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Biomedical subjects

R Plutchik

Publications and source records attributed to R Plutchik.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Suicide and violence associated with panic attacks.

Several studies have indicated that patients with panic attacks have a higher rate of suicide attempts as well as deaths from suicide. Additionally, several investigators have presented case reports of individuals manifesting suicidal and violent behaviors directly and temporally associated with panic attacks. We report on four additional cases and suggest that these findings may explain, in part, the increased rate of suicidal behavior among patients with panic attacks found by some investigators. Furthermore, these case reports offer preliminary evidence that the relationship between violent behavior and the panic state may be clinically significant and deserving of further elucidation.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Multivantaged assessment of depression in schizophrenia.

While it is recognized that depression frequently can occur together with fundamental symptoms of schizophrenia, estimates of the prevalence of schizophrenia-related depression have been very variable. This variability may be due in part to the difficulty in clearly separating depressive symptoms from negative symptoms. A more valid method of assessing depression might combine evaluations from multiple vantage points. This study, which involved 26 hospitalized schizophrenic patients, tested the proposition that complete assessment of depression requires three separate sources of input: self-rating (subjective mood state), clinician rating (affective state), and observer rating (behavioral manifestations). In the present study, patients were evaluated on self-rating instruments for mood states, clinician-rated scales including the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and observer-rated scales. These vantage points, though overlapping in some respects, were found to provide independent information on the experience of depression in schizophrenia. Clinician-rated and observer-rated assessments tended to correlate significantly, while self-rated subjective reports were discordant, thus complementing the assessments from the other two vantage points.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Correlates of risk of suicide in violent and nonviolent psychiatric patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to identify variables that correlate with the risk of suicide in two patient groups that differ mainly in their level of expressed aggression. METHOD: Twenty-eight psychiatric patients with a history of violent behavior who were in a forensic psychiatric facility were tested and compared to 28 psychiatric inpatients without a history of violence who were admitted to a large municipal hospital. Measures used included a battery of self-report questionnaires, with acceptable reliability and validity, that provided indices of risk of suicide, risk of violence, impulsivity, anger, anxiety, and various mood states. RESULTS: The two groups, matched on demographic variables and overall risk of suicide, differed significantly on the measured risk of violence. The two groups showed similar patterns of correlations between risk of suicide and such variables as risk of violence, anger, fear, state and trait anxiety, lack of impulse control, suspiciousness, and rebelliousness. They differed in the correlation between suicide risk and depression. In the nonviolent patients there was a high correlation between risk of suicide and sadness; in the violent patients there was no correlation between these variables. CONCLUSIONS: The low correlation between sadness and risk of suicide in the violent patients, and the low prevalence of affective disorder diagnoses in these patients compared to other patients, suggests that suicidal risk should be managed differently in highly violent patients than in others.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Interrelations between ego functions and personality traits: their relation to psychotherapy outcome.

Ninety consecutive admissions to a large outpatient clinic of a municipal hospital completed two self-report questionnaires: the Self-Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) which consists of four 10-item scales that assessed four areas of ego functioning; and the 89-item Personality Profile Index (PPI) that provided measures of eight dimensions of personality traits and also a measure of conflict. Results indicated that the four measures of ego functioning had good internal consistency, and three of the four ego functions had a highly similar pattern of relations to the personality trait dimensions and to the conflict measure. It thus appears that each set of constructs amplifies and sheds light on the other. Two of the ego function measures were significant predictors of psychotherapy outcome. They correlated highly with one another and also with a third measure of ego functioning. This fact, together with the similarity of their correlations with the personality traits, suggests that these ego functions represent different aspects of an underlying construct that could be called Ego Strength. Therefore, combining the three ego functions into a 30-item Ego Strength measure could provide an even more sensitive predictor of therapy outcome and a useful new instrument for psychotherapy research.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Sex differences in personality traits and coping styles of hospitalized alcoholics.

Forty inpatients on an alcohol detoxication unit of a large municipal hospital were administered a battery of tests consisting of a Coping Styles scale, a Personality Profile scale, a Depression scale and the Brief MAST. A demographically comparable comparison group of 40 outpatients attending the medical screening clinic at the same hospital also completed the battery. The two groups did not differ in terms of age, education or the ratio of men to women. There were significant differences in coping styles and personality characteristics between alcoholics and nonalcoholics and, to a large extent, between men and women within the alcoholic group. Practically no significant differences were found between the men in the two groups, but female alcoholics differed greatly from nonalcoholic women in terms of coping styles, personality variables and also in terms of conflict. These findings indicate that the differences between alcoholic and nonalcoholics in the sample were due largely to patterns uniquely characterizing the female alcoholic group. Results are discussed in terms of cultural expectations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Interrelationships among anxiety, aggression, impulsivity, and mood: a serotonergically linked cluster?

Serotonin abnormalities appear to be related to a variety of psychopathological dimensions such as anxiety, depressed mood, impulsivity, and aggression dysregulation. We hypothesized that the psychopathological dimensions related to serotonin would be significantly intercorrelated since they seem to have a common biological basis. Sixty psychiatric inpatients were examined on a series of psychometric tests measuring suicidality, violence potential, impulsivity, depressive mood, and anxiety. The scores on all of these measures tended to be significantly correlated with one another. These findings support the additional hypothesis that biological markers may be more closely related to basic psychological dimensions than to nosological categories.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Prediction of risk for drug use in high school students.

On the basis of questionnaires administered to almost 2,000 high school students in Cali, Colombia, a subset of items was selected that deal primarily with parent--child relationships. This 53-item set, referred to as the Drug Risk Scale (DRS), was administered to two new cross-validation samples, one consisting of high school students and the other consisting of drug addicts attending drug rehabilitation centers. Significant differences in parent--child relations were found between these new groups. The DRS was also found to have reasonably high sensitivity and specificity. Its potential value as a risk-prediction instrument is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Is there a relation between the seriousness of suicidal intent and the lethality of the suicide attempt?

The relation between the strength of an individual's intent to commit suicide and the nature and seriousness (lethality) of any suicide attempt has been a controversial one. Some studies suggest a positive correlation, while others report no connection. The present investigation included 60 patients, who were studied shortly after they had been admitted to a medical service after a suicide attempt. Measures of depression, impulsivity, suicidal intent, seriousness of the attempt, and efforts to prevent intervention were obtained. Results reveal that both depression and impulsivity correlate positively with the strength of the intent to commit suicide, but there appears to be almost no correlation in this population between measures of intent and seriousness of the attempt.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Correlates of suicide and violence risk: III. A two-stage model of countervailing forces.

Questionnaires and self-report scales were administered to 100 psychiatric inpatients. The scales measured such variables as depression, hopelessness, impulsivity, mental and life problems, family violence, personality characteristics, and dyscontrol tendencies. These were correlated with indices of suicide risk and violence risk. Most variables were found to correlate significantly with both suicide and violence risk. Partial correlation analyses revealed that 10 variables correlated significantly with suicide risk but not violence risk, while four variables correlated significantly with violence risk but not suicide risk. A two-stage model of countervailing forces, incorporating concepts from both psychoanalysis and ethology, is presented as a way of interpreting the results.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The measurement of suicidality, aggressivity and impulsivity.

1. From an evolutionary point of view aggressive behavior increases the chances of individual survival as well as inclusive fitness. 2. There are brain structures and biochemical systems that are involved in the regulation of aggressive behavior. 3. Genetic studies have revealed genetic contributions to aggressive as well as impulsive behaviors. 4. Research has demonstrated correlations between measures of suicidality, violence and impulsivity. 5. A two-step model of countervailing forces has been developed that identifies amplifiers and attenuators of the aggressive impulse. This model has enabled us to determine a set of variables that influence suicide but not violence and another set that influences violence but not suicide.

Aggression↗
PubMed1989

Subtypes of suicidal and assaultive behaviors in adolescent psychiatric inpatients: a research note.

Among 129 adolescent psychiatric inpatients, four subgroups of suicidal and/or assaultive behaviors were identified. A suicidal-only subgroup with no evidence of assaultive behavior was characterized by depression, drug abuse and environmental stresses. An assaultive-only subgroup with no evidence of suicidal behavior exhibited aggressive symptoms and violence at home. A subgroup with both suicidal and assaultive behaviors experienced accidents and family violence. A fourth subgroup had neither suicidal nor assaultive behavior. This subgroup showed eating disorders, depression, minimal assaultiveness and few peer friendships.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Changes in suicidal behavior in child psychiatric inpatients.

This study of 49 preadolescent psychiatric inpatients, aged 6-12 years, evaluated changes from the time of admission to 7 weeks later in ratings of suicidal behavior, assaultive behavior, depression, hopelessness, and global functioning. Standard research instruments were used to measure these variables. There were significant decreases in suicidal behavior, assaultiveness, and depression and a significant increase in global assessment during the 7 weeks of hospitalization. Severity of suicidal behavior and severity of assaultive behavior at admission predicted a subsequent change in level of suicidal behavior. Furthermore, severity of suicidal behavior at admission was the best indicator of a change in severity of suicidal behavior.

Anxiety, Separation↗
PubMed1989

Defense mechanisms in risk of suicide and risk of violence.

This paper reports on an empirical study of defense mechanisms in 60 psychiatric inpatients. Eight defenses--compensation, denial, displacement, intellectualization, projection, reaction formation, regression, and repression--were studied in the context of a two-stage model of suicidal and violent behavior. The results showed that use of regression as a defense differentiated suicidal from nonsuicidal patients, and use of displacement differentiated violent from nonviolent patients. Repression tended to turn aggression inward, and projection and denial turned aggression outward.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Ethics in the practice of psychotherapy: a survey.

One hundred and one psychotherapists responded to a survey designed to obtain data concerning beliefs about various ethical issues encountered in psychotherapy. Opinions about ethical standards in many areas were quite varied for the entire sample. Differences also emerged when therapists were compared in terms of orientation and years of experience.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1989

Prediction of risk for drug use in high school students.

On the basis of questionnaires administered to almost 2,000 high school students in Cali, Colombia, a subset of items was selected that deal primarily with parent-child relationships. This 53 item set, referred to as the Drug Risk Scale (DRS), was administered to two new cross-validation samples, one consisting of high school students and the other consisting of drug addicts attending drug rehabilitation centers. Significant differences in parent-child relations were found between these new groups. The DRS was also found to have reasonably high sensitivity and specificity. Its potential value as a risk-prediction instrument is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Increased suicidality in depression: group or subgroup characteristic?

A lifetime history of depressive episodes and suicide attempts was ascertained from 172 depressed patients admitted to a psychiatric inpatient service. Fifty-five of these patients had made at least one suicide attempt. The correlation of depressive episodes and the total number of suicide attempts for this group was close to zero. However, when the data were converted into rate measures (number of episodes or attempts per year), the correlations were very high and significant. It appears that approximately one-third of severely depressed, hospitalized patients have a history of suicide attempts and, once a suicide attempt has occurred, the patient is at high risk for more suicide attempts if future depressions occur. Within the group of depressives with a history of suicide attempt, the risk of suicidal behavior is evenly distributed. No evidence in favor of a "hypervulnerable" subgroup was found.

Adolescent↗