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Biomedical subjects

D M Quinlan

Publications and source records attributed to D M Quinlan.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Ego boundary disturbance in anorexia nervosa: preliminary findings.

Boundary disturbance and the developmental level of the Rorschach human representations of anorectic patients were studied. A group of 12 anorectics was compared with a control group in regard to their degree of boundary disturbance, the developmental level of their human responses, the degree to which they attribute affect to their percepts, and the nature and degree of drive-dominated ideation. The anorectic patients showed significantly more contamination responses, reflective of a breakdown in their self-other boundaries. The affect elaboration, human representations, and drive-dominated ideation measures failed to differentiate the two groups. These findings provide preliminary support for clinical observations from both individual and family perspectives that families of anorectics show greater boundary disturbance which appears to be internalized by these patients. Thus, much of their symptomatology might be understood as an attempt to gain autonomy through an overaccentuation of the boundary between themselves and others. The failure of the drive-dominated ideation measures to differentiate the two groups supports the deemphasis of the role of psychosexual factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Evaluation of the DSM-III criteria for melancholia.

The DSM-III criteria for melancholia are intended to define an endogenomorphic subcategory of major depressive episode for which somatic treatment is usually required. One hundred twenty-three inpatients having a major depressive episode were examined retrospectively to determine the ability of the melancholia criteria to identify patients observed to have an autonomous syndrome during the first week of hospitalization and to distinguish them from patients observed to be responsive to psychosocial intervention without drug treatment. The melancholia criteria correctly classified 77% of the sample. In comparison with the primary affective disorder criteria, the melancholia criteria appeared to be selective; fewer responsive patients were falsely identified. The predictive values of individual symptom criteria were examined. Of the current symptom criteria, two observed signs, lack of reactivity and psychomotor change, were most useful for making the autonomous-responsive distinction.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1981

Personality traits and disorder in depression.

The authors examined the relationship of personality traits and personality disorder to depressive subtype, descriptive characteristics, and outcome in 160 depressed inpatients. Personality disorder was significantly more common in unipolar nonmelancholic depressed patients (61%) than in unipolar melancholic (14%) or bipolar depressed patients (23%). Personality disorder did not affect symptom manifestation but was related to earlier onset of depressive illness and worse outcome within the unipolar nonmelancholic group. Obsessive traits were most common in the unipolar melancholic patients, while histrionic, hostile, and borderline traits predominated in the nonmelancholic patients. The authors discuss the usefulness of a multiaxial diagnostic system and the importance of separating trait and disorder in personality assessment.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Medical condition, adherence to treatment regimens, and family functioning. Their interactions in patients receiving long-term dialysis treatment.

Twenty-three medically stable patients receiving long-term dialysis treatment and their families were studied to investigate the relationship between medical condition, adherence to treatment, and patterns of family interaction. We found significant correlations between ratings of overall family functioning and overall medical condition, and a near-significant relationship between ratings of adherence to treatment and overall family functioning. In addition, specific family variables that related either to medical condition or to adherence were identified. Our findings suggest that family assessment can be used for early identification of patients at risk for poor adherence to treatment or poor medical progress. Furthermore, it may be possible to improve medical condition and adherence by working with the family in specific areas of family functioning found to be related to medical condition or adherence.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Characteristics of autonomous depression.

The records of 172 depressed inpatients were examined retrospectively to determine the presenting symptoms, history of stress, clinical course, and personality features characteristic of patients whose depressive syndrome had become autonomous. The autonomous distinction was based on observation of a lack of responsiveness of the syndrome to environmental events during the first week of hospitalization prior to drug treatment. The autonomous criterion was selected since it is a central characteristic of recent psychobiological models of depression and it could be operationally defined, reliably rated, and assessed independently of other patient characteristics. Sixty-eight autonomous patients were identified and compared with 104 patients who were responsive to hospitalization. The characteristics of the autonomous patients are discussed in relation to the previous literature, other diagnostic systems, and the criteria proposed for the diagnosis of melancholia in DSM-III.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1979

Plasma cortisol levels in depression and other psychiatric disorders: a study of newly admitted psychiatric patients.

Morning and evening plasma cortisol levels were checked in 123 consecutively newly admitted psychiatric patients with a variety of diagnoses. Questions asked were whether there were differences among groups with more severe illness, type of depression, alcohol abuse, or particular symptoms. Morning cortisol elevation was found in 33% of patients and was not associated with any particular diagnostic category. Evening cortisol elevation occurred in 85% of the subjects. It was significantly higher in those with unipolar depression and organic brain syndrome, also in those patients who abused alcohol regardless of diagnosis. Evening cortisol elevation was twice as common in patients with diagnoses of more severe psychiatric illness than in those with minor disorders. Further study is suggested to see if these patterns of cortisol elevation are sustained beyond the stress-of-admission period.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1979

Clinical responses of A and B practising psychotherapists to schizoid and neurotic patient prototypes.

Eighty-three male psychotherapists varying on A-B type and experience orally responded to tape-recordings of simulated schizoid and neurotic patients in the privacy of their own offices. Five dimensions of therapist response were studied: accurate empathy, positive social-emotional reactions, negative social-emotional reactions, length of response and proportion of declarative statements. Although the simple A-B interaction effect was not found, significant second-order interactions were found for both accurate empathy and positive reactions which indicated that the predicted interaction effect tends to be upheld for inexperienced therapists but attenuated or reversed for experienced therapists. A significantly reversed interaction for experienced therapists' response length was also found. Examination of the results from this study and previous studies suggested a revision of the A-B interaction hypothesis: for inexperienced therapists, As will be more effective with schizoids/schizophrenics than Bs, whereas Bs will surpass As with neurotics; for experienced therapists, however, this interaction will be attenuated or reversed. Speculations about underlying processes in A-B interaction phenomena were offered.

Communication↗
PubMed1978

Overinclusion and transactional thinking on the Object Sorting Test of schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic patients.

Two aspects of "disordered thinking", overinclusion and transactional thinking were studied on the Object Sorting Test responses of 20 young schizophrenic patients and 20 comparable nonschizophrenic patients. Patients' parents were also studied for comparison. In addition, idiosyncratic responses from WAIS Comprehension items were assessed for comparison of another measure on another test. Transactional thinking and idiosyncratic responses were greater in schizophrenic patients. Conceptual overinclusion and bizarre responses also tended to be more frequent in schizophrenics, but behavioral overinclusion showed no differences. Conceptual overinclusion was consistently correlated with transactional thinking and idiosyncratic responses, while behavioral overinclusion showed an inconsistent pattern. The differences were attributed to the differences in the specificity of measures of disordered thinking.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1977

Abortion applicants: characteristics distinguishing dropouts remaining pregnant and those having abortion.

This study, of two groups of women who applied for induced hospital abortion, compares 100 women who had the abortion with 100 women who dropped out to carry to term. Dropout applicants who elected to carry to term had less education, had partners with less education, tended to be indecisive, and when they told their partners tended to receive negative responses toward abortion. In addition, these women expressed greater concern about the procedure and about the moral implications of abortion. Implications of this study for further research on women's and their partners' decision-making about abortion using the Janis-Mann model are discussed.

Abortion Applicants↗
PubMed1976

Perceptual development on the Rorschach.

The Rorschach was given to 60 school children in two designs: CA and MA orthogonal (9 and 12 years) and CA =MA (for 6, 9 and 12 years). Responses were scored for Form Accuracy, Complexity, Movement, and Friedman's Developmental Level (DL) Scoring System. There were significant MA effects independent of CA on Form Accuracy, Complexity and DL, and significant CA effects on Complexity and Movement. Form Accuracy was highly correlated with the DL score and correlated with MA at a slightly higher level than DL with MA. The Complexity score provided some additional information about development. Movement decreased with age but was higher in intelligent subjects. The results suggested that the DL system does assess MA independently of CA, but this is accounted for primarily by Form Accuracy.

Age Factors↗