Biomedical subjects

C Spitzer

Publications and source records attributed to C Spitzer.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

The relationship between dimensions of alexithymia and dissociation.

BACKGROUND: The study investigated the following hypotheses: (1) Alexithymia is significantly associated with dissociation. (2) Pathological versus nonpathological dissociation is associated with alexithymic traits. METHODS: Psychiatric in- and outpatients (n = 173) and nonclinical subjects (n = 38) were investigated with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the FDS (German version of Dissociation Experience Scale) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R; GSI). Correlation analyses followed by MANOVA and logistic regression were performed. RESULTS: Significant correlations and partial correlations, controlling for GSI, were observed between dissociation and alexithymia. The MANOVA demonstrated significantly higher scores for the two TAS-20 dimensions 'difficulty identifying feelings' and 'difficulty expressing feelings' in the group with pathological dissociation. On the basis of the TAS-20 subscores, logistic regression analysis correctly classified 72.5% of the cases into the pathological and the nonpathological dissociation group. CONCLUSIONS: These results support our hypothesis that pathological traits of dissociation are highly associated with alexithymia. A model is discussed in which alexithymic characteristics may contribute to the development of pathological dissociation and stress-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dissociative symptoms in obsessive-compulsive dimensions.

Previous studies have described co-occurrence between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and dissociation. We intended to evaluate the phenomenological association between different obsessive-compulsive and dissociative symptoms more precisely. Seventy patients with OCD (DSM-IV) were evaluated with the Hamburg Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (HZI) and the Dissociation Experience Scale. Correlation and discriminant analysis were performed. The dimensions 'Checking' and 'Symmetry and Ordering' were significantly related to dissociative symptomatology. A clear-cut lack of association was found in 'Washing and Cleaning', 'Counting and Touching' and 'Aggressive Impulses and Fantasies'. HZI dimensions significantly discriminated patients with high from patients with low dissociative symptomatology. Psychodynamic and therapeutical aspects of these findings are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Alexithymia and the temperament and character model of personality.

OBJECTIVE: In our study we explored the associations between alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20, TAS-20) and the dimensions and subscales of Cloninger's theoretically based and empirically validated psychobiological model of personality to further clarify the relationship between alexithymia and personality traits. METHODS: Psychiatric in- and outpatients (n = 254) were investigated with the TAS-20, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Symptom Check List SCL-90-R to control for the severity of current psychopathology. Correlation and regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The regression analysis identified the TCI dimensions low self-directedness (SD), low reward dependence (RD) and to a minor degree harm avoidance (HA) as independent predictors for alexithymia. At the level of subscales, interpersonal detachment (RD3), low resourcefulness (SD3), low responsibility and blaming (SD1) and shyness with strangers (HA3) were predictors for alexithymia. The degree of explained variance of the TAS-20 scores by the TCI dimensions and subscales ranged between 43 and 45% whereas the inclusion of the general severity index into the regression models accounted for an additional 5% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: Alexithymia is best explained by a mixture across different dimensions and subscales within Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality. However, alexithymia is captured only partly by current concepts of personality, and additional contributing psychological and biological factors need to be identified to understand alexithymia more extensively.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dissociative symptoms in schizophrenic patients with positive and negative symptoms.

Given the close historical relationship between schizophrenia and dissociative disorders, namely multiple personality disorder, we assessed 27 ICD-10 diagnosed schizophrenic inpatients for dissociative symptoms using the German version of the Dissociative Experience Scale and compared them to a nonclinical control group matched for gender and age. Other self-report instruments covering general psychopathology, and an expert rating on the predominance of positive or negative schizophrenic symptoms, were also administered. Schizophrenic patients have significantly more dissociative symptoms than controls. Moreover, patients with a plus type of schizophrenia show significantly higher levels of dissociation than patients mainly exhibiting less productive symptoms. However, dissociative phenomena are only significantly correlated with delusions and hallucinatory behavior, and do not show any correlation with other positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Severe dissociative psychopathology is also associated with impairment in other psychopathological dimensions. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to the theory of dissociation, the differential diagnosis between schizophrenia and dissociative disorders and a possible contribution of dissociative phenomenology to the clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia.

Adult↗