Camille Lloyd

Psychiatric symptoms in medical students

Abstract The current study examined the presence of psychiatric symptomatology in a sample of medical students. Results demonstrated that while medical students evidenced levels of symptomatology that were considerably lower than those previously reported in outpatient psychiatric samples, they evidenced considerably higher symptom levels than those previously reported in a general population survey. Compared to the general population, medical students showed a mild elevation in somatic symptoms, a moderate elevation in anxiety and depressive symptoms, and a substantial elevation in obsessive-compulsive symptomatology and in interpersonal sensitivity. The marked elevations in obsessive-compulsive symptomatology and in interpersonal sensitivity may reflect, in part, a sensitization to excessive performance demands that is manifested by anxiety-induced cognitive inefficiencies such as indecisiveness, blocking, or memory impairment and by excess sensitivity to the evaluative opinions of other individuals. In comparing students from the four classes, there was no significant relationship between the year in school and symptom level. In examining sex differences, women reported a significantly higher level of total symptomatology and higher symptom levels on four of the five subscales examined. The largest sex differences were observed in the symptom areas of depression and interpersonal sensitivity.

Life Events and Response to Antidepressants

The present study examined the relationship of life events and response to tricyclic antidepressants among 80 outpatients with unipolar, primary depressions. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either amitriptyline or amoxapine. Events occurring in either the two or 12 months prior to starting treatment (antecedent events) were unrelated to antidepressant response. However, events occurring during the treatment period itself (concurrent events) were significantly related to tricyclic response. Patients evidencing the poorer response reported almost three times as many concurrent events as the more improved patients. A poorer tricyclic response was associated in particular with concurrent events which were undesirable, health related, and perceived as being outside of the patients own control. It was suggested that the continuing occurrence of stressor events probably interferes with treatment efforts and, therefore, it may be important for the therapist to pay careful attention to the ongoing life stresses of the depressed patient.

Life events as predictors of academic performance.

As part of a larger study, information was obtained about the life events which had occurred in the one-and-ten-year periods prior to entrance into a study of 169 students at a large midwestern university. Different methods of calculating life change were utilized, and these measures were correlated with the students subsequent grade point averages over the next three years. Results demonstrated a significant negative association between life change and academic performance for the first-and second-but not for the third-year grades. Further analysis suggested a threshold effect since the detrimental impact of life change appeared evident only after the occurrence of about 12 events in the one-year time period. Life change also was implicated as a factor in severe academic difficulty resulting in the initiation of formal academic sanctions. Specific events which occurred in excess among the poorer performing students also were reported.

Screening for borderline personality disorders with the MMPI-168

Investigated the possible use of the MMPI-168 as a screening instrument for identifying individuals (N = 27) with DSM III diagnosed borderline personality disorder. Using previously reported percentile norms for bright young college graduates as a reference, borderline patients as a group fell above the 98th percentile on the F, Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Psychasthenia and Schizophrenia scales, as well as the general psychopathology scale (PSY). Additionally, the borderline samples mean score on the Paranoia scale was above the 95th percentile, and the mean Social Introversion scale was above the 90th percentile. Almost equally distinguishing was the finding that the mean K scale score for the borderline sample fell as low as the 8th percentile for the normative college sample. These results demonstrate that the MMPI-168 response pattern of borderline patients was clearly distinguishable from the great majority of college graduates.

The Usefulness of Distinguishing between a Defensive and a Nondefensive External Locus of Control.

Abstract The studys purpose was to determine whether a distinction can be made between individuals adopting an external locus of control as a defense and those adopting the orientation because it reflects their life experience. It was hypothesized that the two groups differ in the amount of personal responsibility they accept for task outcomes. Internals and externals were identified and then further designated as high or low in action taking. Among externals, a high action-taking score implied defensiveness. Subjects randomly received either success or failure feedback on a presumed task of interpersonal sensitivity. Defensive externals varied their causal attributions as a function of outcome, whereas nondefensive externals did not ( p

K‐scale correction and percentile norms for MMPI‐168 factor scores

Appropriate K-corrections for MMPI-168 factor scales and for a general psychopathology screening scale (PSY) were derived empirically. Percentile distributions of the K-corrected scales in a large normal sample (N = 1438) were determined, and a percentile profile sheet was constructed to facilitate clinical use (N = 1048). The validity of the K-corrected scales in distinguishing psychiatric patients from normals is examined.

MMPI-168 factor score profiles for major diagnostic groups.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the MMPI-168 factor score profiles for groups of psychiatric patients whose clinical scale score profiles matched prototype patterns for schizophrenia (N = 199), depression (N = 215), and personality disorder (N = 126). The MMPI-168 factor score profiles for a sample of 27 psychiatric outpatients meeting DSM III criteria for borderline personality were also examined. Suggestion of significant psychopathology was attributed to mean factor scores at or above the 90th percentile in a college student normative sample. According to this criterion, the personality disorder group had mean factor score: profile that evidenced significant elevation only on the Somatization factor. The depression group evidenced significant elevation on the Somatization and Depression factors. The borderline personality group evidenced significant elevation on Somatization and Depression, plus marginal elevation on Low Morale and Psychotic Distortion. The schizophrenia group evidenced significant elevation on Somatization, Depression, and Psychotic Distortion. All four diagnostic groups have elevated scores on a new general psychopathology screening scale (PSY). The results suggest that factor score profiles may contribute toward diagnostic interpretation of MMPI-168 records through simple representation of primary dimensions of psychopathology.

RELATIONSHIP OF DIFFERENT MEASURES OF SELF-ESTEEM TO LOCUS OF CONTROL

The relationship of locus of control to two measures of self-esteem was investigated in 84 college students. The Berger and the Cooper-smith measures, which are methodologically different indices of self-esteem, were not consistently related to locus of control. It is suggested that these two scales may be measuring independent and unrelated aspects of self-esteem.