bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Return to the family and its consequence for rehospitalization among recently discharged mental patients
Authors: Blumenthal Richard , Kreisman Dolores , O'Connor Patricia A. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis study examined the contribution that living arrangements made to the rehospitalization rates of mental patients discharged to the community during the first 7 months they spent there. Over 20000 mental patients discharged from psychiatric facilities in the state of New York were categorized on the basis of the living arrangements to which they were discharged. These included living alone, parental, marital, other relatives or friends, and domiciliary settings. The sample was divided in half and results of the analysis of the first sample were replicated on the second sample. Analysis of covariance and multiple regression techniques revealed that patients discharged to marital settings were rehospitalized less than those discharged to other settings, and that there were no differences in the return rates among the remaining settings. The major predictor of rehospitalization was the number of previous hospitalizations. The implications of these findings for further research on supportive as well as stressful parameters of community and family settings are discussed.
The admission of the elderly to places of care: a socio-psychiatric community survey
Authors: Gillis L. S. , Elk R. , Trichard L. , Le Fevre K. , Zabow A. , Joffe H. , Van Schalkwyk D. J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisElderly persons over the age of 60 who were admitted for psychiatric care were compared with a random sample of persons living in the same community in respect of psychiatric, medical and socio-economic variables. The group admitted to hospital for psychiatric reasons was very similar to the latter in general characteristics. However, those people admitted to old age homes, which are the other major resource for psychiatric illness, constitute a distinctly separate population, being older and having considerably more physical illnesses and socio-economic problems. Factors predicting admission to an old age home were largely irremediable age-related conditions (dementia, physical infirmity, etc.), but there were also adverse social circumstances, including marked isolation and a lack of social and emotional support. A comparative analysis of the many psychiatric, social and medical factors is presented, with particular reference to reasons for referral and prevention of admission.
A longitudinal study of psychotropic drug prescription
Authors: Williams P. , Murray J. , Clare A. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisWhile many of the characteristics of psychotropic drug consumers have been established by means of cross-sectional studies, little is known about new consumers and the factors which predispose to long-term treatment. We report on a longitudinal study of 153 general practice patients beginning a new course of psychotropic drug treatment and characterized by extensive physical and psychological morbidity. About 1 in 5 were still receiving psychotropic drugs 6 months later and this prolonged treatment was associated with increased age, previous psychotropic drug-use, higher levels of psychological morbidity at the inception of treatment and, for the women only, social problems as perceived by the general practitioners.
Mental disorders in primary health care: a study of their frequency and diagnosis in four developing countries
Authors: Harding T. W. , De Arango V. , Baltazar J. , Climent C. E. , Ibrahim H. H. A. , Ladrido-Ignacio L. , Wig N. N. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS1624 patients who were attending primary health facilities in 4 developing countries were examined to determine how many were suffering from mental disorder. Using stringent criteria to establish the presence of psychiatric morbidity, 225 cases were found, indicating an overall frequency of 13·9 %. The great majority of cases were suffering from neurotic illnesses and for most the presenting complaint was of a physical symptom, such as headache, abdominal pain, cough or weakness. The health workers following their normal procedure correctly detected one third of the psychiatric cases.
A multiple criterion screen for identifying secondary school children with psychiatric disorder: Characteristics and efficiency of screen
Authors: Macmillan A. , Kolvin I. , Garside R. F. , Nicol A. R. , Leitch I. M. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISA multiple criterion screen was developed as part of a study which was designed to assess different types of intervention for school children with psychiatric disorder. The foremost requirement was that false positives be kept to a minimum, with selected children being unequivocally disturbed. Children were identified for treatment by the following measures: (a) teacher rating on the Rutter B2 Scale, giving a total score and subscores for neurotic and antisocial behaviour; (b) peer ratings on a sociometric measure, yielding isolation and rejection scores; and (c) self ratings on the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory, specifically the neuroticism dimension. A weighting system was developed so that children could be selected on the basis of extreme scores on either teacher or self-rating measures alone, or by a combination of less extreme scores on more than one measure. The results are presented and discussed.
Ward rating scales for long-stay patients: a review
Authors: hall John N. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISTwenty-nine published ward rating scales for long-stay psychiatric patients are reviewed according to a standard set of criteria. Attention is paid to details of the rating setting, the rating procedure, and scale construction and evaluation, and some detailed recommendations are made. Only 4 scales meet a subset of 5 minimal criteria.
Relationship between pre-operative anxiety and post-operative state
Authors: Johnston Marie , Carpenter Lucy 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISJanis (1958) has proposed a curvilinear relationship between pre-operative anxiety and post-operative emotional state. While other hypotheses share the prediction of a poor outcome for patients with pre-operative high anxiety, Janis' theory is unique in predicting a poor outcome for those with low anxiety. Subsequent research has failed to confirm Janis' hypotheses, perhaps because the designs have been insensitive to the predictions for low anxiety patients.The current study tests the hypothesis more directly and finds some support for a linear relationship between pre-operative anxiety and post-operative negative affect, with no support for Janis' curvilinear hypothesis. On the whole, pre-operative anxiety was a poor predictor of other measures of recovery but, on one measure, patients with low anxiety showed a slower recovery than those with moderate anxiety, i.e. supporting the prediction of a poor outcome for low anxiety patients.The implications of these results for pre-operative preparation of surgical patients and the development of theories of anxiety are discussed.
Effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on plasma tryptophan
Authors: Whalley L. J. , Yates C. M. , Christie J. E. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe concentrations of total and free plasma tryptophan were measured in 12 unipolar depressed patients before and after a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and before and after single ECTs during the course of treatment. Eleven patients undergoing diagnostic cystoscopy served as controls to examine the acute effect of anaesthesia. Total and free plasma tryptophan concentrations in the depressed patients were not significantly different from control values and were not changed by the course of ECT. Free plasma tryptophan varied considerably within individual patients. Total plasma tryptophan was reduced acutely by ECT/anaesthesia in the depressed patients (P< 0·05) and by anaesthesia in the cystoscopy controls (P< 0·01). Free plasma tryptophan was not significantly altered. This reduction in total plasma tryptophan could be secondary to an effect of thiopentone on albumin binding of tryptophan.
Part 1. A logical analysis of the medico-psychological concept of disease
Authors: Taylor F. Kräupl 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISTheories of symbolic logic are used in an attempt to clarify the medico-psychological concept of disease. It is argued that the class concept of diseased persons has as its extension the universal class of patients, and as its intension the attribute concept of patienthood (or disease in general). It is proposed that the diagnosis of patienthood has as its sufficient and necessary condition the experience of therapeutic concern by a person for himself and/or the arousal of therapeutic concern for him in his social environment. The experience of therapeutic concern has as its necessary condition, and also as its specific psychological cause, the observation of clinical symptoms and/or other pathological manifestations. The general domain of patients and its various subdivisions are empirical classes which are logically inexact—that is, contain neutral members in the form of dubious patients—and are polythetically characterized—that is, by a loose cluster of pathological attributes of which only a substantial proportion need be exhibited by a class member. The division of the domain of patients (and therefore the classification of patients) is commonly achieved by the addition to the intension of the domain of pathological attributes. These must, of course, be attributes which are not universally or predominantly shared by the domain members. Endopathological and exopathological abnormalities have proved themselves as the most useful classifying criteria. Their addition to the intension of the domain of patients separates particular classes from the rest of the domain. The intensions of these classes correspond to particular diseases, and list all the relevant clinical, endopathological, and exopathological data, if available. When a particular endopathological abnormality is by definition established as the specific cause of its clinical symptoms, then the intension in question corresponds to an aetiologically homogeneous disease entity.
Drinking problems among recidivist prisoners
Authors: Edwards Griffith , Hensman Celia , Peto Julian 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe general relationship between alcohol and crime is reviewed, and five central methodological problems are identified relevant to prison population ‘alcoholism prevalence surveys’ as a prelude to a report of an investigation of 500 recidivist prisoners. The prevalence rate is shown to be highly dependent on the particular definition of ‘alcoholism’ which is employed. Long-term and short-term prisoner subgroups are compared, and similarities with a population of non-prisoner homeless men discussed. A ‘dependence score’ derived from an operant conditioning model of alcoholism correlates significantly with various measures of social instability.
Part 1. Improvement criteria in drug trials with neurotic patients
Authors: Kellner Robert 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISPublished drug trials with neurotic patients are surveyed and rating scales and other improvement criteria are tabulated and related to outcome. These findings are compared with the results of studies which were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of various improvement criteria. The principles of the construction of distress scales and the method of testing reliability and validity of scales which purport to measure changes are discussed.
‘Secondary’ affective disorder: a study of 95 cases
Authors: Guze Samuel B. , Woodruff Robert A. , Clayton Paula J. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISPatients with ‘secondary’ affective disorder differ from those with ‘primary’ affective disorder in that there are additional symptoms of their pre-existing illness among the former. Hysteria, anxiety neurosis, antisocial personality, alcoholism, and drug dependency are the psychiatric conditions most frequently associated with ‘secondary’ affective disorders. There are other differences which may also be related to the presence of pre-existing illness. These differences include the findings that patients with ‘secondary’ affective disorder are younger, more often male, and are rarely manic; they suggest that it is appropriate to distinguish between ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ affective disorder for research purposes.
Freud and medicine in Vienna: Some scientific and medical sources of his thought
Authors: Rosen George 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisFreud as a medical student accepted the role of a man of science as defined by the medical milieu of Vienna, as well as the accompanying philosophy and methodology of clinical and scientific research. These forms became a part of his thought and into them he fitted his psychological discoveries as well as his view of himself. Without the medical Vienna in which he developed, Freud would not have been what he was.
A feasibility study for a controlled trial of formal psychotherapy
Authors: Candy J. , Balfour F. H. G. , Cawley R. H. , Hildebrand H. P. , Malan D. H. , Marks I. M. , Wilson J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisA feasibility study for a controlled trial of a certain type of formal psychotherapy is described. Patients referred by consultant psychiatrists in the Inner London Area were carefully selected and fully assessed before random allocation to one of three treatment procedures. The results indicate that the trial as initially envisaged is not feasible. The reasons for this conclusion are discussed.
Metabolism, anticholinergic effects, and therapeutic outcome of desmethylimipramine in depressive illness
Authors: Watt D. C. , Crammer J. L. , Elkes A. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisIn order to test two theories of the mode of action of imipramine 58 depressive patients were treated at two dosage levels with desmethylimipramine (DMI), its active metabolite. Clinical judgments were used to distinguish therapeutic responders from non-responders, who showed clear differences in depressive rating scales and body weight changes. Measurements of urinary output of DMI, of salivation, and of the incidence of side-effects were compared in responders and non-responders: no differences appeared between the two groups. It is concluded that the therapeutic effect of imipramine does not depend on either its anticholinergic or other action revealed by the common side-effects, and that variability of response cannot be accounted for by differences in the rate of metabolism of DMI.
Catecholamine-containing neurones and electrical self-stimulation: 1. a review of some data
Authors: Crow T. J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisSYNOPSIS Experimental data on the location in the brain of electrode sites supporting electrical self-stimulation are reviewed. All previous studies are in agreement that the behaviour is most easily elicited from lateral hypothalamic sites corresponding approximately to the fibre pathways known as the ‘medial forebrain bundle’. Some brainstem electrode sites will support self-stimulation. Experiments are summarized which indicate that there is a correlation between the sites of electrode tips positive for self-stimulation and the location of catecholamine-containing neurones in two regions: (1) in the region of the dopamine-containing cells in the ventral mesencephalon (cell-body groups A9 and AIO of Dahlstr¨m and Fuxe, 1964), and (2) in the region of the noradrenaline-containing cells of the locus coeruleus (A6 group). These two cell-body groups give rise to axons which pass through the medial forebrain bundle to form terminal systems with a widespread distribution in the prosencephalon. The hypothesis is advanced that electrical self-stimulation results in the majority of cases from activation of one or both of these catecholamine-containing systems.
Cross-national (Anglo—Irish) differences in obsessional symptoms and traits of personality
Authors: Kelleher M. J. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThe Leyton Obsessional Inventory, together with 46 questions taken from Sections M–R of the Cornell Medical Index and the short version of the Maudsley Personality Inventory were administered to a group of orthopaedic patients made up of Irish, English, and Irish immigrants. The results indicated that the Irish subjects had more obsessional symptoms and traits and also that they appeared to be more disturbed by the possession of such attributes than did the English. Among the various cultural factors considered, the bachelor state, in the case of the Irish males, and rural dwelling, in the case of Irish females, were associated with the highest obsessional scores. Ways in which the cultural background may be related to the development of obsessional symptoms and traits are discussed and suggestions are made as to the further epidemiological implications of these findings.
Physiological and psychological measures in anxious patients
Authors: Bond Alyson J. , James D. Colin , Lader Malcolm H. 
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSISThirty drug-free patients suffering from chronic anxiety states were compared with 30 normal controls matched for age, sex, and social class on a variety of physiological and psychological measures. The tests included the electroencephalogram, the auditory evoked response, and skin conductance recorded during a passive and an active condition and auditory reaction time, the digit symbol substitution test, and arithmetic. The patients showed increased EEG voltage, shorter latencies of the evoked response, higher skin conductance levels, higher pulse rate and less pupillary constriction, and they responded less to the increase in activation. They also showed impairment on complex psychological tests. It is concluded that pathological anxiety involves an increase in arousal irrelevant to the task and has a disorganizing rather than a facilitating effect on performance.
A cluster analysis of the behavioural items in the pre-school child
Authors: Wolkind S. N. , Everitt B. 
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSISThe difficulties of developing a classification of the non-psychotic disorders of early childhood are discussed. A cluster analysis technique is described for determining whether the pattern of behavioural items in 3 year olds could be used as a basis for such a classification. Among the clusters found were two suggesting conduct and neurotic disorders. Two pieces of evidence suggest that the clusters produced are clinically meaningful and have prognostic significance: (1) a group of children with a high risk for later psychiatrie disorder (children in local authority care) are over-represented in the ‘pathological’ clusters, and (2) the mothers of the children in these latter ‘clusters’ have significantly higher scores than mothers of children in the remaining clusters on an index of mental health one year later. It is suggested that evidence for the psychiatrie syndromes of early life is sufficiently strong to warrant further investigation.
School phobia and agoraphobia
Authors: Berg Ian , Marks Isaac , McGuire Ralph , Lipsedge Maurice 
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSISThe incidence of past school phobia was surveyed by questionnaire in 786 women under 60 years of age who were members of an agoraphobia correspondence club. Twenty-two per cent admitted to previous school phobia, a proportion similar to that found in 57 non-agoraphobic neurotic controls. Past school phobia predicted an earlier onset of subsequent agoraphobia and a more severe psychiatric state as far as symptoms not specifically agoraphobic were concerned. Adolescent agoraphobic difficulties were more associated with school phobia than with agoraphobia in adult life. It was concluded that school phobia leads to agoraphobia in only a small proportion of cases. Although school phobia may predispose to later agoraphobia, it seems more likely that both conditions reflect a lasting tendency to neurotic illness.
Social skills training and psychotherapy: a comparative study
Authors: Argyle Michael , Bryant Bridget , Trower Peter 
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSISA comparison is made between two forms of treatment for patients with interpersonal difficulties—one, an established treatment in the form of brief psychotherapy, and the other, social skills training, a form of behaviour modification designed to provide or improve the social skills necessary for successful social interaction. In a pilot study using social skills training, six out of seven patients showed marked clinical and social improvement. In the controlled trial, there was evidence that both types of treatment improved behaviour, but that social skills training tended to maintain its effect for longer, even though psychotherapy patients had more than twice the number of therapy hours.
An evaluation of continuation therapy with tricyclic antidepressants in depressive illness
Authors: Mindham R. H. S. , Howland C. , Shepherd Michael 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisA double-blind clinical trial has been carried out to ascertain whether patients making a good recovery from depressive illness with tricyclic antidepressant medication derive any benefit from continuation of therapy with the same drug at a lower dose level. Of the 92 patients who entered the trial significantly fewer on active treatment relapsed during the six-month trial period: 22% as compared with 50% of patients receiving placebo. Patients with residual symptoms on entry to the trial derived more benefit from continuation therapy than patients who had made a complete recovery. The findings relate to a six-month trial period only, and any possible advantage of continuation therapy over a longer period remains uncertain.
Catecholamine-containing neurones and electrical self-stimulation: 2. A theoretical interpretation and some psychiatric implications
Authors: Crow T. J. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisA theory is proposed which relates the learning theory concepts of reinforcement and incentive motivation to visceral afferent pathways in the central nervous System. Herrick's hypothesis of the functional significance of the difference between olfactory and gustatory connexions is used to demonstrate a parallel between olfactory and ‘drive inducing’ stimuli in their role in energizing and directing behaviour; and a somewhat similar parallel between the roles of gustatory and ‘reinforcing’ stimuli. This theory is used to explain recent evidence that there is a relationship between catecholamine-containing neurones and electrical self-stimulation behaviour. It is proposed that self-stimulation can be understood as resulting in most instances from activation of one or both of two ascending Systems: (1) a ‘reinforcement System’ (which may be phylogenetically related to gustation), arising from cell-bodies in the locus coeruleus and releasing noradrenaline as a neurohumour from terminals distributed to the neocortex; and (2) an ‘incentive motivational’ System (which may be a phylogenetic derivative of olfactory pathways), arising from cell bodies in the ventral mesencephalon and releasing dopamine from terminals distributed to the corpus striatum and related nuclei. Some implications of this theory for the action of certain psychotropic drugs and the ‘catecholamine hypothesis’ of affective disorders are discussed.
A self-rating scale of distress
Authors: Kellner Robert , Sheffield Brian F. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisResults of studies with various versions of the Symptom Rating Test are described. The test was designed to measure changes in the symptoms of neurotic patients participating in experiments in therapeutics such as drug trials. In all studies the test scores discriminated significantly between psychiatric patients and normals. In drug trials the test was found to be effective in discriminating between the responses to psychotropic drugs and to placebo. The findings suggest that the test is a valid and reliable measure of distress.