Biomedical subjects

M Virkkunen

Publications and source records attributed to M Virkkunen.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMed1976

Self-mutilation in antisocial personality (disorder).

In the present study, attempts were made to clarify the characteristics and the background information of persons with antisocial personality (disorder) who had resorted to slashings. These were compared with controls with a similar personality disorder who had not resorted to slashings. It appeared that the former had been more often prone to repeated outbursts of rage or fighting, drug abuse, and even other forms of self-destruction as well as tattooing in prison. They had more often had an alcoholic father. Moreover, they were more withdrawn, anxious and had a tendency to blame their environment. They had more often made efforts to get out of the restricted milieu of prison to the prison's psychiatric department and experienced the confined space of the prison as oppressive. They resorted to slashing usually in prisons and it seemed that the restricted environment with an absence of sufficient stimuli was crucial in triggering self-mutilation.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

Attitude to psychiatric treatment before suicide in schizophrenia and paranoid psychoses.

The purpose of the study was to clarify the attitude of patients with schizophrenia and paranoid psychoses towards hospital personnel and treatment procedures during the two pre-suicidal months. The study was carried out on subjects from south Finland who had committed suicide during a three-year period and had been treated under these diagnoses. The controls included suicides who had received psychiatric treatment for other reasons. A questionnaire was issued to ascertain the opinions of the doctor last in charge of the patient and other personnel. Both groups answered independently, and the opinions given were almost the same. Both groups stated that during the last pre-suicidal months the patients with schizophrenia and paranoid psychoses had shown a more negative or indifferent attitude towards personnel than the controls, and their attitude towards medication had been clearly more negative. Among them there were considerably more patients who had ceased to request support or attention. Thus these patients had developed a degree of despair which manifested itself in a negative attitude towards personnel and treatment.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1975

Comparative study on the underlying cause and mode of death established prior to and after medicolegal autopsy.

A comparative study was made on the underlying cause and mode of death determined in 600 consecutive cases by forensic physicians before and after medicolegal autopsy. All available information including police records, medical documents of decedents and the results of the external medicolegal examination of the corpse were utilized to determine the cause and mode of death before autopsy. The mode of death would have been defined erroneously in 10% of cases and the underlying cause of death in 29.5% of cases if medicolegal autopsy had not been performed. The present results are consistent with previous studies which indicate that the determination of the underlying cause of death is significantly more accurate when an autopsy is performed. They also suggest that in a large number of routine medicolegal cases a similar trend, but at a lower rate, is associated with the determination of the mode of death.

Accidents↗

PubMed1974