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Biomedical subjects

H J Eysenck

Publications and source records attributed to H J Eysenck.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Interaction of psychosocial and physical risk factors in the causation of mammary cancer, and its prevention through psychological methods of treatment.

Some 8059 healthy women (mean age 58 years) were studied in 1973 with the aim of establishing the presence or absence of a variety of physical and psychological risk factors for mammary cancer. Mortality was established in 1988. factor predictors were highly significant. Physical risk factors were more predictive than psychological ones, but both interacted synergistically to predict mortality. Alone, psychological (stress) factors had little effect, while-physical factors did. However, psychological factors seemed to potentiate the effect of physical factors, particularly in the middle range. The causal relevance of psychological factors was established in a special intervention study using autonomy training as a method of prophylactic therapy and comparing outcome with the effects of no therapy (control).

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Method of test administration as a factor in test validity: the use of a personality questionnaire in the prediction of cancer and coronary heart disease.

This study examines the predictive accuracy of four different methods of administration of a questionnaire designed to predict cancer and coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy probands. The method of administration uses the establishment of trust and the explanation of questions as variables in all four possible combinations, i.e. trust and explanation, trust only, explanation only, and neither, the prediction being that the combination of trust and explanation would produce the most accurate prediction, the treatment using neither the worst prediction, with methods using either trust alone or explanation alone intermediate. The criterion was the successful prediction of cancer and CHD. A total population of 3563 men and women was used, and followed up over 15 years, death certificates being used to establish cause of death. As predicted, the combination of trust and explanation did best, use of neither worst. Explanation seemed more important than trust, and the combination seemed to have a synergistic effect. It is apparent that method of administration had an important effect on the outcome of the experiment.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Meta-analysis of best-evidence synthesis?

This article examines the usefulness of meta-analysis, and articulates many of the criticisms that have been made of its workings. An attempt is made to outline the precautions that have to be taken before a scientifically useful and meaningful meta-analysis can be carried out. The problems encountered include heterogeneity of samples, conditions, interventions and end-points; narrow focus; curvilinearity of regression; lack of independence of determinants; synergistic interactions; contradictory experimental results. It is suggested that best-evidence synthesis, or theory-directed analysis, might be a safer option.

Bias↗
PubMed1995

Alcohol consumption and health: synergistic interaction with personality.

In this study, 6,386 males and 5,990 females, with a mean age of 55 years, constituting a random sample, were administered questionnaires by interviewers relating to amount of self-regulation and drinking status. They were then followed up over a 20-yr. period, and health status (living well, chronically ill, or deceased) was ascertained. It was hypothesized that the deleterious effect of alcohol would be worse for those low on self-regulation; that health status would be worse for those in whom drinking diminished self-regulation, as compared with those for whom drinking improved self-regulation; and that smoking would have greater effects in lowering health status in those in whom drinking diminished self-regulation than in those in whom drinking improved self-regulation. All predictions were borne out by the data at high statistical significance. The results confirmed findings from an earlier study to the effect that psychological factors like self-regulation powerfully influence the kind of effects drinking has with respect to health.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Does smoking really kill anybody?

Statements that so many people are killed by smoking use the term "kill" in a very unusual manner which is easily misunderstood by people not expert in epidemiology. In addition, the usual calculations leave out of account the fact that smoking interacts synergistically with other risk factors, so that it is a combination of risk factors rather than any specific one that is likely to have a causal influence on mortality. Strictly speaking it is quite inappropriate to state that smoking kills anybody, if we use the term "kill" in a meaningful fashion.

Causality↗
PubMed1994

Meta-analysis and its problems.

Including all relevant material--good, bad, and indifferent--in meta-analysis admits the subjective judgments that meta-analysis was designed to avoid. Several problems arise in meta-analysis: regressions are often non-linear; effects are often multivariate rather than univariate; coverage can be restricted; bad studies may be included; the data summarised may not be homogeneous; grouping different causal factors may lead to meaningless estimates of effects; and the theory-directed approach may obscure discrepancies. Meta-analysis may not be the one best method for studying the diversity of fields for which it has been used.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1994

The outcome problem in psychotherapy: what have we learned?

The outcome problem in psychotherapy has usually been studied without much regard to the theories underlying the methods used. It is suggested that theories are vital to scientific advancement, and that without them we cannot even specify criteria to judge outcomes. Numerous studies since the 1950s have in essence failed to disconfirm the view that various forms of psychotherapy do not show greater effectiveness than spontaneous remission or placebo treatment. An effort is made to clarify the nature of spontaneous remission and placebo treatment, and to discuss the consequences of the many empirical findings and meta-analyses published over the past 50 years. A theory is suggested linking spontaneous remission, placebo treatment, psychotherapy and behaviour therapy, leading to a discussion of ethical considerations and cost-effectiveness issues.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1993

Personality and the Barron-Welsh Art Scale.

For 62 students scores on the Baron-Welsh Art Scale, a measure of creativity, were correlated with scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. As predicted, psychoticism correlated positively with Art Scale scores, while extraversion and neuroticism did not.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Prediction of cancer and coronary heart disease mortality by means of a personality inventory: results of a 15-year follow-up study.

This paper reports on the 1982-1986 follow-up of two samples of healthy persons first studied in 1972 and followed up in 1982 when mortality and cause of death were established (N = 2,146). Both were related to stress and personality type according to clearly elaborated theories, and results were very much in accordance with theory. The second follow-up was instigated to answer criticisms of the first study and to test whether results would still support the theories involved. The data support the previous results strongly and show that psychosocial data can predict with considerable accuracy mortality and cause of death over 14 years ahead.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

The nature of schizotypy.

The matrix of intercorrelations between scales of schizotypy presented by Kendler and Hewitt in 1992 was reanalyzed, and results rather different from those reported by the original authors were found. The new structure shows good agreement with the theory of personality disorder published by Eysenck in 1987. In all, the different scales seem to fall into three groups or factors, identified as Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), and Psychoticism (P). It is doubtful if there is a common element left over once these three groups have been eliminated.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1993

Prediction of cancer and coronary heart disease as a function of method of questionnaire administration.

We have tested the hypothesis in this study that different methods of administering a questionnaire produce differential approximations to truthful admission of undesirable personality traits and behaviours. Four different methods of administration produced different levels of trust and understanding, using the current prediction among healthy subjects of death by cancer or coronary heart disease 13 years later as the criterion. There were significant differences in the accuracy of the predictions, depending crucially on the method of administration of the questionnaires. Best predictions were achieved for subjects when both trust and understanding had been increased by interviewers' suitable participation; worst results were achieved for subjects when no special effort was made to increase either. Intermediate results were found for procedures which increased either trust or understanding. It is argued that the success or failure of studies investigating the influence of personality and stress on diseases like cancer and coronary heart disease may depend crucially on the adopted method of interrogation.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1991

Creative novation behaviour therapy as a prophylactic treatment for cancer and coronary heart disease: Part I--Description of treatment.

This paper describes a novel method of behaviour therapy applied to cancer-prone and coronary heart disease-prone patients in a prophylactic manner, to reduce the probability of their dying of cancer or coronary heart disease. The treatment can also be applied to patients already suffering from cancer in order to prolong their lives. The methods used are described in considerable detail, together with the rationale leading to their adoption. In Part II of this paper are the results of several studies showing that the methods are surprisingly successful in preventing death in cancer-prone and coronary heart disease-prone probands, and prolonging life in patients already suffering from terminal disease.

Adult↗