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Biomedical subjects

T N Wise

Publications and source records attributed to T N Wise.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Psychometric properties of the Illness Attitudes Scale in psychiatric patients.

This study assessed the factorial structure of the 29-item Illness Attitudes Scale in a population of 82 psychiatric patients hospitalized for gastrointestinal complaints. Factor analysis yielded three factors of the Illness Attitudes Scale in these patients, which have been interpreted Health Anxiety, Illness Behavior, and Health Habits. The internal consistency of these factors, estimated by Cronbach alpha, were .86, .80, and .58, respectively. The Health Anxiety and Illness Behavior scores were significantly intercorrelated .43, but scores on Health Habits were not significantly correlated with either Health Anxiety (r = .19) or Illness Behavior (r = .14). These findings are consistent with previous reports that two factors of the Illness Attitudes Scale possess reliable psychometric properties. Cross-validation with other patient populations is required to confirm the validity of the Illness Attitudes Scale factor structure testing at least 5 participants per item of the scale.

Adult↗

Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale among college students and psychiatric outpatients.

We examined the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale in two samples of 267 college students and 398 psychiatric outpatients. Suitable validity and reliability of this scale were suggested by high correlations with scores on the NEO Personality Inventory, adequate internal consistency, and relatively high test-retest correlations. The Emotional Intelligence Scale seems suitable for both clinically distressed populations as well as comparative groups such as college students.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Association of emotional intelligence with alexithymic characteristics.

We examined the association of emotional intelligence and alexithymic characteristics as the personality trait in cohorts of 267 college students and 398 psychiatric outpatients. Score on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale were significantly correlated with those on the Emotional Intelligence Scale, suggesting that alexithymic characteristics are related to lower emotional intelligence. In conclusion, these data suggest that emotional intelligence overlaps with alexithymia.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Comparison of 26-item and 20-item versions of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale for psychiatric outpatients.

This study compared the 20-item revised Toronto Alexithymia Scale with the 26-item version for 257 psychiatric outpatients. Scores on the 20-item version significantly correlated with those on the 26-item inventory even when controlled for depressed mood. Furthermore, the 20-item scale showed greater internal consistency. Factor analysis for both versions indicated three subfactors but the factors in the TAS-20 accounted for greater common variance (92%) than for the factors in the TAS-26 (78%). The total variance accounted for by these factors on the TAS-20 (45%) was also greater than for the TAS-26 (38%).

Adult↗

Executive functioning and compliance in HIV patients.

25 adult HIV patients were evaluated in a study of appointments, medication, and compliance with restrictions on sexual activity. The Executive Interview (EXIT) was useful in assessing these patients for cognitive difficulties; compliance with medication and countertransference issues were negatively correlated with EXIT scores.

Adult↗

Survey of alternative medicine use among organ transplant patients.

Herbal medicine and health food supplements have become increasingly popular. However, many of these pharmacologically active compounds remain poorly understood. Patients with chronic and life-threatening conditions often use alternative therapies while receiving conventional medical care, and his population is at increased risk for complications and adverse drug interactions due to poor health and complex drug regimens. Patients awaiting or who had received solid organ transplants were surveyed about their use of herbal medicines and health food supplements. Twenty percent of respondents acknowledged experience with these products, which they used to prolong the function of a failing organ or to obtain relief from fatigue and insomnia. Transplant staff often were unaware of their patients' use of these treatments, despite patients' claims to the contrary. The potential for unexpected drug interactions, toxicity, and other adverse reactions resulting from the use of herbal medicines or supplements must be recognized and identified by transplant teams.

Adolescent↗

Utilization of pain medications in hospitalized psychiatric patients.

To investigate the nature and treatment of pain complaints in psychiatric patients, 75 patients in a general hospital psychiatric unit who utilized any form of analgesic medication were studied. Patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of substance abuse were excluded. The results indicate that most of the pain complaints were musculoskeletal or headaches and mild to moderate in degree. Nonopiod analgesics were commonly prescribed, and the degree of disability from the pain complaint was minimal. Patients who did utilize pain medications stayed in the hospital significantly longer than those who did not, and this was not an effect of age or diagnosis.

Adult↗

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↗

Escalation of a fetish: coprophagia in a nonpsychotic adult of normal intelligence.

A 47-year-old man is described whose fetish of fecal smearing, coprophilia, escalated to coprophagia in a setting of depression and alcohol abuse. The case is the first described in a nonpsychotic adult of normal intelligence. Treatment focused upon the depression and substance abuse as well as on the psychodynamic issues that fostered his despair and allowed the fetish to evolve into coprophagia.

Age of Onset↗

The stability of alexithymia in depressed patients.

The stability of alexithymia as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and its relationship to depression were investigated in 50 depressed inpatients. The test-retest coefficient for TAS over a 5-day period was 0.57 (p < 0.001). A reliable change index for depressed mood indicated that mood covaried with the TAS, but changes in TAS were not clinically significant. The data support alexithymia as a stable personality construct.

Adult↗

Consultation-liaison research: the use of differing perspectives.

Slavney and McHugh have discussed the four perspectives in psychiatry in respect to their strengths and weaknesses. Research in consultation-liaison psychiatry is reviewed by considering the various perspectives that such studies utilize. Early studies utilized the life story methodology and the disease model. The life history approach considers each patient as a unique subject whose developmental vicissitudes have meaningful associations. These studies were often viewed through a psychoanalytic theory. The disease model demands syndromal identification so that etiologic factors, whether biological, psychological or social, may eventually be discovered. More contemporary investigations use the dimensional measurement of intersubject differences that allow better designation of personality. The fourth perspective of motivated behavior offers a method of studying goal-directed activity such as substance abuse, eating pathology, and sleep disorders. Consultation-liaison studies using each framework are reviewed.

Female↗

Alexithymia, affect recognition, and five factors of personality in substance abusers.

A total of 80 adults (40 normal volunteers, 40 substance abusers) participated in a study about alexithymia and five factors of personality, measured on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the NEO Five Factor Inventory, respectively, and their relationship to recognition of affect. The substance abusers scored the same as the age- and sex-matched normal volunteers on recognizing posed facial expressions, but higher on the alexithymia scale, while on Neuroticism and Extraversion they had lower scores on Agreeableness.

Adult↗

The relationship between somatosensory amplification, alexithymia, and neuroticism.

Both amplification of normal visceral phenomena and the personality trait of alexithymia are factors in the process of somatization, whereby somatic symptoms become metaphors for emotional distress. The relationship between these two variables was investigated in 101 psychiatric out-patients. Each subject was administered the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSA); the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS); the NEO-FFI, which measures five personality factors; and the health locus of control (HLC). In addition, anxiety and depression were quantitatively measured. SSA and TAS significantly correlated only in the female subjects. A regression model found neuroticism to contribute the most variance in predicting SSA while TAS did not fit into the model. Amplification is a perceptual element in potentiating somatization, whereas alexithymia contributes to the cognitive aspects of the process. The role of neuroticism is discussed as a mediating factor.

Adjustment Disorders↗