Masato Inoue

Coping styles to basic disorders among schizophrenics

Coping efforts to subjectively experienced basic disorders were investigated by self‐report in 60 chronic schizophrenics in Japan, and the relationships to clinical and demographic variables, intelligence, personality, and attitude toward their illness were analyzed. Self‐reports on coping efforts were obtained for more than half of all subjectively experienced basic disorders, and the predominant technique was reported to be the approach oriented towards problem‐solving. Within each coping style, the behavioral change, divertive problem‐solving approach correlated negatively with hospitalization and symptoms, and the struggle, problem‐solving efforts without any effective results correlated positively with symptoms. Suggestions regarding integration of these self‐efforts into psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia are discussed.

Concordance between self‐ and observer‐ratings on Kasahara's Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality

The concordance between self‐ and observer‐ratings was investigated for items on Kasaharas Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality (KIMTP). Subjects consisted of 44 patients diagnosed with an ICD‐10 diagnostic criteria for research (DCR) depressive episode (F32) or recurrent depressive disorder (F33) unipolar affective disorder, and 44 observers. Thirty‐one of the 44 patients were diagnosed with endogenous depression. The observers consisted of five parents, eight children, thre siblings, 25 spouses, and three partners. Concordance was tested with Students paired t‐test and one‐way analysis of variance intraclass correlation coefficient (ANOVA ICC). There was no statistical difference between the mean total self‐rating score and the mean total observer‐rating score in the endogenous depression group, but the mean total self‐rating score was significantly higher than the mean total observer‐rating score in the non‐endogenous depression group. When the self and observer tests in this non‐endogenous depression group were compared on an item‐by‐item basis, most items tended to receive higher scores from the self‐raters than from the observer‐raters. The ICC had good concordance for mean total self‐ and observer‐ratings in the endogenous depression group but not the non‐endogenous depression group. On an item‐by‐item basis, concordance was high between self‐ and observer‐raters for more items in the endogenous depression group than in the non‐endogenous depression group. There were some important differences between self‐ and observer‐ratings for certain items in the non‐endogenous depression group. Patients in this group tended to give higher scores to items representing Typus melancholicus in relation to scores given by observers.

Subjective symptoms among female workers and winter working conditions in a consumer cooperative.

Subjective Symptoms among Female Workers and Winter Working Conditions in a Consumer Cooperative: Ryoichi Inaba, et al. Deparatment of Occupational Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University—Subjective musculoskeletal symptoms are more frequently complained about in cold store work and in related conditions than in normal temperature work. This cross sectional study was undertaken (a) to explore the prevalence of subjective symptoms in winter among a group of female workers engaged in classification of cold storage goods, and in a group of female checkers in several supermarkets of a large consumer cooperative; and (b) to give recommendations for improving the winter working conditions of these workers. The subjects consisted of 46 workers engaged in classification of cold storage goods, 56 checkers operating a laser scanner in supermarkets and 59 office workers (control group). Work loads for the three groups were estimated according to the recommended criteria. A self‐administered questionnaire covering age, occupational career, smoking, alcohol drinking and physical exercise, present or past history of diseases, individual protective measures against cold, and subjective symptoms (54 items) was used. The air temperature of the working site at the opening time for classification workers was 4.8° C which was significantly lower than those measured for the other two work places (12.1°C and 15.8°C). About 70 to 80% of classification workers complained of cold sensation in different body regions, as well as shoulder stiffness, and problems related to the back. The supermarket checkers and office workers had a high prevalence of cold sensation in their feet. The frequencies of using warm clothes and foot heaters, as an individual measure to work comfortably in winter among the classification workers and the checkers were significantly higher than that among the office workers. We concluded that work difficulty due to moderate cold exposure among workers in the consumer cooperative could be reduced by some physical activity as well as proper clothes.

Mental health problems after stroke

We investigated the mental health of 47 subjects (30 men, mean age 63.8 ± 7.7; 17 women, mean age 68.9 ± 8.7) with the 60‐item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). All the subjects lived at home in a Japanese rural community and were examined from 2 to 3 years after suffering a stroke. Among the subjects, 18 (38.3%) had GHQ scores of 17 or more, which indicated a mental health problem (MHP). The following variables were included in multiple logistic regression analysis: age, sex (men/women), grade of motor paralysis (no/slight/moderate/severe), side of motor paralysis (no/left side/right side/both sides: in analysis, we used dummy variables), paresthesia (no/yes), rehabilitation (need no rehabilitation or participate in rehabilitation/fail to participate in rehabilitation), social support (not needed or sufficient/insufficient) and overall physical recovery (1/2/3: 1 = 67–100, 2 = 34–66, and 3 = 0–33 on a visual analog scale 100 mm long, 100 meaning full recovery). In univariate analysis all variables except age and sex showed statistically significant associations with MHP. In multivariate analysis, only one variable, ‘overall physical recovery’, had a statistically independent association with the status of MHP (Odds ratio 4.39, 95% confidence interval 1.46–13.19). The results of logistic regression analysis indicate that the presence of an MHP is more strongly dependent upon subjective assessment about overall physical recovery after stroke than upon physical impairments and the other psychosocial variables. Therefore, in the community setting, the visual analog scale of overall physical recovery is considered to be a simple, valid method for assessing MHP following stroke.

Dimension of Typus melancholicus on Kasahara’s Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality

Background: Traditionally, Typus melancholicus (TM) was considered, a priori, to represent unidimensionality. Recent studies have suggested that TM is not a personality trait, but rather a constellation of personality traits. The purpose of this study was to examine whether TM on Kasahara’s Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality (KIMTP), considered to represent one of the valid TM questionnaires, is comprised of personality dimensions, and if so, which dimension is essential for distinguishing depressive subjects from control subjects. Subjects and Methods: To clarify the dimensionality of TM scores on KIMTP, factor analysis of the TM scores was conducted using principal factor analysis followed by varimax rotation. Comparisons were then made between endogenous depressive patients (n = 38), nonendogenous depressive patients (n = 20), and healthy volunteers (n = 81) for total KIMTP score and factor scores using analysis of covariance, adjusting for sex and age. Results: Factor analysis of KIMTP revealed 2 distinct clusters of items, i.e. ‘harmony in personal relationships’ (factor 1) and ‘social norms’ (factor 2). Endogenous and nonendogenous depressive patients showed significantly higher KIMTP total and factor 1 scores than did control subjects. However, no significant differences were observed for KIMTP total score and scores of individual factors between endogenous and nonendogenous depressive patients. Conclusions: The present results indicate that TM on KIMTP represents a constellation of personality traits, and that the factor ‘harmony in personal relationship’ possesses the essential meaning for assessing TM.

Prevalence of typus melancholicus in healthy germans.

Background: There have been few studies concerning the prevalence of Typus melancholicus (TM) in healthy volunteers based on age or sex. To our knowledge, no such studies have been performed in healthy Germans, but several in healthy Japanese people. Therefore, it is necessary to also determine the prevalence of TM in healthy Germans, in order to know whether the prevalence of TM is cross-culturally constant. Subjects and Methods: We examined the prevalence of TM in 121 healthy German volunteers (62 men and 59 women with a mean age ± SD of 43.9 ± 16.8 years and 47.4 ± 15.9 years, respectively). Kasahara’s Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality (KIMTP) and von Zerssen’s F-List (F-List) were used to identify TM. The subjects were divided by age into three groups: those aged 40 years or less (group A), those aged 41–60 years (group B), and those aged 61 years or more (group C). Mean total KIMTP and F-List scores were calculated. In addition, we also calculated mean scores of the two KIMTP TM factors [‘harmony in personal relationships’ (factor 1) and ‘social norms’ (factor 2)]. Differences in scores between men and women were analyzed by Student’s t test. Differences in scores between the three age groups were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance and Scheffé’s test. Results: The KIMTP and F-List scores increased with age in both men and women. In the women, the KIMTP and F-List scores were significantly higher in groups B and C than in group A. In the women, the group C KIMTP factor 1 score was significantly higher than the group A KIMTP factor 1 score. The KIMTP and F-List scores tended to be higher for the women than for the men. Within groups B and C, the KIMTP and F-List scores and the KIMTP factor 1 score were significantly higher for the women than for the men. Conclusion: Overall, the sex and age distributions of scores for both questionnaires were similar to those obtained in previous studies in Japanese people. It is of note that our German subjects and previous Japanese subjects were not demographically controlled and, clearly, cultural backgrounds differed. Thus, KIMTP and the F-List may discriminate the TM personality with some degree of universality despite cultural differences and might be useful in cross-cultural comparisons of TM.

Reliability and validity of Kasahara's scale of melancholic type of personality (Typus melancholicus) in a German sample population

Abstract We explored the reliability and validity of Kasaharas scale of melancholic type of personality (KMT) in a German sample population. Subjects comprised 66 patients diagnosed with an affective disorder (F3, ICD‐10) and 94 controls. Concerning reliability, KMT scores showed internal consistency with Cronbachs alpha coefficients of 0.65 for patients and 0.67 for controls. The KMT items, except for number 13 in controls, showed significant item–total correlations. In a test–retest procedure, the KMT total score and individual item scores were statistically similar and correlated. These results indicate reliability of the KMT. Concerning validity, KMT scores were significantly higher in patients than in controls. By controlling the effects of age and sex, partial correlation coefficients in a comparison of KMT and Zerssens F‐List (F‐List) scores were 0.40 in patients and 0.53 in controls. These results show both the constructive and concurrent validity of the KMT. Sufficient reliability and validity of the KMT were shown in this German sample population to encourage cross‐cultural investigation of Typus melancholicus.

Stress Management among Hospital Nurses Application to Nurses of Stress & Stress-Coping Scale (SSCQ)

看護職のストレスマネジメントに関する研究― ストレス・ストレスコーピング尺度（SSCQ）の看護職への適用―：足立はるゑほか．藤田保健衛生大学衛生学部―本研究の目的はストレス・ストレスコーピング尺度（SSCQ）の看護職集団への適用を検討することである．対象は病院で働く看護職300名．方法は自記式質問紙による調査．併せて尺度の妥当性をみるためにGHQ 60項目版（精神健康調査票）も使用した．対象の平均年齢は32.9±8.9歳，平均経験年数11.9±8.0年であり，全て女性であった．因子分析の結果，SSCQの原版10下位尺度153問から15下位尺度123項目の看護職用SSCQが作成された（SSCQ-N版）．尺度の信頼性を示す各下位尺度のクロンバックa係数は0.70～0.83であった．妥当性については既存のGHQ得点との有意な関連が示され（p＜0.05）尺度の基準関連妥当性が確認された．以上より，本尺度は，女性看護職集団への精神健康測定とストレス対処指導に有用であることが検証された．（産衛誌2005; 47: 1-10）