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Psychological Profile of the Spouse of the Female Agoraphobic Patient

Personality and Symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Willem A. Arrindell  and
Paul M. G. Emmelkamp
Willem A. Arrindell*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology, Academic Hospital of the State University of Groningen, Oostersingel 59, 9713 EZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Paul M. G. Emmelkamp
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology, Academic Hospital of the State University of Groningen, Oostersingel 59, 9713 EZ Groningen, The Netherlands
*
∗Correspondence.
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Summary

It has been contended that psychological characteristics of the partner of the agoraphobic patient are important factors in the development and maintenance of the patient's symptoms. To examine this hypothesis, male partners of female agoraphobics were compared with those of non-phobic psychiatric patients and of normal controls on a total of 48 measures referring to several symptom complexes and traits, including defensiveness. The partners of agoraphobics as a group were not found to be more defensive or psychologically more disturbed than their control counterparts. Additional within-couple analyses across groups showed spouses in the control couples to be more comparable to each other than were agoraphobics and their partners—a finding which was attributed to the highly elevated scores of the agoraphobic patients.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 4 , April 1985 , pp. 405 - 414
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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