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Biomedical subjects

C W Schmidt

Publications and source records attributed to C W Schmidt.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Personality characteristics and sexual functioning of 188 cross-dressing men.

The literature on cross-dressing men has been primarily limited to self-identified patients at psychiatric clinics who are in distress. To understand the personality trait characteristics and sexual functioning of nonpatient cross-dressers, 188 non-treatment-seeking male cross-dressers completed the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Respondents were classified as transvestites (TV; N = 83), transgenderists (TG; N = 61), or transsexuals (TS; N = 44) based on self-report and the nature of their cross-gender activities (e.g., use of female hormones, desire for sex reassignment, and amount of time spent in female role). These diagnostic groups did not differ on the five broad personality domains of the NEO-PI, but TS men scored higher than TV and TG men on the Aesthetics facet scale of Openness to Experience (O). In terms of the DSFI scales, TS men reported lower sexual drive than TV and TG men, and TS and TG men exhibited greater psychiatric symptoms and feminine gender role, and poorer body image than TV men. Upon exclusion of a group of 49 respondents who previously sought treatment for psychological problems, no significant differences emerged among the three diagnostic groups on the NEO-PI domain and facet scales. Consideration of the DSFI scales showed that TS men experienced less sexual drive, more psychiatric symptoms, and a greater feminine gender role than TV or TG men. This study suggests that cross-dressers not seen for clinical reasons are virtually indistinguishable from non-cross-dressing men using a measure of personality traits, a sexual functioning inventory, and measures of psychological distress. These results emphasize the importance of using clinical significance criteria as required by DSM-IV guidelines before diagnosing men who cross-dress with an axis I disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The ecology and pathology of Epstein-Barr virus.

Epstein-Barr virus achieves its ubiquitous and uniform epidemiological distribution by a dual strategy of latency to guarantee lifelong persistence and intermittent replication to guarantee transmission. These two functions appear to dictate residence in different cell types: latency in B lymphocytes and replication in epithelial cells. Both of these cell compartments are potential sites for EBV-associated malignancies.

Burkitt Lymphoma↗
PubMed1994

Dominant selection of an invariant T cell antigen receptor in response to persistent infection by Epstein-Barr virus.

To examine T cell receptor (TCR) diversity involved in the memory response to a persistent human pathogen, we determined nucleotide sequences encoding TCR-alpha and -beta chains from HLA-B8-restricted, CD8+ cytotoxic T cell clones specific for an immunodominant epitope (FLRGRAYGL) in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 3. Herein, we show that identical TCR protein sequences are used by clones from each of four healthy unrelated virus carriers; a clone from a fifth varied conservatively at only two residues. This dominant selection of alpha and beta chain rearrangements suggest that a persistent viral infection can select for a highly focused memory response and indicates a strong bias in gene segment usage and recombination. A novel double-step semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure and direct sequencing of amplified TCR cDNA from fresh lymphocytes derived from three HLA-B8 individuals detected transcripts specific for the conserved beta chain in an EBV-seropositive donor but not in two seronegative donors. This report describes an unprecedented degree of conservation in TCR selected in response to a natural persistent infection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Condom use rates for specific sexual behaviors among opioid abusers entering treatment.

A structured interview was used to determine the details of high risk sexual behaviors, including number of sexual partners, frequency of condom use, and involvement in commercial sexual activity in 165 opioid abusers (mean age 34 years, 36% minority, 47% female) entering out-patient methadone substitution therapy. The median number of sexual partners in the sample was one, and 95% were sexually active in the past year. Most patients (84%) denied any commercial sexual activity and reported rates of monogamy and sexual abstinence (81%), and rates of condom use (15%), that were comparable with reports from general population surveys. However, intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs) remain at higher risk for exposure to HIV-1 because they are likelier to have sexual contact with other IVDAs and former IVDAs. Continuing efforts are needed to improve the safe sex practices of IVDAs, but it may be a significant challenge to reduce their high risk sexual behavior considerably below that of the general population. Concomitant drug abuse treatment may help in efforts to accomplish sexual behavior change.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Antisocial personality disorder and HIV infection among intravenous drug abusers.

OBJECTIVE: Antisocial personality disorder in drug abusers has been associated with poor treatment outcome. The authors examined the relationship between diagnosis of antisocial personality and HIV infection. METHOD: Subjects were 272 intravenous drug abusers, 140 (52%) of whom were in methadone treatment. Subjects were given an HIV risk behavior interview before diagnostic interviewing and HIV testing. RESULTS: Using the DSM-III-R definition, the authors found that 119 (44%) of the subjects met criteria for antisocial personality. Significantly more of the subjects with antisocial personality (18% [N = 21] than of the subjects without antisocial personality (8% [N = 12]) had HIV infection. The diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder was associated with a significantly higher odds ratio of infection independent of ethnicity, gender, and treatment status. CONCLUSIONS: Antisocial personality is a risk factor for HIV infection among intravenous drug abusers.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Antisocial personality disorder among drug abusers. Relations to other personality diagnoses and the five-factor model of personality.

Antisocial personality disorder among drug abusers has been associated with poor drug abuse treatment outcome and greater human immunodeficiency virus infection risk compared with drug abusers without the disorder. Despite this, less is known about the personality trait dimensions of antisocial drug abusers, or about the prevalence of axis II comorbidity among this group. Similarly, little is known about the personality trait dimensions of antisocial drug abusers compared with those with axis II diagnoses other than antisocial or those with no personality diagnosis. The present study compared the personality traits of 203 outpatient opioid drug abusers categorized into either a pure antisocial group (i.e., antisocial diagnosis only), mixed antisocial group (i.e., antisocial plus another axis II diagnosis), other axis II group (i.e., axis II diagnosis other than antisocial), or a non-axis II group. Psychiatric diagnoses were made using a structured interview and personality traits of the four groups were compared using a self-report measure of the five-factor model of personality. As predicted, the mixed group was significantly more prone to neuroticism compared with the pure group, with higher scores on the vulnerability to stress and hostility facets. The mixed group also had a greater score on the neuroticism domain compared with the non-axis II group, with higher scores on five of the six facets. Significant differences were also found on agreeableness. The mixed group had lower scores on this domain (i.e., had higher interpersonal antagonism) compared with the non-axis II group. Somewhat surprisingly, the agreeableness score for the pure group was not significantly different from those of the remaining three groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

Antisocial behavior of intravenous drug abusers: implications for diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: A pattern of chronic adult antisocial behavior is not sufficient for the DSM-III-R diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder unless the early-onset criteria are satisfied, even if the adult criteria are met. The utility of the early-onset requirement for the diagnosis was examined in intravenous drug abusers, a population known to have high rates of irresponsible, aggressive, and criminal behavior. METHOD: The subjects were 237 drug abusers who had volunteered for an outpatient study of psychopathology and HIV risk behavior and infection. They completed a structured psychiatric interview as part of their participation in that study. The adult antisocial behavior of the group that met both the early-onset and the adult criteria for antisocial personality disorder, the group that met only the adult criteria, and the group that met neither the early-onset nor the adult criteria was then compared. RESULTS: Antisocial personality disorder (meeting the early-onset and adult criteria) was diagnosed in 44% of the sample; an additional 24% met only the adult criteria. The group with the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder reported a more pervasive and more serious pattern of adult antisocial behavior than did the other groups, although antisocial behavior was commonplace in all three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Early onset of multiple antisocial behaviors identified a subset of drug abusers with important differences in the extent and severity of their adult antisocial behavior. The antisocial behavior of the group that met only the adult criteria suggests the possibility of a late-onset and less severe form of antisocial personality disorder.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

Personality and sexual functioning of transvestitic fetishists and other paraphilics.

Utilizing the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI), 24 transvestitic fetishists (TVs) were compared with a similar clinic-evaluated group of 26 other paraphilics (OPs). The data replicated previous results and extended them by showing that TVs did not differ from OPs on most dimensions of the NEO-PI and the DSFI. Both groups were significantly higher on neuroticism and significantly lower on agreeableness than the NEO-PI male normative population. The other paraphilic group tended to score lower on conscientiousness than the TVs and the normative comparison group. For nine of the 10 DSFI variables, there were no significant differences between the TVs and the OPs. The TVs were significantly higher than the OPs on role identity, indicating a more feminine identification. Both the TVs and OPs reported elevated levels of fantasy. The implications of these findings suggest that, in general, TVs and OPs are more similar than they are different, with a common personality profile and a similar pattern of sexual functioning.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

A comparison of five-factor personality dimensions in males with sexual dysfunction and males with paraphilia.

We compared personality profiles of men with sexual dysfunction (n = 51) to those of age-matched men with a primary diagnosis of paraphilia (n = 51) employing the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), a measure of the five-factor model. Preliminary analyses in a large sample of patients in a sexual behaviors consultation unit supported the reliability and factorial validity of the NEO-PI for this population. Analysis of variance showed significant differences between the dysfunctional and the paraphilic groups on two of the five NEO-PI domains, Neuroticism (N) and Agreeableness (A). The group personality profile of the sexually dysfunctional men was comparable to the normative sample of the NEO-PI, except for a slight elevation in N. By contrast, men with paraphilia had a personality profile marked by high N, low A, and low Conscientiousness (C). Treatment implications of the average personality profile of the sexual dysfunction group and the distinctive personality profile of paraphilic men are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Pseudofluorosis: psychologic aspects of environmental pollution].

A middle-aged woman who had been living in close surroundings of a fluorine-emitting factory for many years, was examined because she claimed to be suffering from skeletal fluorosis. Radiological, histological and laboratory findings did not give evidence of fluorosis. Fluoride concentrations were normal in samples of blood, bone, pooled urine, nails and hair. Even this proof to the contrary did not shake her conviction of many years that she was suffering from fluorosis. Thus, psychological aspects have to be considered in the assessment of health implications of pollutants.

Bone Diseases↗
PubMed1990

Intravenous drug abusers with antisocial personality disorder: increased HIV risk behavior.

Intravenous drug abuse is strongly associated with HIV transmission and with having a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). While the co-occurrence of intravenous drug abuse and ASPD is related to poor drug abuse treatment outcome, little is known about the contribution of ASPD to the intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs) level of HIV risk. The present study related the diagnosis of ASPD with specific drug use behaviors associated with high risk of HIV transmission. Subjects (N = 100) were intravenous drug abusers who volunteered for an HIV risk assessment study. Subjects with ASPD reported significantly higher rates of injection-equipment sharing and shared with significantly more people than IVDAs without ASPD.

Adult↗