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Biomedical subjects

C P McCreary

Publications and source records attributed to C P McCreary.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

The usefulness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory in the clinical management of patients with temporomandibular disorders.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a useful instrument in the process of evaluating certain patients with chronic orofacial pain. Since the MMPI is time-consuming and difficult for some patients, it is not likely to be useful as a general screening test for psychological factors involved in chronic orofacial pain. It provides valuable information about diagnostic issues such as the degree of emotional distress in patients and it can be helpful in identifying patients who may need additional attention to their psychological problems that are not addressed in the usual dental management. Cultural differences need to be considered in order to make appropriate use of the English language versions in countries outside the United States. In addition, translations of the MMPI are available but must be used with knowledge of the accuracy and applicability of the translated version.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1994

A cognitive-behavioral approach to temporomandibular dysfunction treatment failures: a controlled comparison.

The effects of cognitive-behavioral treatment for patients with temporomandibular disorders were studied by comparing active treatment to a wait-list control condition. Patients were predominantly women and had been referred to the study after having poor response to dental/physical medicine care. Patients' conditions were evaluated pretreatment and posttreatment based on self-report measures of pain, distress, and jaw function problems. They were examined by a dentist who assessed pain-free opening, muscle palpation pain, and tenderness of the temporomandibular joints. The 5-week cognitive-behavioral treatment included relaxation training, self-monitoring of stressors, and cognitive coping strategies. Treatment had its greatest impact on improving mood, especially anxiety; however, there were some effects on the patients' experiences of pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Screening for psychological problems in temporomandibular disorder patients.

Research efforts have been directed to determine whether temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients have psychological problems and whether these factors influence treatment outcome. Because there is no consensus about the best way to quickly assess psychological problems in TMD patients, this study was designed to evaluate a simple method for identifying psychological factors that may need to be addressed as part of a comprehensive treatment program. This method involved having TMD patients systematically rate themselves, using a brief screening questionnaire, for the presence or absence of psychological problems. These ratings were then compared to results from extensive psychological testing. Sensitivity, specificity, and ordinal rank-based association model analyses showed moderate to strong associations between patients' ratings and the corresponding psychometric measures. These results provide evidence that the brief self-ratings of psychological factors utilized in this study may be a useful first step to screening for psychological difficulties in TMD patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Predicting response to treatment for temporomandibular disorders.

This study examined whether pretreatment psychological characteristics of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients were related to the response to treatment in a TMD and facial pain clinic. The care provided to patients was either an evaluation only or an evaluation followed by a course of physical medicine/dental procedures (occlusal appliances, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications). Outcomes were assessed in terms of pain levels, jaw function difficulties, and satisfaction with care at 6 months posttreatment by phone and 16 months posttreatment by mail. There were no pretreatment differences between treated and evaluated patients except for higher pretreatment jaw function difficulty scores in the evaluated only patients. Factor analysis of pretreatment scores revealed distrust, pain, anxiety, and somatization. Somatization predicted follow-up pain levels at both follow-ups in the treated patients but only at the 16-month follow-up in the evaluated only patients. Pretreatment pain levels predicted posttreatment pain in both groups only at the 6-month follow-up. Posttreatment jaw function difficulties were related inconsistently to the pretreatment dimensions, while satisfaction was not predicted by pretreatment scores except for a possible connection between this outcome and distrust. It is concluded that an overconcern about bodily functioning appears to decrease the likelihood that patients obtain pain relief from physical medicine care.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Dentists' ability to detect psychological problems in patients with temporomandibular disorders and chronic pain.

Do patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have significant psychosocial problems? Research efforts have sought to determine if these problems exist, and if so, how they influence treatment outcome. Even when psychosocial factors do influence treatment outcome, identifying them by formal psychological tests can be time consuming and costly. Dentists' impressions of the psychological status of these patients were tested to determine if they are an effective method for screening psychological factors thought to influence treatment outcome. The results suggested that a screening procedure based on dentists' impressions from an initial examination do not adequately identify psychological problems in patients with TMD.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Chronic low back pain: predicting response to nonsurgical treatment.

The effectiveness of several measures in predicting response to conservative treatment for chronic low back pain was studied. The measures included pretreatment demographic variables, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), patient ratings of pain caused by daily activities as measured by the Activities Discomfort Scale (ADS), and physician ratings. The subjects consisted of 135 patients treated at a university hospital back clinic who completed questionnaires six months or more after the initiation of treatment. The only significant predictor of how successful treatment had been in relieving pain was the MMPI hypochondriasis scale. The best predictor of patient-rated average pain intensity at follow-up was the ADS. Physicians' predictions of pain relief and return to normal activities, the ADS and the hypochondriasis scale each was associated significantly with patient ratings of return to normal activities after treatment, and to about the same extent. In general, statistical combinations of pretreatment variables did not increase the power of prediction. The ADS appears to be a promising predictor of patient-rated pain intensity after treatment, and may be useful in identifying poor risk patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1982

Changes in personality among male and female dental graduates.

This study examines changes in personality traits in male and female dental students and recent graduates. The Comrey Personality Scales were administered to two freshman classes, and the test was readministered two months after graduation for one class and twenty-six months after graduation for the other class. Sex. class, and test/retest scores were analyzed using a three-way analysis of variance with repeated measures for each scale. Significant test/retest differences consisted of increases on the Orderliness versus Lack of Compulsion Scale and Conformity versus Rebelliousness Scale and a decrease on the Activity versus Lack of Energy Scale. There were significant sex differences on the Activity versus Lack of Energy, Emotional Stability versus Neuroticism, and Masculinity versus Femininity Scales; a decrease on the Empathy versus Egocentrism Scale occurred among females in one of the classes. Dental students became increasingly more orderly and identified with established social values; they also became less competitive and less driven to excel. The dental school experience may partially explain these changes; however, other conditions, such as maturation and societal influences, may have been involved.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Emotional disturbance and chronic low back pain.

Treated chronic low back pain patients (N = 102) in a university hospital clinic. Ss were given the EPI, the Recent LIfe Changes Questionnaire, and the Locus of Control Scale in order to isolate the principal dimensions of emotional disturbance in such patients and to see whether derived dimensions were related to response to conservative treatment for back pain. Self-report ratings of current pain intensity were obtained approximately 1 year after the start of treatment. Factor analysis revealed five factors: Distrust and alienation, somatic concern, vulnerability, extraversion, and social desirability; these accounted for 71% of the total variance among patients. Patients with above-average pretreatment distrust and alienation scores more frequently failed to return the follow-up form than patients with below-average scores. Low scores on somatic concern were related to good outcome. Results suggest that patients in alienation and distrust may be prone to be poor compliers. Because only the somatic concern dimension predicted outcome, a single scale that measures this characteristic may be sufficient for effective identification of the potential good vs. poor responders to conservative treatment of low back pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Self and peer perception of male and female dental students.

In order to investigate the similarity and differences between male and female dental students, the Bentler inventories, which utilize both self and peer report formats, were administered to first year students at U.C.L.A. Results indicated that male and female dental students are basically similar in terms of a wide range of personality traits both in terms as well as self perceptions. The only differences involved males' describing themselves as more masculine and orderly while females were portrayed by their peers as more feminine and clothes-conscious. In addition, comparison between self and peer report inventories for the same sex revealed few trait differences. Although caution should be made in generalizing these findings beyond the UCLA School of dentistry, the results suggest that it is not appropriate to admit nor exclude male or female students based upon any assumptions that doing so would dramatically change the personality characteristics of dental practitioners. However, more research is needed using a more representative national sample of students.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Comparing personality traits of male and female dental students: a study of two freshman classes.

The marked increase in women enrolled in dental school warrants a reassessment of dental student personality profiles. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to compare personality profiles of two first-year dental classes, (2) to compare male and female dental student profiles to their respective norm populations, and (3) to compare male and female dental student personality traits with each other. The Comrey Personality Scales were administered to two first-year dental classes at the University of California at Los Angeles. Between sex and within sex comparisons were made over ten inventory scales. Results indicated that the collective personality profiles of male and female dental students were markedly similar to each other for both classes. These results do not reflect the differences encountered between the sexes in the norm population. It was also noted that the "average" male dental student differed from the male norms on Orderliness versus Lack of Compulsion, Social Conformity versus Rebelliousness, and Emotional Stability versus Neuroticism. In addition, "average" female dental student differed from the female norms on Masculinity versus Femininity.

Dentists, Women↗
PubMed1976

Trait and type differences among male and female assaultive and nonassaultive offenders.

Trait and type differences, defined by MMPI scale scores and profiles, of offenders arrested for misdemeanor assaultive and nonassaultive offenses were investigated. The subjects were male and female offenders who were found guilty by the courts and sent to a clinic for a dispositional evalution. Only the Ma Scale showed a significant difference between assaultive and nonassaultive male offenders. Assaultive female offenders were lower than nonassaultive females on the Hy and Mf Scales. In addition, the 4-3 MMPI profile had the smallest percentage of assaultive offenses while the 4-8 profile had the largest. The results do not support the existence of a single, clearly defined set of traits or profile type that is involvedin an assaultive offense.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Personality differences among child molesters.

This study compared the MMPI profiles of two groups of child molesters, those with no prior arrests versus those with one or more prior arrests, in order to assess certain clinically derived inferences about these offenders. The sample consisted of 33 persons convicted of child molestation. The group with prior arrests showed more psychopathology than the group with no previous arrests.

Humans↗