The relationships between smoking, reasons for smoking and personality were investigated in 98 cigarette smokers. Contrary to the usual findings, smoking did not relate to extraversion (E) but related instead to psychoticism (P). It is suggested that this relation is the true one, and previous findings have been due to a contaminated measure of E. Neuroticism (N) was related to the amount smoked, and particularly to a willingness to give reasons for smoking. There was no relation between the Reasons for Smoking Questionnaire, and attempts or success at giving up smoking. Smokers who rolled their own cigarettes were more introverted than others. No measures showed significant relations with the nicotine content of cigarettes

The present study attempted to confirm the vulnerability model proposed by Brown and his colleagues, using data from a survey of 435 mothers from two semi-rural regions of Pennsylvania. The results were not consistent with the earlier findings. Methodological and conceptual issues were discussed to explain the differences in results.

Social and demographic characteristics were examined retrospectively in a sample of 475 hospitalized schizophrenics to test the hypothesis that they can be meaningfully distinguished by the presence or abesence of psychiatric disorders in their relatives. Cases with a positive family history of psychiatric disorders (FHP cases) were significantly more likely to have been born in the United Kingdom and to have had mothers. Those who had relatives with psychiatric disorders other than schizophrenia were significantly more likely to have been diagnosed as schizo-affective. The findings are thought to reflect a constitutional trait in parents of FHP cases leading to delayed child bearing. They also support the ‘environmental stress’ theory of immigrant psychosis and the hypothesized genetic link between schizo-affective and affective disorders.

Visual artists of acknowledged creativity but not students with divergent thinking showed allusive (loose) thinking on an Object Sorting Test. It was concluded that high but not low level creativity in some fields may be associated with a predisposition to schizophrenia.

The Leyton Obsessional Inventory was administered to 69 orthopaedic patients in Glasgow, and their responses were compared with those of 77 similar subjects in London and 73 in Cork. The responses of the Scots and the English did not differ, but both of these groups were significantly less obsessional than the Irish subjects, who were particularly likely to regard cleanliness and tidiness as virtues in themselves. Obsessionality was unrelated to age, sex, social class, family size and birth order, but higher Leyton scores were found among bachelors, and among women living in the country and without outside employment. It is suggested that the common factor among these 3 subgroups is emotional or geographic isolation, and that this may enhance any tendency to obsessional ruminations and routines. This could also account for the higher Leyton scores and greater incidence of obsessional neurosis in the Irish.

Previous investigations have reported an increased rate of behavioural disorder in children with epilepsy. The role, if any, played by temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in predisposing to psychopathology is unclear. In order to evaluate the relationship between seizure type and psychopathology, 35 children with TLE were compared with 48 children with primary generalized epilepsies (GE) on standardized measures of social competence, aggression and overall behavioural disorder via analyses of covariance. Additionally, Pearson correlations were computed in order to evaluate the relationships between psychopathology and several seizure and subject variables. It was found that the presence of TLE per se bore no relationship to aggression, social competence or overall behavioural disorder. Some specific subject- and seizure-related variables were found to be associated with increased aggression and behavioural dysfunction in children with TLE and the interpretation of these findings are related to the larger epilepsy/psychopathology literature. Finally, an alternative approach for studying the precursors of behavioural disorder in epilepsy is suggested.

The parents of 24 physically handicapped children were grouped according to their responses to a Primary Mood Factors grid and comparisons were made with their children's responses to a self-concept scale. It was found that parents who were close together in their primary mood reactions had handicapped children who were more positive in self-esteem than those dyads who were divided in their primary mood reaction.

First admissions for schizophrenia in Northern Ireland are significantly higher for the Roman Catholics than for the rest of the population, although not as high as in the Irish Republic. The excess of Catholic cases affects only the never-married, and derives much more from the rural west of the territory than from the industrial east. It does not appear to be accounted for by geography per se, by the differential use of services, diagnostic bias, social class distribution, or mean age at marriage. There are indications that some conflict around sex and marriage and, more doubtfully, a sense of relative deprivation may be contributing factors.

The clinician has no objective criteria of good health; he is likely to identify its presence only in the absence of disease and dysfunction. Yet the layman is able to give a global assessment of his own health as good, average or poor. The present paper explores the correlates of self-assessment of health in a large community sample and, by the use of two linear models, describes the effects of age, sex, reported symptoms, and long-standing illness on self-rated health status. It is suggested that global ratings are influenced by age and sex and by the experience of both physical and psychological symptoms, and that there are no interactive effects between symptoms and the demographic variables.

A new diagnostic instrument, The Diagnostic Interview Schedule, was evaluated for use by lay interviewers by comparing its DSM-III diagnoses when given by lay interviewers with results obtained through an independent interview by a psychiatrist using the same schedule, his clinical judgement after the interview, his clinical judgement after both the interview and a free question period, and with diagnoses on the medical chart.

This study compared serial severity ratings from 2 methodologically similar tricyclic antidepressant studies. Though the groups resembled each other in terms of diagnosis and baseline severity, response patterns were surprisingly different. In particular, early change was highly predictive of outcome in one group but not in the other. The results of response predictor studies must, therefore, be generalized with caution. These data, nevertheless, do allow some guidelines for predicting response from early changes and severity.

Electrodermal measures, psychiatric ratings (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impressions) and several Wechsler subtest scores were obtained for 26 hospitalized chronic schizophrenics during drug ‘washout’. The psychiatric ratings and Wechsler scores were obtained again after 6 months' treatment with thiothixene or thioridazine. Results revealed that those patients who displayed therapeutic benefit from the neuroleptic treatment displayed greater pre-treatment electrodermal activity and higher skin conductance levels, compared with schizophrenics who did not benefit. No effect for laterality was noted.

Primiparae were randomly assigned to two conditions of routine ultrasound examination at their first antenatal clinic visit: (a) high feedback ultrasound where the monitor screen was visible and the patient was shown the foetal size, shape and movement (N = 67); (b) low feedback ultrasound where the screen was not seen and specific verbal feedback was denied (N = 62). Women were interviewed at 16 weeks gestation. Those receiving high feedback were more likely to report that they had acted on health advice given at the first antenatal visit to reduce their smoking and drinking.

Psychometric and clinical correlates of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) are described for a large sample of female anorexia nervosa (N = 160) and female comparison (N = 140) subjects. An abbreviated 26-item version of the EAT (EAT-26) is proposed, based on a factor analysis of the original scale (EAT-40). The EAT-26 is highly correlated with the EAT-40 (r = 0·98) and three factors form subscales which are meaningfully related to bulimia, weight, body-image variables and psychological symptoms. Whereas there are no differces between bulimic and restricter anorexia nervosa patients on the total EAT-26 and EAT-40 scores, these groups do indicate significant differences on EAT-26 fractors. Norms for the anorexia nervosa and female comparison subjects are presented for the EAT-26, EAT-40 and the EAT-26 factors. It is concluded that the EAT-26 is a reliable, valid and economical instrument which may be useful as an objective measure of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa.

At discharge, a significantly larger percentage of unipolar patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) respond with marked improvement as compared with those receiving antidepressants or other treatment. No treatment appears to be more efficacious in the bipolar group. In studying the covariables related to the length of time between hospitalizations, we found that the type of treatment is not important for the unipolar patient, whereas a combination of ECT and antidepressants lengthens the time to rehospitalization of the bipolar patient. Previous hospitalization is an important predictor variable for all patients.

This 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.

Various types of reliability measures were conducted on the Disability Assessment Schedule, a structured interview devised to elicit from parents or care staff details of impairments, skills and behaviour problems in mentally retarded children and adults. The results indicated high overall agreement when the schedule was repeated over time, and also when used by several trained interviewers to rate the same interview. Problems arising from the use of such interview schedules are discussed, and suggestions are made for improving the design and method of administration.

In a prospective study, 200 elderly psychiatric patients were followed for 5 years. A poor outcome–death or continuing major reliance on the hospital based services – was associated with poor intellectual functioning on admission. Continued use of the hospital services was also related to past psychiatric history.

Thirty-two patients who complained of episodes of ravenous overeating which they felt unable to control (bulimia) were asked to describe their behaviour and symptoms. There was considerable variation both between and within individuals, but a number of factors were defined which appeared to be common to all with the complaint. It is difficult to set up strict criteria for the recognition of bulimia, and those that have recently been proposed are criticized in the light of our present findings.

Coping is action directed at the resolution or mitigation of a problematic situation. There are a number of ways in which this may be attempted, and a number of ways of classifying coping strategies. This paper presents a simple schema of six coping themes, ordered in terms of their defensiveness and the degree of attempted personal control which they imply. They comprise rejection, control, resignation, dependency, avoidance and minimization, and characterize the meaning or qualitative ‘style’ of the individual's response, rather than the formal characteristics of the strategies employed. Data from studies of breast cancer and surgical patients are cited to illustrate the substance of the themes.