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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

A continuum of misidentification symptoms.

A case study of a schizophrenic patient with differing forms of experiences of inappropriate familiarity is described. Reduplicative paramnesia is redefined as a delusion of familiarity related to a reduplication of time, place or person. The author proposes the concept of a continuum of positive and negative misidentification symptoms. The positive pole of the continuum ranges from the minor form of déjà vu experience to reduplicative paramnesia. The negative pole ranges from depersonalisation to nihilistic delusions. Differentiation is based on the severity of the disturbance of reality testing. The argumentation is based on the fact that both déjà vu experiences and depersonalisation occurring in pathological as well as non-pathological conditions are phenomenologically uniform.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Imagery and hallucination in schizophrenic patients.

Volitional auditory imagery and spontaneous imagery/fantasy are examined in schizophrenic vs. nonschizophrenic psychiatric inpatients. Imaginal aspects of schizophrenia are also studied with regard to concurrent presence or absence of hallucination. Comparisons of imaginal function between diagnostic groups and among hallucinatory subgroups turned up few significant differences. Findings do not support the Mintz and Alpert (Mintz, S., and Alpert, M. Imagery vividness, reality testing, and schizophrenic hallucinations. J. Abnorm. Psychol., 79: 310-316, 1972) enhanced vividness model of schizophrenic hallucination but do provide some support for an imagery deficit model.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The susceptibility of the Rorschach Inkblot Test to malingering of combat-related PTSD.

The ability of subjects to alter their responses on the Rorschach and self-report measures to fake the symptoms of combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was investigated. Subjects were 40 White male undergraduates, randomly assigned to either a control or role-informed malingerer group, and 20 White Vietnam veterans with PTSD. Subjects were administered the Rorschach, MMPI-2 validity scales, and Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD. Results indicated that malingerers were able to achieve scores similar to the PTSD patients on the Mississippi Scale and some Rorschach variables. However, they evidenced significant differences on the MMPI-2 validity scales and several important Rorschach variables. Malingerers typically gave responses that were overly dramatic and less complicated, less emotionally restrained, and indicated an exaggerated sense of impaired reality testing as compared to PTSD patients. Behavioral differences were also noted between the groups. Findings are discussed in the context of the study's limitations and the practical detection of malingered PTSD in clinical settings.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Repercussions of transition out of elite sport on body image.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychological repercussions of transition out of elite sport from a bodily point of view. We hypothesized that the passage from a bodily over-investment to a more sedentary state would have an effect on body satisfaction. 16 Transitioning Athletes following the Sydney Olympic Games were compared with 16 Active Athletes two times during the transition period using the Body-Image Questionnaire of Bruchon-Schweitzer. Qualitative data in the form of interviews provided a complement to the quantitative data. Analysis yielded no significant differences 1 1/2 mo. after career termination between the two groups but showed a decrease in body satisfaction between 1 1/2 and 5 mo. after career termination for Transitioning Athletes, with a significant between-group difference at 5 mo. The Transitioning Athletes initially reported weight gain and uncertainty about their real physical capacities but also a continued social recognition that maintained body satisfaction. Over time, however, they were increasingly aware of this bodily deterioration, as ongoing exercise served as a reality test. Added to this were perceived decreases in social value as well as disturbing somatic manifestations. The result was a substantial effect on body satisfaction.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effects of oedipal triumph caused by collapse or death of the rival parent.

It is suggested that the threat of castration at the phallic-oedipal phase results in repression, effecting no change in the unconscious fantasy, that the resolution of the Oedipus complex depends on developments during latency and adolescence, and that during this period one of the determinants impeding the resolution may be the collapse or death of the rival parent. Death of the oedipal rival results in a confusion of the unconscious wish with an external happening. The child, unable to cope with the consequent guilt, resorts to repression. Thus, the critical aspects of the oedipal triumph remain potentially operative in the unconscious, hindering the patient's functioning in all closely associated areas. Three clinical illustrations of oedipal triumph are described to indicate some of the psychodynamic issues that arise in the analysis of such patients. Of particular importance are: the concept of reality testing; differential adaptation to the unconscious sense of guilt; the varying degrees of resistance evidenced in the analysis of such patients; and the impact of oedipal determinants in differential outcome of bereavement.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Assessment of ego functioning in multiple personality disorder.

The dissociative disorder known as multiple personality disorder (MPD) presents a diagnostic challenge to psychological assessment techniques. A case example is presented in which a new self-report, multifactorial measure of ego functioning discriminated distinct profiles for four personalities within one multiple personality organization. Interpretations of characteristics of the primary and secondary personalities based on the Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI) are presented. The relationship between these findings and other approaches to psychological testing for dissociation and MPD are discussed. It is suggested that this approach will facilitate the clinical assessment of suspected MPD subjects and contribute to affording appropriate treatment to this population.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

An empirical study of the psychodynamics of suicide: a preliminary report.

Preliminary results from a study of psychodynamic constructs are presented based on data from inpatients following a suicide attempt. The study examines the association between four psychodynamic constructs, severity of suicidal intent, and severity of depressive symptomatology in a sample of hospitalized suicide attempters. Higher levels of suicidal intent were associated with less differentiated self and object representations and less emotional investment in relationships. More severe depressive symptoms in suicide attempters were correlated with more self-targeted anger, less eternally directed anger, higher levels of shame and guilt, more affectively negative views of relationships, greater use of maladaptive and self-sacrificing defenses, and more impaired reality testing. These findings offer some preliminary empirical support for the validity of psychodynamic theories of suicidal behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Open-area seclusion in the long-term treatment of aggressive and disruptive psychotic patients, an introduction to a ward procedure.

The clinical rationale and procedure of "open-area seclusion" as a treatment modality with psychotic patients is presented. This standard procedure was originally introduced as an alternative to arbitrary measures in response to aggressive and disruptive behavior. The seclusion area is locked, but the patient is never locked up alone in any single room. The method of open-area seclusion is composed of four overlapping phases: (1) assisting the patient to the seclusion area, (2) time for a "calming down" process, (3) debriefing, and (4) reintegration. Verbal confrontation is central in enhancing the secluded patient's reality-testing, for reinforcing responsibility for one's own behavior, and for encouraging alternative problem-solving. A step-by-step description of the procedure of open-area seclusion is presented and illustrated by a case history.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The Glass Menagerie as heuristic for explicating nursing theory.

Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, is interpreted through the lens of two different nursing theories, the Roy adaptation model and the human becoming theory. In the Roy adaptation model interpretation, adaptive levels of reality testing and stimuli that instigate withdrawal are explored, while in the human becoming theory interpretation, the themes of meaning, rhythmicity, and contranscendence are explicated.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1984

Emotional and cognitive factors in the borderline profile.

Profiles of ego functions of borderline patients are studied. Three ego functions were found to be significantly more disturbed: reality testing, object relations, and defense mechanisms. Further analysis of these and their subfunctions reveals a significant difference between emotional and cognitive factors. Emotional-internal functions are the more disturbed. This consistent difference illuminates the style of functioning of borderline patients.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗
PubMed1982

Male and female transsexualism: the Danish experience with 37 patients.

Since the first sex-reassignment operation in Denmark at the Rigshospitalet in 1951, a total of 37 patients, 29 males and 8 females, have had sex-modifying surgery and a change in legal status. In our experience a basic insecure gender identity is a predominant trait in transsexuals, dating back to earliest childhood. This insecurity and a concomitant anxiety are overcome differently by the two transsexual sexes. In male transsexualism, the most outstanding characteristic is a narcissistic withdrawal to a condition marked by submission and pseudofeminity. Anxiety and insecurity are basic to the gender dysphoria but are subdued by means of fantasy escape and gratification in aestheticized ego-ideals with suppression of aggressive and sexual feelings. This results in the often observed pseudofeminity in the male transsexual. A core group of transsexual males are marked by a persistent pseudofeminine narcissism. They have stable ego strength, are agenital in sexual attitude, and have an intact sense of reality. This group is expected to remain so after sex reassignment. The transsexual female assumes a narcissistic, phallic attitude displaying outer activities and caricatured masculine manners in an attempt to subdue her insecurity. Examples are given of the characteristic splitting of these persons' phenomenological ego-experiences and how different their reality testing is from that of psychotic persons with a desire for sex change. Transsexual females are much more sexually active than transsexual males. We find a closer connection between female homosexuality and transsexualism than between male homosexuality and transsexualism.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

The role of the hospital milieu in structural diagnosis.

The authors have found the structural approach to diagnosis to be a valuable tool in classifying ill-defined mental illnesses. That approach presumes there are discrete levels of mental functioning: neurotic, borderline, and psychotic. Each can be differentiated by identifying the degree of identity integration, the level of defensive operations, and the degree of reality testing. Two case illustrations are used to describe how the dynamic role of the hospital milieu can be used in conjunction with individual treatment to make an accurate diagnosis. The application of this approach to the diagnosis of adolescents is emphasized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Measurement and modification of delusional beliefs.

It has been proposed that delusional thinking may be on a continuum with normal behavior and can be assessed by taking account of factors such as the client's degree of belief conviction or the extent of preoccupation with the belief. In our research a number of measures were used to assess the delusional thinking of people diagnosed as schizophrenic. Two interventions were used: (a) a structured verbal challenge and (b) a reality test in which the belief was subject to an empirical test. We used a multiple-baseline, across-subjects design. Of the 6 clients, 2 completely rejected their beliefs, and 3 others significantly reduced their belief conviction. Maintenance was good, and there was evidence that the intervention had enabled 5 of the 6 clients to effectively regulate their delusional thinking.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

An experimental phenomenological approach to delusional memory in schizophrenia and late paraphrenia.

A preliminary model is described to account for the 'reality testing' of memories (after Johnson & Raye, 1981) in an attempt to explain delusional memory. Two routes are proposed: route one involves evaluation of the factual content of the memories against stored general knowledge. Route two relies on the evaluation of the perceptual and narrative characteristics of memories with the assumption that the stronger these characteristics, the more likely the memory is to be real. The integrity of these routes is examined in four patients with delusional memories, using standardized tests. The results suggest that in these cases, general knowledge is essentially intact while the perceptual characteristics of delusional memories are stronger than real memories which in turn, are stronger than fantasies. This could lead the evaluation system to accept delusional memories as true memories despite their implausibility. The roles of rehearsal and affect are probably important in this and require further study.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

The closing phase of the psychoanalytic treatment of adults and the goals of psychoanalysis 'The myth of perfectibility'.

The goal of analysis in the transference neuroses is achieved with establishment of internalized autonomy. A central focus of the analytic process is the epigenesis of reality thinking. Freud's early ideas about reality testing and the more recent contributions to the development and organization of the mental apparatus are reviewed. Recent postanalytic follow-up studies and panel discussions relating to these studies suggest that the analyst's task is completed when the best possible psychological conditions for the ego's functioning has been reached including the development of the self-analytic function. The attainment of the latter provides the analysand with the potential for continued analytic monitoring and further development.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1988

Psychological factors in the treatment of chronic low back pain. Follow-up study of a back school intervention.

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of certain psychological factors (e.g. neurotic features, alexithymia, and hostility) as intervening variables modifying the outcome of the back school intervention or correlating with spontaneous recovery. The results indicated that those patients who reacted favorably to the back school intervention could be described as emotionally well adjusted and controlled showing relatively good cognitive capacity with undisturbed reality testing. The poor responders in the treatment group were less capable cognitively and not so well balanced emotionally. Patients showing spontaneous recovery in the control group were characterized by a more lively and less controlled way of expressing emotions and affects. In contrast to these, patients who showed increasing disability during the 1-year follow-up were characterized by restricted expression of emotions and affects indicating alexithymia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of ego defenses among physically abused children, neglected, and non-maltreated children.

The nature and level of ego functioning were assessed in 41 recently detected physically abused children, and in two control groups of 38 neglected and 35 non-abused/non-neglected children (aged 6 to 12 years), using the Child Suicidal Potential Scales (CSPS). The results obtained in this study support the hypothesis that the influences of parental violence on the child's ego functions are detrimental, as reflected by significantly higher impairments in affect regulation (like irritability, anger, passivity, depression), low levels of impulse control, distortions in reality testing, and extensive operation of immature defense mechanisms in the physically abused children in comparison to the controls. Significant differences between the physically abused and the non-abused/non-neglected children were found for all mechanisms except displacement. The differences between the physically abused and neglected children for regression, denial and splitting, projection, and introjection (high scores for the physically abused children), and for compensation and undoing (higher scores for the neglected children) were also significant. It is suggested that physically abused children should be distinguished as a high-risk population for future personality disorders.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1982

Psychopatho-ophthalmology, gnostic disorders, and psychosis in cardiac surgery. Visual disturbances after open heart surgery.

The visual disturbances of 45 patients following open heart surgery could be divided into disturbances of (1) visual acuity, (2) visual accuracy, and (3) visual reality testing. The non-hallucinatory phenomena consisted mainly of loss of colour vision, metamorphopsias, visual gnostic disorders and cortical blindness. The hallucinatory phenomena could be divided into the delirium type of hallucinations with clouding of consciousness and the spectator type of hallucinations with a clear sensorium. The causes of the visual symptomatology and cardiac psychoses are seen in microembolization and/or ischemic hypoxia. The basal ganglia and the occipital lobe are areas of predilection for embolic and hypoxic changes. Identical psychoses also occur in cerebral malaria and polycythemia vera which show the same embolic and anoxic neuropathological changes of vascular occlusion as do many patients who die following open heart surgery with extracorporal circulation.

Agnosia↗