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Biomedical subjects

C Legg

Publications and source records attributed to C Legg.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Family dysfunction and bulimic psychopathology: the mediating role of shame.

OBJECTIVE: Although disturbed family function has some association with bulimic psychopathology, the psychological mechanisms that account for that link are not clear. This study explores the hypothesis that shame acts as a mediator in that relationship, whereas shame-proneness is a moderator variable. METHOD: The participants were 139 nonclinical women. Each completed measures of perceived family function, shame-proneness, internalized shame, and bulimic psychopathology. Regression analyses were used to test for the mediating and moderating effects of shame. RESULTS: The findings were compatible with a model where shame-proneness acts as a moderator and internalized shame is a perfect mediator in the link between paternal overprotection and bulimic attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of shame appears to be a critical element in understanding the relationship between perceived family dysfunction and bulimic psychopathology. Where individuals perceive their families as problematic, it may be clinically valuable to focus on shame as a psychological consequence of that experience.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Dietary restraint and self-reported meal sizes: diary studies with differentially informed consent.

Psychometric methods were used to explore the reliability and criterion validity of self-reported food intake in studies of dietary restraint. In Study 1 the reliabilities over days of daily aggregate intakes and of intakes at meals at particular times of day were assessed in 7 day food diaries by 27 low-BMI females. The sizes of particular meals correlated poorly with each other and with the total of all other meals; daily aggregate intakes also had poor reliability (Cronbach's alpha). Individuals meal sizes were consistent from day to day, with high inter-correlations between meal sizes, high correlations between meals at particular times and the sum of the remainder and high reliabilities. Aggregate intake had moderate criterion validity. Of individual meals, only breakfast achieved criterion validity, but there was a significant cubic component in its relationship with restraint. In Study 2, young male and female participants with various BMIs, completed a food diary on a single day. Again, aggregate daily intake had low reliability. Total intake and breakfast both had criterion validity, dietary restraint correlating negatively with total intake and breakfast size in the whole sample and in females, but there were significant quadratic components in the relationships. In contrast, restraint correlated positively with lunch size in the whole sample and in males. The combination of low reliability of individual meals as estimates of total intake, and the low criterion validity of all meals except breakfast, suggests that it may be inappropriate to study dietary restraint using aggregate self-reported intake measures.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Coping with the disfiguring effects of vitiligo: a preliminary investigation into the effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy.

Vitiligo is a progressive condition involving a loss of pigmentation in the skin; it can be disfiguring and no effective treatment or cure exists. Although vitiligo's medical effects have been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to its psychological impact or to the effects of psychological state on the illness itself. To address these issues, the present study examined the effect of cognitive behavioural therapy on coping with vitiligo and adaptation to the negative effects on body image, quality of life and self-esteem in adult patients. The study also examined whether any psychological gains acquired from psychological therapy would influence the progression of the condition itself. Two matched groups of vitiligo patients were compared, one of which received cognitive-behavioural therapy over a period of 8 weeks, while the other received no changes to their treatment status. All patients were assessed on self-esteem, body image and quality of life, prior to, immediately following and 5 months following the end of therapy. The progression of the condition was assessed by photographing patients prior to the start of counselling and 5 months following counselling. Results suggest that patients can benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy in terms of coping and living with vitiligo. There is also preliminary evidence to suggest that psychological therapy may have a positive effect on the progression of the condition itself. Implications for incorporating psychological counselling into patient care and management are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Impact of life events on the onset of vitiligo in adults: preliminary evidence for a psychological dimension in aetiology.

The present study retrospectively examines the role of stressful life events in the onset of vitiligo in adults. A matched clinical sample of patients with other forms of disfigurement or skin disease (dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and naevi, not thought to be associated with stress) served as a control group. Newly diagnosed patients and matched controls were thus asked to complete the 12-month version of the Schedule of Recent Experience, a questionnaire which measures the frequency and number of stressful life events occurring over a specified period. The results suggest that such patients endure a significantly higher number of stressful life events than do controls, suggesting that psychological distress may have contributed to the onset of their condition. The implications of the results are discussed and suggestions made for future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The organisation of fibres within the rat basis pedunculi.

The organisation of corticofugal fibres within the basis pedunculi of rats was studied using wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase as an orthograde tracer. Following cortical injections, labelled fibres were distributed within the cerebral peduncle in an orderly way. Fibres which originate from cells in the frontal cortex maintain a position in the ventromedial part of the basis pedunculi. Fibres from the occipital and temporal cortex travel in the most dorsolateral part. Somatosensory fibres travel between these two. The extent of labelled fibres within the peduncles is correlated with the relative density of corticopontine cells arising from different areas of the cerebral cortex.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Cognitive responses and the control of post-operative pain.

This paper examines the relationship between spontaneous cognitive responses and reported pain experience in an acute pain population. Fifty-two patients, admitted for planned major surgery, had their pain intensity, distress and coping responses assessed 48 hours post-operatively. Significant correlations were obtained between negative responses and ratings of pain intensity and distress. No significant correlation was obtained between the analgesic dose and any other variable. The implications of the findings for the management of post-operative pain are discussed.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1984

A study of the relationship between circulating beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity and post partum 'blues'.

Plasma beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity was studied in 43 pregnant women at 36 weeks gestation and in 23 of these at delivery and 24 h post-partum; an attempt made to correlate changes with various social, psychological and obstetric factors, including the 'post-natal blues'. Beta-endorphin levels were elevated at 36 weeks gestation and term, increased to very high levels during labour and fell rapidly within 1 h of delivery. A negative correlation was observed between the woman's estimate of her pain in labour and the beta-endorphin levels post-partum, suggesting an analgesic role for beta-endorphin in labour. A positive correlation was also observed between the levels of beta-endorphin at delivery and the woman's attitude to her pregnancy at 36 weeks and a negative correlation between the 'post-natal blues score' and the beta-endorphin level at 36 weeks. However, the 'blues' did not correlate either with the beta-endorphin level at delivery or 24 h post-partum nor with its rate of fall in the first 24 h. Our general finding that there was no consistent social, psychological or obstetric factor which predisposes women to develop 'post-natal blues' still supports the hypothesis that humoral factors, of which beta-endorphin may be one, rather than psychological factors are important in the genesis of this syndrome.

Endorphins↗
PubMed1978

The role of infant observation in child psychiatry training.

The authors discuss the role of infant observation in the training of child psychiatrists, emphasizing the overriding importance of the subtle but crucial interactions in the mother-infant relationship. Infant observation is valuable in preparing the student as an observer of behavior, and developmental concepts are taught and learned more easily in programs that provide opportunities for observing normal infants. The infant study program in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Michigan Medical Center is presented as a model.

Child↗
PubMed1976

Some comments on the significance and development of midline behavior during infancy.

With the waning of the tonic neck reflex beginning with the 8th to 12th week, and disappearing, in most instances, by the 16th week, the infant begins to become bilateral and makes symmetrical movements and engages his hands in the midline usually over the chest while in a supine position. The developmental significance of such behavior is considered--for example, its participation in the emerging sense of self and its role in the consolidation of emerging ego skills. Consideration is given to the possible implications of faulty midline behavior for development, and to whether failure to engage in an optimal amount of midline behavior, in interaction with other factors, can be used to alert observers to possible future developmental disturbances.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1976

The replacement child--a developmental tragedy: some preliminary comments.

Some of the clinical and theoretical issues thought to be involved in the psychology of "replacement children" are discussed. A developmental framework is proposed within which to view such children. The replacement child is becoming an identifiable clinical syndrome, and a developmental framework is sorely needed to encourage more systematic research. A replacement child perceives his status differently on both a cognitive and emotional level within the context of each developmental phase, and the affective and associative links need to be reworked each time. We view the status of being a replacement child as a developmental interference insofar as demands are placed on the child's immature ego which he might not yet be equipped to cope with.

Child↗