Steven Schlosser

Compulsive buying. Demography, phenomenology, and comorbidity in 46 subjects.

Compulsive buying has been generally ignored in the psychiatric literature, although it is apparently frequent, underrecognized, and can lead to severe financial and legal consequences for its sufferers. The current investigation was designed to assess the overall life-style and problems of subjects identified as compulsive shoppers. Forty-six compulsive buyers were assessed for comorbid psychiatric disorders with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, the Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders, and a semistructured interview to assess buying behavior. The typical shopper was a 31-year-old female who had developed compulsive buying at age 18 years. Subjects spent their money on clothing, shoes, and records/compact discs. The average debt load accrued was

Relationship of Child Psychopathology to Parental Alcoholism and Antisocial Personality Disorder

5,422 out of an average yearly income of

The Demography, Phenomenology, and Family History of 22 Persons with Compulsive Hair Pulling

23,443. More than two-thirds met lifetime criteria for a major (Axis I) mental disorder, most commonly anxiety, substance abuse, and mood disorders. Nearly 60% were found to meet criteria for a DSM-III-R personality disorder, most commonly the obsessive-compulsive, borderline, and avoidant types. The authors conclude that compulsive buying is a definable clinical syndrome which can cause its sufferers significant distress and is associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity.

Psychiatric illness in the first-degree relatives of persons reporting multiple chemical sensitivities:

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the contributions of familial factors, including parental diagnoses of alcoholism and/or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), to the risk of developing various child psychiatric diagnoses. METHOD Four hundred sixty-three children and their biological parents were interviewed with adult and child versions of the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism. Demographic and psychiatric data were compared across 3 groups of children on the basis of the presence of parental alcoholism and ASPD (no other parental diagnoses were examined). Generalized estimating equations analyses allowed the inclusion of multiple children from each family in the analyses. RESULTS Among offspring, parental alcoholism was associated with increased risks for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder (CD), and overanxious disorder. Parental alcoholism plus ASPD was associated with increased risk for oppositional defiant disorder. Dysfunctional parenting style was associated with increased risks for CD, alcohol abuse, and marijuana abuse. Low family socioeconomic status was associated with increased risk for CD. CONCLUSIONS Parental diagnoses of alcoholism and ASPD were associated with increased risks for a variety of childhood psychiatric disorders, and dysfunctional parenting style was associated with the diagnoses of CD, alcohol abuse, and marijuana abuse.

The Iowa Follow-up of Chemically Sensitive Persons

This study reports on the demographics, phenomenology, and family history of 22 compulsive hair pullers. Subjects were recruited through a psychiatric outpatient clinic as well as newspaper advertisements. Subjects completed a semistructured interview focused on hair-pulling behavior and demographics, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule to assess major (Axis I) mental disorders, and the Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders to assess Axis II disorders. The typical subject was a 33-year-old woman who had completed 1 or more years of college and had been pulling her hair for 19 years. Nearly two-thirds met the criteria for a major mental disorder (particularly anxiety and mood disorders), and more than one-half met the criteria for a personality disorder. Nearly three-quarters of first-degree relatives were reported to have a psychiatric disorder, and about 5% were reported to be hair pullers.

Characteristics of 36 subjects reporting compulsive sexual behavior.

The multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) syndrome is characterized by unexplained physical and psychiatric complaints attributed by patients and some of their physicians to low-level chemical exposures. In this study, we interviewed 15 subjects with MCS and 21 controls about their first-degree relatives using the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria (FH-RDC). Subjects with MCS were more likely than controls to report their relatives to have major depression, alcoholism, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. They were also likely to have past suicide attempts, and to have received some form of psychiatric treatment (hospitalization, medication or electroconvulsive therapy, or counseling). Nearly 30% of the relatives of subjects with MCS were reported to have MCS themselves. Possible reasons for the findings are discussed.

Clinical features, psychiatric comorbidity, and health-related quality of life in persons reporting compulsive computer use behavior.

Abstract: Clinical symptoms and self‐reported health status in persons reporting multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) are presented from a 9‐year follow‐up study. Eighteen (69%) subjects from a sample of 26 persons originally interviewed in 1988 were followed up in 1997 and given structured interviews and self‐report questionnaires. In terms of psychiatric diagnosis, 15 (83%) met DSM‐IV criteria for a lifetime mood disorder, 10 (56%) for a lifetime anxiety disorder, and 10 (56%) for a lifetime somatoform disorder. Seven (39%) of subjects met criteria for a personality disorder using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire‐IV. Self‐report data from the Illness Behavior Questionnaire and Symptom Checklist‐90‐Revised show little change from 1988. The 10 most frequent complaints attributed to MCS were headache, memory loss, forgetfulness, sore throat, joint aches, trouble thinking, shortness of breath, back pain, muscle aches, and nausea. Global assessment showed that 2 (11%) had “remitted”, 8 (45%) were “much” or “very much” improved, 6 (33%) were “improved”, and 2 (11%) were “unchanged/worse”. Mean scores on the SF‐36 health survey showed that, compared to U.S. population means, subjects reported worse physical functioning, more bodily pain, worse general health, worse social functioning, and more emotional‐role impairment; self‐reported mental health was better than the U.S. population mean. All subjects maintained a belief that they had MCS; 16 (89%) acknowledged that the diagnosis was controversial. It is concluded that the subjects remain strongly committed to their diagnosis of MCS. Most have improved since their original interview, but many remain symptomatic and continue to report ongoing lifestyle changes.