Ralph J. McGuire

Emotional impact of diagnosis and early treatment of lymphomas

Psychiatric morbidity, relevant symptoms and satisfaction with communication were assessed in patients suffering from malignant lymphoma. Before treatment started 15 of 40 patients had clinically significant psychiatric morbidity. Treatment, in its early stages, was not associated with a significant change in mean psychiatric morbidity scores but there was a decrease in ratings of concern about illness and an increase in ratings of nausea. Eleven of 31 patients seen for a second interview reported dissatisfaction with some aspect of communication with the medical staff. The findings suggest that emotional distress can be contained with a policy of frank communication; nevertheless dissatisfaction is common, being associated with initial less concern, good general health and neurotic personality traits. Personality assessment should be incorporated in future studies of doctor-patient communication.

Electrode placement, EMG feedback, and relaxation for tension headaches

Abstract Fifteen tension headache subjects were allocated to one of three groups: direct EMG feedback (from a site corresponding to the source of pain), indirect EMG feedback (from a site not corresponding to the source of the pain) and relaxation instructions. There were two base-line, six treatment and one post-treatment sessions. No significant differences were found between base-line and post-treatment EMG levels, for any of the groups; however, some significant reductions in levels were obtained within sessions. EMG levels recorded during headache attacks did not differ significantly from levels recorded during base-line. Frequency and intensity of headaches were significantly reduced, particularly in the relaxation group. At follow-up this improvement was maintained for subjects with forehead pain, but differences between the groups had disappeared.

Are Interim Care Orders Necessary to Improve School Attendance in Truants Taken to Juvenile Court

Abstract Seventy‐eight children were randomly assigned to an ‘interim care order’ (N = 42) procedure or a ‘repeated adjournments’ (N = 36) procedure. Within each group, children were randomly allocated to an ‘interview’ or ‘non‐interview’ condition. Two outcome measures, level of school attendance and criminal offending, were used to evaluate the two procedures and the effect of interviewing. Interim care orders were found to be no more effective than repeated adjournments in improving school attendance or in reducing the number of criminal offences committed subsequently. However, a general decline in criminal offending, following the start of court adjournments was noted in both groups. Interviewing of parents had no significant effect in improving the school attendance of their children either independently or in interaction with the experimental procedures.

Minor Psychiatric Illness in Mothers of Young Children

A survey of minor psychiatric illness in women with young children was carried out in Harrogate, a non-industrial town in the North of England. They were patients of one group practice composed of three family practitioners with 2,000 patients each. Previous surveys have mostly involved industrial and socially disadvantaged areas in Britain and a high prevalence of minor psychiatric illness has been found linked to poor living conditions and having a large number of children (Brown and Harris 1978, Goldberg and Huxley 1980). In our survey it was considered important to look at age of mother, number and spacing of her children, social factors, interpersonal difficulties, life events and contact with medical services. Disturbance of the children was also studied. Harrogate is a reasonably affluent part of the country where severe social problems are rare.