Related Articles

Aim

To determine the relationship between the intensity of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the intensity of predominating symptoms.

Method

The study included 151 veterans from 1992-1995 war in Croatia with PTSD, aged 38.3 ± 7.3 years (mean ± standard deviation). The veterans were psychologically tested with the Mississippi Scale for Combat-related PTSD (M-PTSD), Questionnaire on Traumatic Combat and War Experiences (USTBI-M), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-version 201 (MMPI-201).

Results

The discriminative analysis of the data revealed that the group with lower PTSD intensity had the highest scores on MMPI scales D (depression, T-score 95.7 ± 5.6), Hs (hypochondriasis, 87.6 ± 5.1), and Hy (hysteria, 85.6 ± 4.9), whereas the group with higher PTSD intensity, besides these three scales (D = 98.3 ± 5.3; Hs = 90.1 ± 4.3; Hy = 89.5 ± 4.7), also had clinically significantly elevated Pt (psychastenia, 80.6 ± 5.6), Sc (schizophrenia, 79.6 ± 4.8), and Pa (paranoia, 85.6 ± 5.4) scales, with the highest Pa scale.

Conclusion

It was possible to differentiate study participants with different PTSD intensity on the basis of their MMPI profile. More intense PTSD was associated with externalized symptoms, such as aggression, acting-out, hostility, and mistrust, whereas less intensive PTSD was associated with mostly depressive symptoms. Our study showed that different intensity of PTSD has different symptom patterns.

BACKGROUND:

Elevated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores on the hysteria (Hy) scale are reported in several forms of pain. Previous results were possibly biased by diagnostic heterogeneity (psychogenic, somatic and mixed pain syndromes included in the same index sample) or Hy heterogeneity (failure to differentiate Hy scores into clinically meaningful sub-scales, such as admission of symptoms [Ad] and denial of symptoms [Dn]).

METHODS:

To overcome this drawback, 48 patients diagnosed as having a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) diagnosis of “pain disorder associated with psychological factors” were compared with 48 patients experiencing somatic pain excluding psychological factors, and 42 somatic controls without pain.

RESULTS:

MMPI Hy and hypochondriasis (Hs) scores were significantly higher in the pain disorder group than in control groups, who scored similarly. MMPI correction (K) scores and Dn scores were similar in the three groups, whereas Ad was significantly higher in the pain disorder group and lower and similar in the two control groups, respectively. In the pain disorder group, Ad and Dn were negatively correlated, whereas in control groups they were unrelated.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings suggest that whereas a pattern of high Hs and Hy scores together with a normal K score might characterize patients with a pain disorder associated with psychological factors, elevated Hy scores per se do not indicate hysterical traits. In the pain disorder group, elevated Hy scores reflected the Ad subscale alone, indicating a strikingly high frequency of distressing somatic symptoms. They tend not to repress or deny the emotional malaise linked to symptoms, as the hysterical construct expects. The pain disorder designation should be considered a nonhysterical form of somatization.

Objective

This study evaluated the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among North Korean defectors and their level of suicidal ideation and the correlation between these and heart-rate variability (HRV) to explore the possibility of using HRV as an objective neurobiological index of signs of autonomic nervous system disorder.

Methods

A total of 32 North Korean defectors (nine men, 23 women) were selected as subjects, and their HRV was measured after they completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-PTSD (MMPI-PTSD) scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results

1) Low-frequency (LF)/high-frequency (HF) ratios in the HRV index and MMPI-PTSD scores were correlated (r=0.419, p<0.05), as were BDI item 9 (suicidal ideation) and MMPI-PTSD scores (r=0.600, p<0.01). 2) A regression analysis of LF/HF ratios and MMPI-PTSD scores revealed an R-value of 13.8% (Adj. R2=0.138, F=4.695, p=0.041), and a regression analysis of BDI item 9 and MMPI-PTSD scores showed an R-value of 32.8% (Adj. R2=0.328, F=11.234, p=0.003). In other words, the LF/HF ratio (β=0.419) and BDI item 9 (β=0.600) appear to be risk factors in predicting MMPI-PTSD scores.

Conclusion

The LF/HF ratio, a standard index of autonomic nervous system activity, can be used as an objective neurobiological index to analyze PTSD among North Korean defectors presenting with various mental and physical symptoms, and the approximate level of suicide -ideation can act as a predicting factor for PTSD.

Objective: This study is to assess the efficacy of short-term group psychotherapy rooted in depth psychology for Bundeswehr soldiers suffering from depressive, neurotic, stress, or personality disorders.

Method: 103 participants in the in-patient, closed group setting were evaluated prospectively and compared with a non-randomized waitlisted control group.

Results: In all relevant SCL-90-R (Symptom-Check-List-90) and MMPI-K (Minnesota-Multiphasic-Personality-Inventory short-form) scales therapy resulted in significant improvements as compared with the initial values. The control group did not show any significant changes, the therapy group was significantly superior to the control group in the scales of MMPI-K and the GSI-Scale of the SCL-90-R. For soldiers with a stress-reactive disorder (F43), no differences in efficacy could be identified compared with the other diagnosis groups.

Conclusion: The results were considered to indicate that in-patient, short-term group psychotherapy may, in combination with additional setting components, be helpful in improving psychological symptoms in German soldiers. The indication range of group therapy offered to Bundeswehr soldiers should be expanded to also include primary prophylaxis and the treatment of mental-health problems following deployments abroad, if applicable.

Abstract

Background

Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a pregnancy-related condition marked by extreme nausea and vomiting, has been considered a psychosomatic illness associated with long-standing personality characteristics (e.g., hysteria). In this pilot study, we examined personality, somatic, and psychological variables with ethnically diverse samples of women with HG and women with typical levels of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP).

Methods

Personality (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index-2 [MMPI-2] and MMPI-2RF), somatic (MMPI-2RF), and psychological (Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II] and NVP-related quality of life) variables collected during the first trimester of pregnancy were compared between 15 women with HG and 15 women with normal levels of NVP matched for age, education, marital status, insurance source, and race/ethnicity. A secondary analysis was performed comparing these variables among a group of 9 asymptomatic pregnant women to the HG and NVP groups.

Results

No significant differences were found between the HG and NVP groups on any personality, somatic, or psychological variables. Both groups had clinically significant elevations on the MMPI-2 hypochondriasis scale, which incorporates somatic symptoms. The NVP group had a clinically significant elevation on the MMPI-2RF gastrointestinal complaints scale. Both groups had significantly higher means on the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2RF scales than the asymptomatic group. Predominantly Spanish speakers appeared particularly vulnerable to psychological distress associated with somatic complaints.

Conclusions

The results of this pilot study suggest that research with HG patients is feasible and that psychological distress expressed by women with HG and NVP may reflect reactions to somatic symptoms. No evidence was found to support an association between HG and personality characteristics. Recommendations for future research are provided, such as examining the potential benefits of translation services for Spanish-speaking HG patients.

Thirty-four patients with Graves' disease, first rendered euthyroid with antithyroid drugs (ATD) then given supplementary thyroxine (T4), were randomly allocated to three treatment groups. In Group I ATD and T4 were stopped 10 days before partial thyroidectomy and the patients were treated with Lugol's iodine alone. In Group II the patients were treated up to the time of operation with ATD and T4 alone. In Group III ATD and T4 were continued until the day of operation, but the patients also received 10 days' treatment with Lugol's iodine. Analysis of the results showed that pre-operative iodine therapy in patients with Graves' disease, already rendered euthyroid with ATD and T4, made no difference to the vascularity of the gland, operative blood loss or thyroid follicular size. Over a third of patients in Group I, treated with Lugol's iodine alone for 10 days pre-operatively, had subnormal levels of thyroid hormones at the time of operation and this was also the Group in which the complications of partial thyroidectomy tended to occur. It is concluded that the addition of iodine preoperatively is unnecessary in the patient who is already euthyroid on ATD and T4.

Context

Hyperthyroidism can lead to reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and increased fracture risk particularly in postmenopausal women, but the mechanism behind is still unclear.

Objective

Prospective examination of the influence of thyroid hormones and/or thyroid autoantibodies on BMD in premenopause.

Design

We have examined 32 premenopausal women with untreated active Graves' disease from time of diagnosis, during 18 months of antithyroid drug therapy (ATD) and additionally 18 months after discontinuing ATD. Variables of thyroid metabolism, calcium homeostasis and body composition were measured every 3 months. BMD of lumbar spine and femoral neck were measured at baseline, 18 ± 3 and 36 ± 3 months. Data were compared to base line, a sex- and age matched control group and a group of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis treated with non-suppressive doses of levothyroxine.

Results

The study showed significantly (p < 0.002) lower BMD in the thyrotoxic state compared to the control group with subsequent significant improvement during 18 ± 3 months of ATD compared to baseline (p < 0.001). However, during the following 18 months after stopping ATD femoral neck BMD decreased again unrelated to age (more than 0.4% per year, p < 0,002). The wellestablished effect of thyrotoxicosis on calcium homeostasis was confirmed. The positive predictor for best BMD was TSH receptor antibodies (TRAb) while free T4 correlated negatively in the thyrotoxic female Graves' patients (p < 0.02 and p < 0.003). In healthy controls and patients with treated Graves' disease both TSH and T4 correlated negatively to the bone mass (BMC) (p < 0.003).

Conclusion

The results indicated a clinically relevant impact of thyroid function on bone modulation also in premenopausal women with Graves' disease, and further indicated the possibility for a direct action of TRAb on bones.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of hospitalization and death in relation to preexisting depression and anxiety among patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The cohort consisted of 799 Olmsted County, MN, residents diagnosed with CVD (myocardial infarction or heart failure) from January 1, 1979, to December 31, 2009, who completed a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) prior to their event. The MMPI was used to identify depression and anxiety, and participants were followed up for hospitalizations and death during an average of 6.2 years.

RESULTS: Depression and anxiety were identified in 282 (35%) and 210 (26%) participants, respectively. After adjustment, depression and anxiety were independently associated with a 28% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8%-51%) and 26% (95% CI, 3%-53%) increased risk of being hospitalized, respectively. Depression also conferred an increased risk of all-cause mortality of similar magnitude, whereas the hazard ratio for anxiety was not statistically significant. The combined occurrence of depression and anxiety led to a 35% (95% CI, 8%-71%) increase in the risk of hospitalizations.

CONCLUSION: Among patients with CVD, both preexisting depression and anxiety, occurring on average 17 years before the CVD event, independently predict hospitalizations. In addition, the 2 conditions may act synergistically on increasing health care utilization in patients with CVD.

Twenty-seven Parkinsonism patients and 31 controls, matched for age and verbal IQ, were tested on an objectively scored personality test (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) at the beginning of the patients' levodopa therapy and three months later. Patients, but not the controls, were retested after 15 months of levodopa treatment. The patients, all of whom were intact intellectually, obtained MMPI scores indicating moderate depression before beginning levodopa treatment. There was no test evidence to indicate that levodopa significantly increased or decreased the amount of depression in the patients after three or 15 months of levodopa. The patient group, however, significantly increased their Index of Psychopathology (Ip) score after 15 months of levodopa but not after three months.

Patients with left hemisphere disease have been noted to be depressed while those with right hemisphere disease appear indifferent. While patients with left hemisphere disease frequently have a greater cognitive deficit, patients with right hemisphere disease have difficulty in expressing affectively intoned speech. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) can demonstrate underlying affective experience and is not dependent on affectively intoned speech. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a difference in affective moods, as assessed by the MMPI, was related to laterality of lesion in patients matched for severity of cognitive and motor dysfunction. Seven of the 16 subjects with left hemisphere dysfunction and none of the eight subjects with right hemisphere dysfunction showed an elevation on the depression scale. This observation not only confirms previous clinical observations but also demonstrates that these asymmetries cannot be ascribed completely to hemisphere-related differences in cognitive deficits or expressive abilities.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was completed by 101 patients 16 to 18 months after a proved myocardial infarction. The data suggested a bimodal distribution of patients. One class of patients had a relatively "normal" personality score apart from a tendency to hypomania. The second class had severe depression, with associated hysteria, hypochondriasis and psychasthenia. The severely depressed patients were older, with a greater tendency to hypertension and angina, and a tendency to smaller gains in aerobic power despite an equal intensity of endurance training. The distinction between "normal" and "depressed" postinfarction patients seems of some clinical importance, for the two classes of patients require opposite supportive techniques--restraint and encouragement, respectively.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Restructured Clinical Scales (RCSs) in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) receiving clinical services at Veterans Affairs medical centers. Study 1 included 1,098 men who completed the MMPI-2 and were assessed for a range of psychological disorders via structured clinical interview. Study 2 included 136 women who completed the MMPI-2 and were interviewed with the Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD. The utility of the RCSs was compared to that of the Clinical Scales (CSs) and the Keane PTSD (PK) scale. The RCSs demonstrated good psychometric properties along with patterns of associations with other measures of psychopathology that corresponded to current theory regarding the structure of comorbidity. A notable advantage of the RCSs compared to the MMPI-2 CSs was their enhanced construct validity and clinical utility in the assessment of comorbid internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. The PK scale demonstrated incremental validity in the prediction of PTSD beyond that of the RCSs or CSs.

Five methods of personality assessment are evaluated to provide guidance for the psychological treatment of patients with chronic back pain. Patient pain drawings, pentothal pain studies, stress score index, psychological testing with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and response to treatment challenge are used as measurements for evaluation. This evaluation gives the treating staff guidelines for individual treatment programs utilizing operant conditioning techniques. Using this approach, three fourths of the severely disabled patients seen have been successfully treated.

Images

Background

Several studies have demonstrated the importance of personality constructs on health behaviors and health status. Having a pessimistic outlook has been related to negative health behaviors and higher mortality. However, the construct has not been well explored in cancer populations.

Methods

Survival time of 534 adults, who were diagnosed with lung cancer and had a pessimistic explanatory style, was examined. The patients had completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) approximately 18.2 years prior to receiving their lung cancer diagnosis. MMPI Optimism-Pessimism (PSM) scores were divided into high (60 or more) and low scores (less than 60), and log-rank tests and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to determine survival differences. Multivariate Cox models were used for assessing prognostic values of pessimism along with other known predictors for lung cancer survival outcome. Booting strapping of the survival models was used as a sensitivity analysis.

Results

At the time of lung cancer diagnosis, patients were on average 67 years old; 48% were female; 85% had non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); 15% had small cell lung cancer (SCLC); 30% were stage I; 4% were stage II; 31% were stage III/limited; and 35% were stage IV/extensive. Patients who exhibited a non-pessimistic explanatory style survived approximately six months longer than patients classified as having a pessimistic explanatory style.

Conclusion

Among lung cancer patients, those having a pessimistic explanatory style experienced less favorable survival outcome, which may be related to cancer treatment decisions. Further research in this area is warranted.

The Assistant is an MS DOS program to aid clinical psychologists in interpreting the results of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Interpretive hypotheses are based on the professional literature and the author's experience. After scores are entered manually, the Assistant produces a hard copy which is intended for use by a psychologist knowledgeable about the MMPI. The rules for each hypothesis appear first on the monitor, and then in the printed output, followed by the patient's scores on the relevant scales, and narrative hypotheses for the scores. The data base includes hypotheses for 23 validity configurations, 45 two-point clinical codes, 10 high scoring single-point clinical scales, and 10 low scoring single-point clinical scales. The program can accelerate the production of test reports, while insuring that actuarial rules are not overlooked. It has been especially useful as a teaching tool with graduate students. The Assistant requires an IBM PC compatible with 128k available memory, DOS 2.x or higher, and a printer.

Objective

We examined changes in general health status, the prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and the existence of pre-trauma contributing factors in an agricultural population following a massive flood.

Methods

Eighty-three of 160 residents of Garisan-ni, Inje-gun, Gangwon-do, were assessed using the Korean version of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36-K) between April and June 2006, just prior to a massive flood. Among those initially assessed, 58 residents were available for follow-up 18 months after the flood. Participants completed the SF-36-K, Beck Depression Index (BDI), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-PTSD, and the Korean version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) to detect depression and PTSD. Trauma experiences were also assessed. Factors related to changes in health status were then analyzed.

Results

SF-36-K total scale scores decreased significantly, suggesting a significant reduction in health-related quality of life. The largest reductions were noted in physical and social functioning. Fifty-three percent of the subjects were at least mildly depressed, and 17% had severe depression. In addition, 22% had PTSD on both the IES-R and MMPI-PTSD. Factors that contributed to the deterioration of health status following the flood were the number of disaster events and existence of depression (as assessed by the BDI).

Conclusion

The flood was found to lead to deterioration of health status and to provoke depression and PTSD among the agricultural population in the mountainous region. We suggest that the number of disaster event experiences and existence of depression contriuted to changes in health status after the flood.

Objective

To study the association between several personality traits and all-cause mortality.

Methods

We established a historical cohort of 7216 subjects who completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for research at the Mayo Clinic from 1962 to 1965, and who resided within a 120-mile radius centered in Rochester, MN. A total of 7080 subjects (98.1%) were followed over four decades either actively (via a direct or proxy telephone interview) or passively (via review of medical records or by obtaining their death certificates). We examined the association of pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits (as measured using MMPI scales) with all-cause mortality.

Results

A total of 4634 subjects (65.5%) died during follow-up. Pessimistic, anxious, and depressive personality traits were associated with increased all-cause mortality in both men and women. In addition, we observed a linear trend of increasing risk from the first to the fourth quartile for all three scales. Results were similar in additional analyses considering the personality scores as continuous variables, in analyses combining the three personality traits into a composite neuroticism score, and in several sets of sensitivity analyses. These associations remained significant even when personality was measured early in life (ages 20 to 39 years).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that personality traits related to neuroticism are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality even when they are measured early in life.

We examined the relation of hostility, anger and depression to 10-year changes in the third (C3) and fourth (C4) complement in 313, apparently healthy male participants enrolled in the Air Force Health Study (AFHS), a 20-year study designed to evaluate the health consequences of dioxin exposure. Hostility, depression and anger were assessed using subscales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), which was administered in 1985. Given the high intercorrelations among these psychological scales, we used a principal component analysis to generate a composite score representing the linear combination of the hostility, anger and depression scales. The dependent variables, C3 and C4 levels, were determined from samples collected in 1992, 1997 and 2002. Regression analyses controlling for age, race, alcohol use, body mass index and cigarette use as well as onset of disease and use of lipid lowering and blood pressure medications during follow-up revealed a significant time X composite score interaction for C3 complement (p < .0003), but not C4. Post-hoc analyses revealed that high composite scores were associated with larger 10-year increases in C3. These observations suggest that men who are hostile and are prone to experience frequent and intense feelings of anger and depression show activation of the complement system, and specifically increases in C3, that may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease.

We studied the association of three personality traits related to neuroticism with the subsequent risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD) using a historical cohort study. We included 7,216 subjects who resided within the 120-mile radius centered in Rochester, MN, at the time they completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for research at the Mayo Clinic from 1962–1965. We considered three MMPI personality scales (pessimistic, anxious, and depressive traits). A total of 6,822 subjects (94.5%) were followed over 4 decades either actively or passively. During follow-up, 227 subjects developed parkinsonism (156 developed PD). An anxious personality was associated with an increased risk of PD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.27). A pessimistic personality trait was also associated with an increased risk of PD but only in men (HR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.20–3.07). By contrast, a depressive trait was not associated with increased risk. Analyses combining scores from the three personality scales into a composite neuroticism score showed an association of neuroticism with PD (HR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.10–2.16). The association with neuroticism remained significant even when the MMPI was administered early in life (ages 20–39 years). By contrast, none of the three personality traits was associated with the risk of non-PD types of parkinsonism grouped together. Our long-term historical cohort study suggests that an anxious personality trait may predict an increased risk of PD developing many years later.

Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (THPP) is a rare, potentially life-threatening endocrine emergency. It is characterized by recurrent muscle weakness and hypokalemia. Because many THPP patients do not have obvious symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism, misdiagnosis may occur. The published studies revealed that definitive therapy for THPP is control of hyperthyroidism by medical therapy, radioactive iodine or surgery, but the long-term post-operative follow-up result was not observed. We reported two cases of medically refractory THPP with recurrent paralysis of extremities and hypokalemia, and both were combined with thyroid nodules. Both patients were treated with total thyroidectomy; the pathology revealed that one is Graves' disease with thyroid papillary carcinoma, and the other is adenomatous goiter with papillary hyperplasia. No episode of periodic paralysis was noted and laboratory evaluation revealed normal potassium level during the post-operative follow up. Our experience suggests that total thyroidectomy by experienced surgeon is an appropriate and definite treatment for medically refractory THPP, especially in cases combined with thyroid nodules.

There has been a relative absence of studies that have examined the neuropsychological profiles of potential lung transplant candidates. Neuropsychological data are presented for 134 patients with end-stage pulmonary disease who were being evaluated as potential candidates for lung transplantation. Neuropsychological test results indicated that a significantly greater proportion of the patients exhibited impaired performances on a number of Selective Reminding Test (SRT) tasks as compared to the expected population frequency distributions for these measures. The highest frequencies of impairment were observed on the SRT’s Immediate Free Recall (46.43%), Long-term Retrieval (41.67%), and Consistent Long-term Retrieval (51.19%) variables. On the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)/Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A), patients’ mean clinical profile revealed elevations on Scales 1 (Hypochondriasis) and 3 (Conversion Hysteria). This profile indicated that they were experiencing an array of symptomatology ranging from somatic complaints to lethargy and fatigue, and that they may have been functioning at a reduced level of efficiency. Findings are discussed in light of patients’ end-stage pulmonary disease and factors possibly contributing to their neuropsychological test performances. Implications for clinical practice and future research are also provided.

One hundred and five drug-dependent women in outpatient perinatal addiction treatment were classified by cluster analysis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) profiles into high and low psychopathology (HP and LP) groups that differed on three validation measures. The HP group (n = 29, 27.6%) had elevations on MMPI-2 Scales F, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8, while the LP group (n = 76, 72.4%) generated a normal range profile with elevations on Scales F and 4. Psychological outcomes differed by group. HP participants showed reduced alcohol, family, and psychiatric severity, and reduced depressive symptoms, while LP subjects showed reduced drug, self-debasing, and acting-out problems. Data suggest the need for lower intensity services for the majority of the perinatal drug dependent population with LP.

The objective was to investigate possible psychosocial factors in chronic daily headache (HA) by comparing those with chronic daily HA to matched patients with chronic episodic HA and to matched non–HA controls. Although there is some research on psychosocial factors in chronic daily HA, it is conflicting and none to date has compared such patients to both an episodic HA control and a non–HA control. Nineteen patients with chronic daily HA (less than 2% of 4–times–per–day HA ratings were zero) were compared to 19 HA patients matched on age, gender and nominal IHS diagnoses, and to 16 similarly matched non–HA controls on measures of psychological distress (MMPI, BDI, STAI), measures of life stress (major past events, hassles, prospective daily stress) and quality of life (SF–36). Those with chronic daily HA were significantly more distressed and had significantly poorer function on most measures relative to non–HA controls. Although there were many arithmetic trends for chronic daily HA to be more distressed and to function less well than those with episodic HA, only on the depression and social introversion scales of the MMPI and the overall vitality rating of the SF–36 were the differences significant. All three groups had comparable levels of life stress regardless of how it was measured. Those with chronic daily HA have greater levels of psychological distress and poorer quality of life than those with episodic HA or non–HA controls, despite comparable levels of life stress.

To identify variables that discriminate needle-sharing among drug abusers, 224 male drug abusers were studied. They had been admitted to a 30-day inpatient drug treatment program over a 19-month period (September 1983 through March 1985). The variables examined were divided into three categories: demographic (age, race, education), personality (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI] scores and MMPI deviant scores), and drug use patterns (drug of choice, use of single or multiple [mixed] drugs, severity of drug use, and place of use). Three variables were identified that discriminated needle-sharers from other drug abusers. Compared with other drug abusers, needle-sharers used more multiple drugs, were more likely to use a "shooting gallery," and had more problems related to drug use. No demographic or personality variables discriminated needle-sharers from nonsharers. The data suggested that needle-sharing is widespread in the drug culture. Needle-sharing was not confined to a particular racial group, educational level, or personality type. These findings can be used to structure education programs about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) for drug abusers. Drug treatment programs appear to provide an important opportunity to educate drug abusers about AIDS and related health issues associated with needle-sharing.

This investigation evaluated the role of preoperative psychological adjustment, degree of postoperative seizure reduction, and other relevant variables (age, education, IQ, age at onset of epilepsy, laterality of resection) in determining emotional/psychosocial outcome following anterior temporal lobectomy. Ninety seven patients with complex partial seizures of temporal lobe origin were administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) both before and six to eight months after anterior temporal lobectomy. The data were subjected to a nonparametric rank sum technique (O'Brien's procedure) which combined the test scores to form a single outcome index (TOTAL PSYCHOSOCIAL OUTCOME) that was analysed by multiple regression procedures. Results indicated that the most powerful predictors of patients' overall postoperative psychosocial outcome were: 1) The adequacy of their preoperative psychosocial adjustment, and 2) A totally seizure-free outcome. Additional analyses were carried out separately on the MMPI, WPSI, and GHQ to determine whether findings varied as a function of the specific outcome measure. These results were related to the larger literature concerned with the psychological outcome of anterior temporal lobectomy.