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Biomedical subjects

I Pilowsky

Publications and source records attributed to I Pilowsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Further validation of a questionnaire method for classifying depressive illness.

A total of 367 patients admitted to a psychiatric facility completed the LPD questionnaire. By application a decision rule to their responses, they were classified as 'non-endogenous depression', 'endogenous depression' and 'non-depressive syndrome'. This classification was found to be associated significantly with their categorization on the basis of clinical diagnosis. The findings suggest that this method of classification on the basis of responses to the LPD may have a useful research and clinical role.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The diagnostic utility index.

A method for quantifying the value placed on diagnostic accuracy is described. Named the Diagnostic Utility Index (DUI), it was completed by fifty subjects (including pathologists, physicians and medical students). Analysis of the responses reveals that attitudes to diagnostic perfectionism differ from one disease to another. It is suggested that the DUI may be useful in the clarifying of subjective factors which influence medical attitudes to the diagnosis and investigation of disease.

Attitude↗
PubMed1979

Personality and depressive illness.

This paper reports an investigation into the relationship between personality (as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire) and depressive illness type, as determined by responses to the Levine-Pilowsky Depression Questionnaire. When the effects of age and depressive severity are accounted for, a significant difference emerges between "endogenous" and "non-endogenous" depressive states in that the former are associated with a lower score on Factor E, indicating a more submissive, dependent personality. The possible implications of this finding are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Pain as abnormal illness behaviour.

In this article, the concept of abnormal illness behaviour is described, and chronic pain syndromes which represent variants of such behaviour are reviewed. Research using the Illness Behaviour Questionnaire has helped to elucidate aspects of chronic pain states, especially where a discrepancy exists between the patient's illness behaviour and the objectively assessed somatic pathology. Some comments are offered concerning the management of patients showing abnormal illness behaviour.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1977

Pain, depression, and illness behavior in a pain clinic population.

The relationship between depression, illness behavior and persistent pain was studied in 100 patients referred to the University of Washington Hospital Pain Clinic. The instruments used were the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) and the Levine-Pilowsky Depression Questionnaire (LPD). To delineate those aspects of illness behavior characteristic of the Pain Clinic group, their scores were compared to those attained on the IBQ by a Family Medicine Clinic sample. The Pain Clinic group showed greater conviction of disease and somatic preoccupation than the comparison group. Further, they were reluctant to consider their health problems in psychologic terms, and denied current life problems. The Pain Clinic group's performance on the LPD indicated a low degree of depressive affect overall and few patients manifesting a depressive syndrome. The association between IBQ and depression scores suggests that the predominant clinical pattern presented by pain clinic patients is best characterized as a form of "abnormal illness behavior".

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1977

Ethnicity and illness behaviour.

The 52-item Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ) was administered to 134 general practice patients of Greek, Anglo-Greek, and Anglo-Saxon origin. Responses were scored on 7 dimensions of illness behaviour labelled general hypochondriasis, disease conviction, psychological versus somatic perception of illness, affective inhibition, affective disturbance, denial and irritability. Results of a three-way analysis of variance (ethnicity, age and sex) indicated that Greek patients were significantly more likely to differ from Their Anglo-Saxon counterparts on the initial 3 IBQ scales. Compared with the Anglo-Saxon group, the Greek sample showed greater hypochrondriacal concern, were more likely to manifest conviction as to the presence of serious physical disease, and took a more somatic view of illness. Anglo-Greek patients varied from one scale to another in the degree to which their responses resembled the pattern of illness behaviour reported by Greek patients. They were most similar to the latter in their hypochondriacal attitude, and least similar in their psychological perception of illness. Although the IBQ responses to the Greek sample were consistent with patterns described in other studies of Mediterranean cultural groups, it was found that relationships observed between ethnicity and illness behaviour were to some extent dependent upon age and sex.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Altruism and the practice of medicine.

Biological and psychological research into the antecedents of altruism has considerable significance for those involved in the teaching or practice of medicine. The evidence available indicates that altruistic behaviour is a universal phenomenon influenced by intra-individual, interpersonal, situational and sociocultural factors. A central theme which emerges is the strikingly ambivalent nature of the altruistic drive. The factors which may facilitate or inhibit altruism in medical students and doctors are discussed. Some ways of ensuring that medical training does not seriously distort altruism are suggested.

Achievement↗
PubMed1976

Illness behaviour syndromes associated with intractable pain.

One hundred patients, referred for the management of intractable pain, completed a 52-item Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ). Responses were scored on 7 scales: general hypochondriasis, disease conviction, psychological versus somatic perception of illness, affective inhibition, affective disturbance, denial, and irritability. IBQ scale profiles were subjected to numerical analysis and 6 taxonomic clusters were identified. Patients in groups 1-3 were characterized by a relatively non-neurotic, reality-oriented attitude to illness, as indicated by low scores on the first three scales. Patients in groups 4-6 manifested greater evidence of 'abnormal illness behaviour', and presented syndromes resembling 'hysteria', 'conversion reaction', and 'hypothchondriasis' respectively.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Assessment of insight change in medical student doing psychiatry.

The development of 'insight' in medical students is considered a fundamental component of psychiatric undergraduate education. The use of an insight test at the beginning and end of a 6 week teaching programme in clinical psychiatry showed a significant increase in insight as measured by this test. There was also a significant correlation between the final insight score and the results of a traditional oral examination.

Australia↗