brain 5-HT-mediated responses. In contrast, dieting did not alter the prolactinresponse to thyrotropin releasing hormone in either men or women, indicating that the changes in response to LTP could not be attributed to an increase in pituitary reserve of prolactin. These findings suggest that dieting alters brain 5–HT function in women but not in men. Biological factors as well as greater psychosocial pressures to diet may contribute to the high prevalence of eating disorders amongst women.
Psychobiology of anorexia nervosa
Authors: Ploog Detlev W. , Pirke Karl M.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The psychobiology of anorexia nervosa is described and explained under four headings; (1) the psychopathology as related to the motivation for fasting; (2) metabolic and somatic consequences of starvation, including brain morphology; (3) endocrine abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and gonadal axis; and (4) the hunger drive and its possible perversions in terms of aspects of neuroethology and the reward system in the brain.
Mood swings associated with the ‘on—off’ phenomenon in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Nissenbaum H. , Quinn N. P. , Brown R. G. , Toone B. , Gotham A.-M. , Marsden C. D.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Mood swings accompanying the motor fluctuations of patients with Parkinson's disease on chronic levodopa treatment frequently occur, but are poorly recognized. Occasionally, their functional impact may be greater than that caused by the motor disability itself.

In this study we have assessed the nature of, and relationship between, mood and motor fluctuations in nine Parkinsonian patients with ‘on—off’ motor swings. The results of an additional questionnaire survey confirm that ‘on–off’ mood swings occur in approximately two thirds of patients with Parkinson's disease experiencing motor fluctuations on dopaminergic treatment. Aetiological and therapeutic implications are discussed.
Insulin-induced hypoglycaemic response and release of growth hormone in depressed patients and healthy controls
Authors: Brunswick David J. , Frazer Alan , Koslow Stephen H. , Casper Regina , Stokes Peter E. , Robins Eli , Davis John M.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

As part of the Collaborative Study of the Psychobiology of Depression, we have examined the pretreatment growth hormone response (ΔGH) to insulin (0·1 U/kg) and the magnitude of the hypoglycaemic response in a large number of well-defined depressed patients (N = 132) and healthy controls (N = 80). After applying rigorous exclusion criteria, data were analysed from 93 patients and 66 controls for blood glucose response and from 56 patients and 52 controls for ΔGH. Depressed patients, either unipolar or bipolar, showed less of a fall in glucose than controls. A weak association was found between the magnitude of the fall in glucose and the severity of depression. No significant differences were found in values for ΔGH between the unipolar or bipolar depressed patients and controls either for males, pre-menopausal or postmenopausal females, or the total female group. These data do not support previous claims of a lowered ΔGH response to insulin in depressed patients. However, the resistance to hypoglycaemia seen in the depressed patients is consistent with previous reports.
Relationship between psychiatric impairment and a natural disaster: the role of distress
Authors: McFarlane A. C.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The relationship between adversity, distress and psychiatric impairment was examined in a group of 469 firefighters who had an intense exposure to an Australian bushfire disaster. The data suggested that psychiatric impairment measured by the General Health Questionnaire and distress measured by the Impact of Event Scale were relatively separate phenomena. Psychiatric impairment in these people appeared to be related more to their level of distress after the fires than to the severity of their exposure and losses.
Distinguishing anxiety and depression with field survey data
Authors: Eaton William W. , Ritter Christian
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Data on self-reported symptoms collected in the East Baltimore site of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program are analysed in parallel fashion for the two syndromes of anxiety and depression. Patterns of relationships of anxiety and depression to sociodemographic factors, prior psychopathology, and life events fail markedly to distinguish the two syndromes.
Phenomenology and classification of the childhood psychoses
Authors: Volkmar Fred R. , Cohen Donald J. , Hoshino Yoshihiko , Rende Richard D. , Paul Rhea
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Two hundred and twenty-eight cases of children with final clinical diagnoses of childhood psychosis were reviewed using a standard coding scheme; cases were grouped in three broad categories on the basis of clinical diagnosis (autistic, atypical and schizophreniform). These three groups differed significantly in many respects, although the ‘atypical’ group more closely resembled the autistic group. While it was possible meaningfully to differentiate diagnostic groups using DSM-III criteria, some cases were difficult to classify. Childhood schizophrenia, as strictly defined, was far less common than childhood autism. The development of diagnostic schemes for those children whose disorders are difficult to classify is an important topic for future research.
Using the psychological stress evaluator in conditions of extreme stress
Authors: Gunn John , Gudjonsson Gisli
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSEV) is a machine for detecting signs of stress in the voice. It was tested using tape recordings of negotiators during a prolonged terrorist siege in which a number of death threats were issued. The study aimed to test whether the PSEV could distinguish between the traces of terrorist voices before the death threats from voice traces at other points. A scoring system using the proportion of voice oscillations falling above defined amplitude levels was used. PSEV scores did rise significantly more just before the actual shooting of a hostage. Unfortunately, the apparatus proved to be slow and cumbersome in practice and of limited, or no, use during the course of incidents similar to the one analysed.
Investigation of ‘weight pathology’ of 58 mothers of anorexia nervosa patients and 204 mothers of schoolgirls
Authors: Hall Anne , Leibrich Julie , Walkey Frank H. , Welch Gary
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

‘Weight pathology’ – defined by Kalucy et al. (1977) as ‘deviations in weight, shape, eating behaviour and activity’ – has been hypothesized to be unduly common in families with anorexia nervosa. It was investigated in this study by means of questionnaires evaluating both weight history and attitudes towards weight-related matters in 58 mothers of anorexia nervosa patients and 204 mothers of schoolgirls of similar age and socioeconomic status (SES). No support was found for the hypothesis. A family history of aberrant weight and mother's current weight and past weight histories showed no significant differences between the groups. 142 other mothers of schoolchildren and 446 attenders at Weight Watchers also completed the questionnaire on attitudes towards weight-related matters. Mothers of patients showed a lower concern on all scales than did all other groups. The findings are discussed in relation to earlier controlled studies of family factors in anorexia nervosa.
Emotional distress and satisfaction in life among Holocaust survivors – a community study of survivors and controls
Authors: Carmil D. , Carel R. S.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Results are reported from a large population study (of working people) comparing Holocaust survivors and a control group in regard to emotional distress, satisfaction in life and psychosomatic symptoms. It was found that, even 40 years after the traumatic experience, this group of survivors exhibited a slightly higher degree of emotional disorders than controls who were not under Nazi occupation during WWII. These long-term effects were usually more prominent in women than in men, and the relationship to age was minimal.
Visual flicker in depression: response criteria, confidence ratings and response times
Authors: Herskovic Joseph E. , Kietzman Mitchell L. , Sutton Samuel
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Differences in response criterion and sensory sensitivity to visual flicker among major depressive patients, dysthymic patients, and normal controls were investigated. Also, signal detection confidence ratings and response times were compared. The results indicated that major depressive patients responded more conservatively (i.e. were less willing to respond ‘flicker’) than either of the other groups. The groups did not differ significantly on a criterion free measure of flicker sensitivity. The major conclusions are: (1) previously reported visual flicker differences between depressed patients and normal controls were probably due to the more conservative response criterion of the patients and not to flicker sensitivity differences between groups; and (2) confidence ratings and response times yield similar conclusions with respect to visual flicker sensitivity and response criterion. Therefore, interpretations concerning a sensory or perceptual deficit in depression must take into account the differences in response criterion between depressed patients and normal controls.
At risk drinking among general practice attenders: validation of the CAGE questionnaire
Authors: King Michael
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Synopsis The CAGE questionnaire was used to screen for at risk drinking among attenders to an inner London health centre. The CAGE functioned most effectively at a cut-off point of two or more affirmative replies, with a sensitivity of 84%, a specificity of 95% and a positive predictive value of 45%. The usefulness of this instrument for screening in general practice is discussed.
Continuation therapy with lithium and amitriptyline in unipolar depressive illness: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial
Authors: Glen A. I. M. , Johnson A. L. , Shepherd M.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A detailed analysis of the results of a multi-centre clinical trial shows that, while the relapse rate following recovery from an operationally defined depressive illness was smaller among patients subsequently treated with either amitryptiline or lithium than with a placebo, there was no clinically significant difference between the prophylactic efficacy of the 2 antidepressants. An account is given of the relative adverse effects of the treatments, and the implications of the findings are discussed.
Institutional rearing, parenting difficulties and marital support
Authors: Quinton David , Rutter Michael , Liddle Christine
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A prospective follow-up study was undertaken of two groups of women first studied in the mid 1960s when they were children: 94 girls reared in institutions to which they had been admitted because of a breakdown in parenting, and 51 girls in a general population comparison group. Both groups were interviewed in detail when aged 21–27 years and home observations were undertaken for those with young children. The institution-reared women showed a markedly increased rate of poor psychosocial functioning and of severe parenting difficulties in adult life. However, the support of a non-deviant spouse and of good living conditions in adult life provided a powerful protective effect.
Modification of levels of depression in mother-bereaved women by parental and marital relationships
Authors: Parker Gordon , Hadzi-Pavlovic Dusan
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A sample of 79 young women whose mothers had died in the subjects' childhood, and whose fathers had remarried, was studied to determine any effects on state and trait depression associated with modification of high and low risk parental style. Lack of care from fathers and lack of care from step-mothers were the parental variables most strongly associated with high trait depression, and almost all subjects scoring both these parents as uncaring affirmed a distinct life-time episode of depression. In a married sub-group of 63 subjects, low marital affection and low step-mother care accounted for 33% of the variance in trait depression scores, while low paternal care was no longer a significant predictor. Data for the married sub-group suggested that an affectionate husband largely corrected any diathesis to greater depression exerted by uncaring parenting, while the protective effects of caring parenting on adult depressive experience were largely undone by marriage to an unaffectionate husband.
Age of onset in bipolar affective disorder and misdiagnosis as schizophrenia
Authors: Joyce Peter R.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The age of onset in bipolar affective disorder was determined in 200 hospitalized patients. The mean age of their first affective syndrome was 28·3 years, and the mean age of first hospitalization was 30·8 years. However, the median age for first affective syndrome was 23 years (26 years for first hospitalization), and the most common age of onset was 15–19 years. Those patients with an early onset, especially if they were first hospitalized for mania, were most likely to have received a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Reliability and validity of an interval measure of vocal stress
Authors: Fuller B. F.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The reliability and validity of Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE) output and frequency modulation suppression as an inaudible vocal measure of stress-arousal was further explored, using a new interval scoring method. ‘Yes’ answers to 6 neutral questions were obtained from 106 volunteers 2 weeks before, the day before and one week after a stress-provoking event (oral comprehensive examinations for an MS degree). The data show excellent construct validity and good but not high internal consistency (0·77–0·81) and test-retest (0·72–0·74) reliability. Interrater reliability ranged from 0·94 to 0·98. Correlations of PSE output with other psychological and physiological measures (criterion-related validity) was very poor.
Assessment of the negative and positive feedback effects of administered oestrogen on gonadotrophin release in patients with anorexia nervosa
Authors: Wakeling A. , Beardwood C. J. , deSouza V. A.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The capacity of the hypothalamic–pituitary axis to respond with changes in LH release to the negative and positive feedback effects of oestrogen was assessed in 19 patients with anorexia nervosa at different stages of the illness. Ethinyl oestradiol, 200 μg daily for 3 days, was administered and serial estimations of serum LH were carried out during and after the course of oestrogen.

In patients with anorexia nervosa tested when markedly underweight, negative feedback effects of oestrogen were demonstrated in those patients with detectable levels of LH. None of the patients demonstrated positive feedback release of LH to the oestrogen stimulus.

After the resumption of a more normal weight, basal LH levels were higher and negative feedback effects of oestrogen were observed in 11 out of 12 patients. The complete response to oestrogen with a subsequent positive release of LH to the oestrogen stimulus was shown by only 3 patients. Two of these 3 patients maintained a normal weight during the subsequent 6 months and both resumed regular menstruation shortly after the test. Three additional patients who had shown only negative feedback effects of oestrogen on LH release similarly maintained a normal weight and only 1 of them resumed menstruation, starting 3 months after the oestrogen test.

It was concluded that in recovery from anorexia nervosa there is a return of normal hypothalamicpituitary–gonadal activity in a definite sequence with recovery of the hypothalamus to respond normally to the negative feedback effects of oestrogen followed by return of the positive feedback capacity between oestrogen and LH which allows menstruation to resume. The resumption of normal hypothalamic–pituitary function is clearly dependent in part upon correction of the malnutrition. However, after correction of the malnutrition some patients fail to menstruate, and this appears to be determined by a continuing impairment of the hypothalamus to respond normally to the feedback effects of oestrogen upon gonadotrophin release.
The influence of propranolol on the exposure in vivo of agoraphobics
Authors: Hafner Julian , Milton Frank
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

This study examines the influence of 40 mg of propranolol on agoraphobics throughout 5-hour periods of exposure in vivo on 3 alternate days. Twenty-three patients were studied using a double-blind parallel design and 19 followed up for 3 months. The propranolol group spent significantly less time than the placebo group travelling alone in the month after treatment, and had improved significantly less on a measure of general symptoms at 3 months. The adverse influence of propranolol on treatment outcome appeared mainly due to a waning effect in the last hour of exposure. Attempts to measure coping with panics as an independent variable were largely unsuccessful.
Ethnicity and illness behaviour
Authors: Pilowsky I. , Spence N. D.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The 52-item Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ) was administered to 134 general practice patients of Greek, Anglo-Greek, and Anglo-Saxon origin. Responses were scored on 7 dimensions of illness behaviour labelled general hypochondriasis, disease conviction, psychological versus somatic perception of illness, affective inhibition, affective disturbance, denial and irritability. Results of a three-way analysis of variance (ethnicity, age and sex) indicated that Greek patients were significantly more likely to differ from their Anglo-Saxon counterparts on the initial 3 IBQ scales. Compared with the Anglo-Saxon group, the Greek sample showed greater hypochrondriacal concern, were more likely to manifest conviction as to the presence of serious physical disease, and took a more somatic view of illness. Anglo-Greek patients varied from one scale to another in the degree to which their responses resembled the pattern of illness behaviour reported by Greek patients. They were most similar to the latter in their hypochondriacal attitude, and least similar in their psychological perception of illness. Although the IBQ responses to the Greek sample were consistent with patterns described in other studies of Mediterranean cultural groups, it was found that relationships observed between ethnicity and illness behaviour were to some extent dependent upon age and sex.
A new scale for measuring mania
Authors: Blackburn Ivy M. , Ashworth Cheryl M. , Loudon J. B.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A modified version of the Manic State Rating Scale comprising 28 items with a glossary has been tested on 16 manic patients. The scale has satisfactory inter-rater reliability and appears to be valid.
Some psychological concomitants of chronic bronchitis
Authors: Rutter Brenda M.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Thirty chronic bronchitic patients with severe airways obstruction were individually matched with non-bronchitic controls from the general population. The 2 groups were compared using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to assess non-psychotic psychiatric disturbance, the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) to assess personality traits, and the Marlowe–Crowne (M–C) scale plus the L (Lie) scale of the EPI to assess social-desirability response set. Chronic bronchitic patients were both more psychiatrically disturbed and more neurotic in personality than were their matched controls; but there were no differences between the 2 groups on the personality trait of extraversion or on measure of social desirability response set. The results are discussed in the context of both chronic bronchitis specifically and chronic illness in general, and future investigations are proposed.
The prevalence of minor psychiatric morbidity in the community
Authors: Finlay-Jones Robert A. , Burvill Peter W.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The method is described of a point-prevalence survey of minor psychiatric morbidity among a sample of healthy community residents. The General Health Questionnaire was used as the sole means of case identification. The demographic characteristics of the sample were compared in detail with those of the total population. The factors mainly responsible for sample bias were difficulty with the English language, the varying degree of personal contact made with residents, and the difficulty in contacting the employed population during working hours. The overall response rate of the survey was 66·%. The demographic groups found to be at significantly higher risk for minor psychiatric morbidity included women, the young, non-British migrant women, and lower social class men.
The psychopathology of affectivity: conceptual and historical aspects
Authors: Berrios G. E.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The disorders of affect have not contributed much to the diagnostic definition of mental disease, and their phenomenological description has never achieved the richness of the psychopathology of perception or cognition. This paper shows how the subordinate role played by affectivity in the Western concept of man led to the early and enduring view of mental illness as an exclusive disturbance of intellect. Attempts by nineteenth-century alienists to challenge this notion were only partially successful, due to the conceptual unmanageability of most forms of affective behaviour and the terminological redundancy that this engendered. These efforts were frustrated by the rebirth of Associationism, the rise of brain localization experiments, the peripheralist definition of the emotions and, finally, by the unfolding of Darwinism. As a result, no autonomous psychopathology of affectivity was ever developed. The eventual recognition of the so-called ‘primary’ disorders of mood has not led, however, to a refinement in the semiology of the experiences themselves. This has been impeded by the use of descriptive behavioural surrogates or by metapsychological accounts of affect as a form of energy or as a driving force. None of these developments has contributed to the clinical description of the mood disorders.
The use of health diaries in the field of psychiatric illness in general practice
Authors: Murray Joanna
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The individual's response to the occurrence of symptoms is conditioned by a variety of non-medical factors, of both an enduring (e.g. personality attributes) and a changing nature (e.g. social support). The health diary provides a particularly appropriate method of studying the daily variations in health and illness behaviour which make up so much of the clinical content of general practice.
Increasing right hand dominance with age on a motor skill task
Authors: Weller Malcolm P. I. , Latimer-Sayer D. T.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A standardized pegboard task was used to investigate changes in manipulative skill as a function of age in 119 right-handed subjects. The typical pattern of cognitive impairment in old age indicates a relative preservation of functions which depend on the integrity of the left hemisphere. In accord with these observations, we predicted that, with increasing age, right hand motor skills would be better preserved than left hand skills. We found this on initial exposure to the task (P < 0·01); however, the phenomenon was masked by practice, because older subjects (over 60 years of age) derived more improvement to their left hand motor skill, as a result of practice, than they did to their right hand skill (P > 0·05).
Cerebral ventricular size in depressed subjects
Authors: Dolan R. J. , Calloway S. P. , Mann A. H.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A computed tomographic study of 101 depressed patients and 52 normal control subjects is described. Increasing age and male sex were both associated with larger ventricular size in both patient and control groups. Controlling for these effects, the depressed patients had larger ventricles than the control subjects. In the patient group there was no association between ventricular size, course of illness or exposure to drug treatment or electroconvulsive therapy.
Densitometric analysis of scans: important sources of artefact
Authors: Jacobson R. R. , Turner S. W. , Baldy R. E. , Lishman W. A.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Computed tomography (CT) research in psychiatry often relies on the assessment of minor structural changes. Recently, it has come to encompass changes in regional brain X-ray absorption density. The artefacts prone to be encountered in density measurements are reviewed, and illustrated by a series of studies carried out using a CT 1010 scanner. They are shown to be more important than hitherto assumed in the interpretation of CT scan research.
Clinical judgement and the standardized interview in psychiatry
Authors: Lewis Glyn , Williams Paul
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

There has been little discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of allowing a psychiatrist to make clinical judgements about the presence or absence of symptoms in administering currently used standardized psychiatric interviews. This paper reports an examination of the value of clinical judgements in defining cases of minor psychiatric disorder, by studying existing data in which the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) was used. This comparison can be made because the first section of the CIS is largely self-report while interviewers are also instructed to use clinical judgement in the second section to decide on ratings. The results indicate that in the context of identifying minor psychiatric disorder the ratings requiring clinical judgement add little information to those based on self-report, may be less reliable and may lead to the biased assessment of anxiety and depression.
Classification of depression by grade of membership: a confirmation study
Authors: Davidson Jonathan R. T. , Woodbury Max A. , Zisook Sidney , Giller Earl L.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

One hundred and thirty out-patients with depression were studied by grade of membership multivariate (GOM) analysis. Five depressive types were generated. Pure Type I represented a mild form of melancholia in older, stable males, who showed a modest drug response. Pure Type II included obsessive-anxious symptoms in older patients who responded well to an MAOI drug, but poorly to placebo. Pure Type III was a mildly symptomatic form of depression which responded well to placebo. Pure Type IV included features of agitation, mood worsening later in the day, anorexia and depersonalization; it was commonly precipitated by external stress and MAOI treatment was more effective than placebo. In Pure Type V depression, patients were mostly younger females with high levels of symptomatology, atypical vegetative symptoms, unstable life-styles, disadvantaged backgrounds and a poor response to MAOI and placebo. These results resemble in many ways our earlier GOM study of depression, as well as other multivariate studies of depression in the literature.
The reliability of diagnostic coding in psychiatric case registers
Authors: Sytema S. , Giel R. , Horn G. H. M. M. Ten , Balestrieri M. , Davies N.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

In total, 103 cases were randomly selected from the Groningen, Nottingham and South Verona registers. Six raters (two in each of the register areas) were involved in coding these cases according to the ICD–9. In general, interrater agreement was satisfactory when codes were grouped into a limited number of categories. Nevertheless, considerable variation in agreement rates was found. We distinguished three steps in the diagnostic process. The selected logistic model showed that reliability is significantly affected in each step, but only substantial in the first where clinicians formulate a diagnosis.
The growth hormone response to insulin induced hypoglycaemia in alcoholics
Authors: Chalmers R. J. , Bennie E. H. , Johnson R. H. , Kinnell H. G.
Published: July 2009

synopsis

The growth hormone response to insulin induced hypoglycaemia was studied in 7 alcoholic in-patients who had been abstinent for 2–11 days and in 10 normal controls. Blood samples were taken at intervals after the injection of soluble insulin (0·1 U/kg body weight). The growth hormone response was impaired in 4 of the alcoholics and the depression was not related to differences in blood glucose or plasma free fatty acids. The Cortisol response was also impaired in the alcoholics. We conclude that alcoholics observed after alcohol withdrawal may have a depression of hypothalamic/pituitary function.
The contribution of psychological features to the symptoms of treated hypertensive patients
Authors: Bulpitt C. J. , Dollery C. T. , Hoffbrand B. I.
Published: July 2009

synopsis

Twenty-seven symptoms of 859 treated hypertensive patients were evaluated using a self-administered questionnaire and correlated with the depression (DEP), free-floating anxiety (FFA), phobic anxiety (PHO), obsessionality (OBS) and extraversion (HYS) scores of the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire. The psychological features were associated with 24 of the 27 symptoms, and the extent to 1which these measurements determined the presence of a symptom was calculated. DEP and FFA were correlated with most of the symptoms, PHO with weak limbs, blurred vision, slow walking pace, nocturia and a lessened interest in sex. HYS was positively associated with the frequency of sexual intercourse in men and negatively with complaints of dyspnoea, tingling in the limbs and a slow walking pace. OBS was only associated with diarrhoea.
Previous occupational stability as a predictor of employment after psychiatric rehabilitation
Authors: Watts Fraser N. , Bennett D. H.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Several indices of occupational stability are discussed and the importance of controlling for age in assessing occupational stability emphasized. The ability of 6 indices to predict the stable resettlement of psychiatric patients at work after a course of rehabilitation was examined. Though mean job length was a significant predictor, indices based on change of occupation rather than change of job were more successful. Stable resettlement at work was related to how much time people had spent in long jobs but not to how little time they had spent in short jobs. The amount of unemployment during the 2 years before hospital admission predicted return to work immediately after discharge, but did not predict stable resettlement at work.
The rating of symptoms by a psychiatrist and a non-psychiatrist: a study of patients referred from general practice
Authors: Wing J. K. , Henderson A. S. , Winckle Margaret
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A psychologist interviewing patients referred to the psychiatric service of a health centre rated twice as much morbidity, measured by total PSE score, as a psychiatrist interviewing equivalent patients. Scores on the self-rated GHQ showed no difference between the 2 groups. It is suggested that such differences could be avoided by giving careful attention to training interviewers.
Psychiatric aspects of pregnancy in schoolgirls: a review
Authors: Shaffer D. , Pettigrew A. , Wolkind S. , Zajicek E.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

This review has searched the literature to examine the hypothesis that illegitimate pregnancy in girls of school going age is an indicator of underlying psychopathology and, in particular, that pregnancy or sexual activity provide a form of gratification for otherwise deprived young girls. Surveys suggest that precocious sexual activity is more common in disadvantaged young teenagers and that pregnant schoolgirls are especially likely to come from large families, and to have unskilled parents. There is a suggestion that the younger groups of pregnant teenagers come from unsatisfactory home backgrounds. However, these conclusions are derived from inadequate studies and should be treated with caution.

Relatively few sexually active teenagers use contraceptives but there is no evidence that this represents a subconscious intent to conceive and there is greater support for more straightforward explanations. There is a further suggestion that girls who continue with their pregnancy when the choice for termination is available are more disadvantaged than girls who obtain a termination, although the reasons for this association are not clear. Children born to very young mothers appear to do less well than children born to older mothers. However, it may be that this difference can be attributed to greater overall disadvantage in the younger group rather than to specific age related deficiencies in ‘mothering ability’.

The problems of schoolgirl pregnancy are compounded by interruption of her schooling and early re-conception. There is evidence that these complications can be lessened by the provision of specially designed intervention programmes.
Brief Communication The movement of hostility during recovery from depression
Authors: Lyketsos G. C. , Blackburn Ivy M. , Tsiantis J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Sixteen depressed in-patients from a hospital in Athens were assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire. Comparison of admission, discharge and mid-treatment scores showed that:

(1) There was a larger drop in depression score in the first half of treatment.

(2) Hostility scores, except for extrapunitiveness, decreased significantly over time, larger changes occurring in the first half of treatment.

(3) Comparisons with British scores showed that during illness there were no significant differences between British and Greeks, though the latter tended to be more extrapunitive. At recovery, the Greeks were significantly more extrapunitive.

The movement of hostility in depressive illness, the validity of the HDHQ and need for national norms are discussed.
Incidence of referred mental illness in Chichester and Salisbury
Authors: de Alarcón Jacqueline Grad , Sainsbury Peter , Costain W. Roy
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The annual rates of referral to two differently organized comprehensive psychiatric services in separate but demographically similar areas are presented for various demographic social and clinical categories. In Part 1 the rates are examined for similarities both between the two areas and with findings from other studies in order to obtain pointers to factors affecting the inception of psychiatric disorders. In Part 2 an attempt is made to evaluate an aspect of the community service. Differences between the rates in the two areas are discussed with a view to identifying those variables that selectively affect referral to a community service.
Factor analysis of subjectively reported sleep habits, and the nature of insomnia
Authors: Johns M. W.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Factor analysis was performed on variables used to describe subjectively the sleep habits of three groups of subjects—male patients, female patients, and medical students. Similarities in the six factors from each analysis indicate the existence of dimensions of variation which are common to normal sleep habits and insomnia.
Social versus clinical prediction in minor psychiatric disorders
Authors: Huxley Peter , Goldberg David
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Fifty new psychiatric outpatients, suffering from minor disorders, were assessed using standardized social and clinical interview schedules. Forty-six were successfully followed-up six months later and their condition was assessed using a specially constructed rating scale. Social dysfunction in the area of the patient's material circumstances was the single most important predictive variable. Clinical predictions of outcome were shown to be closely related to the proportion of time the patient had been ill over the five years before inception.
A note on classifying phobia
Authors: Lewis Aubrey
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The increasing interest in the treatment of phobias underlines the need for clarifying their definition and classification. A brief historical note highlights some of the difficulties which have been, and still are, encountered.
Exposure in vivo of agoraphobics: contributions of diazepam, group exposure, and anxiety evocation
Authors: Hafner Julian , Marks Isaac
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Fifty-seven chronic agoraphobic outpatients were treated by 12 hours of exposure in vivo on four days over two weeks to check the effects of oral diazepam versus placebo during group exposure, group versus individual exposure, and high versus medium anxiety arousal during individual exposure. The controlled parallel design allowed comparative evaluation of each treatment condition to six months follow-up. Assessment was blind with respect to drug and psychological treatment. Patients in all treatment conditions improved significantly in phobias and in related life areas.

Outcome to group exposure on phobias and other measures was similar in all three drug conditions (placebo, waning diazepam, peak diazepam) with no significant differences between them. Diazepam patients had significantly less discomfort than placebo patients during group exposure treatment. Group exposure patients improved slightly but significantly more than individual exposure patients on non-phobic measures, though group exposure was accompanied by more panics during treatment yet was easier to run by the therapist. Individual exposure under high anxiety arousal was no more therapeutic than with lower anxiety. Diazepam is a mild palliative during group exposure but does not facilitate outcome to treatment. Group exposure in vivo is mildly facilitatory for outcome compared with individual exposure. Anxiety evocation during treatment was not therapeutically helpful.
The prevalence of early childhood autism: comparison of administrative and epidemiological studies
Authors: Wing Lorna , Yeates Sybil R. , Brierley Lorna M. , Gould Judith
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The results of surveys and inquiries to identify autistic children, carried out in England and Wales, the U.S.A. and Denmark, are compared. Three studies, in each of which either a total population of children or a wide range of handicapped children was screened, using case-note inspection and interviews, all estimated the prevalence of the autistic syndrome to be between four and five children per 10,000 aged under 15 years. Inquiries that counted diagnosed cases only or that relied upon local authority records produced much lower prevalence rates for the autistic syndrome. The reasons for this are examined, and the implications for prevalence studies of handicapping conditions are discussed.
An investigation of psychological factors involved in the predisposition to auditory hallucinations
Authors: Slade P. D.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Previous research by the author (Slade, 1972, 1973) and others has suggested that psychological stress plays an important role in triggering off the experience of auditory hallucinations. Clearly, however, predispositional factors are involved as well. The present study is an attempt to investigate some of the psychological factors which may predispose the individual to such experiences. A battery of tests involving cognitive, personality and mental imagery variables and the verbal transformation effect was administered to two small groups of psychotic patients differing only in respect of a history of auditory hallucinations and a normal control group. The main conclusion was that the results lend direct support to the proposition of Mintz & Alpert (1972) that a combination of vivid mental imagery and poor reality-testing in the auditory modality provides the basic predisposition for the experience of auditory hallucinations.
Cortical evoked potentials and clinical rating scales as measures of depressive illness
Authors: Ashton H. , Golding J. F. , Marsh V. R. , Thompson J. W. , Hassanyeh F. , Tyrer S. P.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Relationships between clinical ratings and cortical evoked potentials were examined before and during antidepressant drug treatment in 32 patients with major depressive disorder (DSM-III). Clinical rating scales included Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Beck Depression Inventory, Present State Examination (PSE) and Newcastle Scale. Evoked potentials included contingent negative variation (CNV), post-imperative negative variation (PINV) and auditory evoked potential (AEP) There were close correlations between all rating scales, and factor analysis produced only one component, suggesting that the common variance between them related to severity of depression. CNV magnitude before treatment correlated negatively with severity of depression regardless of diagnostic category. Depressed patients had a prominent PINV which persisted during antidepressant treatment. The amplitude of late components (N1P2) of the AEP was reduced strikingly in patients with a history of suicide attempts.
Recent clinical and epidemiological trends in parasuicide in Edinburgh and Oxford: a tale of two cities
Authors: Platt Stephen , Hawton Keith , Kreitman Norman , Fagg Joan , Foster Jean
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

This is a report of clinical and epidemiological trends in parasuicide in Edinburgh and Oxford over the period 1976 to 1984. Rates of parasuicide declined in both cities, but more markedly among women than men. Male rates tended to be higher in Edinburgh and female rates higher in Oxford. Age-specific rates were similar for the two cities in 1983–84, with peak rates for females among 15–19 year olds and those for males among 20–24 year olds in Edinburgh and 25–34 year olds in Oxford. Parasuicide incidence was higher in lower social class groups and among the unemployed in both cities. During the study period there was a massive decline in barbiturate overdoses, a more modest decline in minor tranquillizer overdoses but, in Oxford, a marked increase in self-poisoning with paracetamol. By the end of the study period the proportion of patients receiving a diagnosis of drug addiction had doubled in Edinburgh, although it had remained fairly constant in Oxford. There were differences in patterns of aftercare offered to patients in the two cities; these almost certainly reflect differing clinical policies.
Depressive thoughts in general practice attenders
Authors: Williams Paul , Skuse David
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Depressive thoughts were commonly reported by a sample of patients attending a south London general practitioner. Their occurrence corresponded more closely with a psychiatrist's than the general practitioner's diagnosis of depression; a ‘scale’ composed of questions about depressive thinking discriminated well between depressed and non-depressed men, but was a much poorer discriminator in the women.
Distortion of body image in the obese: a sensory phenomenon
Authors: Gardner Rick M. , Martinez Renée , Espinoza Tracy , Gallegos Venice
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Body weight in 42 obese and normal weight subjects was measured using a video TV monitor. Tasks included a continuous task where subjects manipulated the width of their body image on TV, and a discrete task, where they judged the accuracy of their TV image which was presented as either normal, too heavy, or too thin. Subjects rated their full body, body regions which included face, waist, and thighs, and two inanimate control objects. Results from the continuous task revealed that obese subjects overestimated body size more than normals. There was also a significant difference in the ratings of the four body regions, with all regions overestimated. Judgements were more accurate for body regions and control objects on ascending trials where the subjects had to increase the width of the image. No differences were obtained between obese and normals on judgements of the control objects. On the discrete discrimination task, a signal detection analysis revealed sensory sensitivity differences between obese and normal weight subjects. Obese subjects were poorer at detecting size distortions of the body regions. The thin/normal discrimination was more difficult than the heavy/normal discrimination. No response criterion differences were found between obese and control subjects, although subjects adopted a more strict criterion with the thin/normal discriminations. Implications of these findings for clinical intervention in eating disorders are discussed.
The assessment of Type A behaviour pattern: results from a spouse-report approach
Authors: Condon John T.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Evidence is summarized suggesting that existing self-report questionnaires for the assessment of Type A behaviour pattern suffer from major methodological shortcomings. Type A individuals may be unwilling or unable to accurately self-report. The female spouse of the male patient can potentially provide a more objective, accurate ‘trait’ description less contaminated by ‘state’ variables such as diagnosis of illness or medication. The development of a spouse-report questionnaire is described and pilot data from 41 couples are presented, including comparison of the self-report and spouse-report responses on 46 questionnaire items and five scales. Unexpectedly high levels of agreement were found between self and spouse reports. Possible explanations of such agreement are critically examined.