Christa Zimmermann-Tansella

Social factors associated with the use of psychotropic drugs: Alcohol abuse and minor psychiatric morbidity in the community

ABSTRACT— The association of socio‐demographic factors and life events with psychotropic drug consumption, alcohol abuse and minor psychiatric morbidity was investigated in a representative community sample of 181 respondents. The statistical model used was a logistic multiple regression analysis. Psychotropic drug use was best predicted by family size and employment status; alcohol abuse by sex, family size and “exit” events; and minor psychiatric morbidity by sex, marital status and undesirable life events.

A community survey of psychotropic drug consumption in South Verona: prevalence and associated variables

SummaryA cross-sectional community survey was undertaken to investigate the pattern of psychotropic drug consumption in 453 community residents of South Verona. Overall, 15.0% of the subjects were taking psychotropics (benzodiazepines 13.5%, antidepressants 2.2%, neuroleptics 1.1%). Prevalence was higher in females (20.0%), in those over 45 years (25%), in high General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) scorers (26.2%), and in subjects with physical ill-health (27.0%), with social problems (20.0%), with distressing events (22.0%) and with alcohol abuse (32.3%). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, sex, GHQ score, physical ill-health and life events were all significantly and independently associated with psychotropic drug consumption.

Geographical variation in the seasonality of suicide

This paper reports the results of a study on the seasonal variation of suicides occurred in Italy during the years 1969-1981. We found evidence for a cyclical pattern with one cycle per year for North/Central as well as for South Italy with no difference between the two parts in the variance explained by it. However, urban regions showed a higher seasonality than the rural parts of Italy, independently of their geographical location. To account for these findings, the hypothesis of a strong seasonal related urban rhythm has been put forward.

The demand for extramural psychiatric intervention in a community-based service

SummaryUsing a psychiatric case register, patients who had extramural contacts with the South-Verona Community Psychiatric Service in 1983 (N = 549) were selected for this study and followed-up for 3 years, from the date of their first 1983 contact. Out of the total number of extramural contacts made in 3 years (N=12429) 16% were unplanned (drop-in) contacts. A linear-logistic model was used to investigate the joint effects of sociodemographic and clinical variables on the frequency of unplanned extramural contacts. The model to fit the data was complex, confirming that many interactions among the variables considered in the study significantly affect the probability of using the community services on an urgent or unplanned basis.

Family factors associated with the use of psychotropic drugs, alcohol abuse, and minor psychiatric morbidity in the community

The association of family health and family structure factors with psychotropic drug consumption, alcohol abuse, and minor psychiatric morbidity was investigated in a representative community sample of 151 respondents by means of a logistic multiple regression analysis. A General Health Questionnaire GHQ score of 5 or above was best predicted by undesirable events, sex, the number of generations, marital status, and the number of family members with a high GHQ score. Psychotropic drug consumption was best predicted by the number of family members with distress manifestations, while alcohol abuse in men was predicted best by events of the exit type.

Marital relationships and somatic and psychological symptoms in pregnancy

The relevance of marital relationships to somatic and psychological symptoms in late pregnancy was examined. Fifty-four primiparae at the 7th month of pregnancy completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Ryle Marital Patterns Test (RMPT), which was also completed by their husbands. Multiple regression analyses identified the husbands ratings of nurturance behaviour as the best predictors of somatic and social dysfunction symptoms in late pregnancy. Higher perception of care by the husband was associated with a higher number of symptoms in wives. A high level of exchanged affection reported by wives is associated with lower levels of symptoms of anxiety and insomnia. The implication of these findings is discussed.

Psychological Performance of Normal Subjects on Tasks Commonly Used in Evaluation of Anxiolytic Drugs

A battery of performance tasks together with some personality inventories commonly used in drug evaluation studies were administered to 60 normal subjects to study the intercorrelations among measures and to gain some preliminary indications of their factor structure. Speed of psychomotor performance accounted for 30% of the total variance.

The Ryle Marital Patterns Test as a predictor of symptoms of anxiety and depression in couples in the community

SummaryThe associations between marital relationships, as measured by the Ryle Marital Patterns Test, and symptoms of anxiety and depression as measured by the Interval General Health Questionnaire (I-GHQ), were assessed in 98 married couples in the community. Logistic regression analyses showed that symptoms of anxiety and depression in wives were best predicted by low ratings of affection exchange. Occupational class interacted with husbands affection ratings, suggesting that in the non manual class only lower affection ratings were significantly associated with more symptoms. Anxiety in men was best predicted by low affection ratings while depression was best predicted by unemployment, by an affection discrepancy score indicating that more affection is given than received, and by a marriage which was rated as relatively more wife-dominated by wives and as relatively more husband-dominated by husbands.

The Perception of Social Problems By Husbands and Wives in the Community

The Social Problem Questionnaire (SPQ) was completed by 132 Italian married couples who were part of a stratified community sample of 207 families. Agreement between husbands and wives on problems in housing, finance, marriage, family and social relationships was assessed by product moment correlation coefficients, weighted kappas, specific agreement indices and three way analysis of variance. The results showed that couples agreed well on the absence but not on the presence of social problems. Although husbands and wives ratings on the severity of pro blems correlated significantly, wives consistently tended to give higher ratings than their husbands. The implications of these results for social research and community surveys are briefly discussed.

Anxiety and Depression in 100 Female Geriatric Inpatients

50 anxious and 50 depressed female geriatric inpatients aged 70 and above were assessed with a semistructured interview focusing on the patient’s experience of her illness and hospital admission and o