The prevalence of alexithymia in 46 inpatients with alcohol abuse or dependence was 67.4%. Pretreatment characteristics predicting outcome at 15 months were determined. At the 15-month time point, 67.4% of patients met criteria for abuse or alcohol dependence and 32.6% were abstinent. In patients who relapsed, the total score for the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the score for the TAS-20-feelings factor were significantly higher than in subjects who were abstinent, even when depressive symptoms were taken into account. Stepwise multiple linear regression showed that the TAS-20-feelings factor significantly predicted abstinence. The results may suggest that alexithymia predicted poor outcome in alcoholic inpatients.

Adult↗

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Parasuicide, anhedonia, and depression.

Previous research has shown that anhedonia characterizes suicide attempters. The present study aimed to replicate this finding using the level of depression as a control. Seventy-three depressed parasuicides, 30 nondepressed parasuicides, and 104 matched controls were assessed on the Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS). Consistent with previous studies, depressed parasuicides were significantly more anhedonic than controls, but nondepressed parasuicides were not significantly more anhedonic than controls. Moreover, multiple linear regression analysis showed that the PAS score explained a negligible part of the variance in the distinction between parasuicides and controls. Anhedonia in parasuicides constitutes a depressive feature and not a temperamental trait.

Adult↗

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[Locus of control in alcoholics: comparative study of 64 alcoholics vs 50 hospitalized patients and 50 normal controls].

The locus of control is a construct that consists of factors that influence and contribute to a person's belief concerning the extent and degree to which he or others can influence life events. The study had four purposes. They were to examine differences between psychiatric inpatients alcoholics and non alcoholics on the internal, chance and powerful others subscales of the French version of Levenson's scale, to evaluate differences on these scores between the alcoholics who accepted the alcohol program treatment proposed at the admission (hospitalization of 15 days with a directive and structured context) and those who refused this treatment, to assess the impact of treatment on the Levenson scale scores of the alcoholics, and finally to determine whether the Levenson scale scores differentiate between treatment successes and failures (evaluated at three months). 171 subjects were divided into three groups: 64 patients hospitalized in psychiatry for chronic alcoholism (ICD-10 criteria for alcohol dependency), 50 patients hospitalized in psychiatry for an other pathology (control group) and 57 healthy subjects (normal group). These subjects filled out the IPC (Internal, Powerful others, Chance) scale of Levenson, different from the I-E (Internal-External) Rotter's scale because it distinguishes two types of externality: one imprevisible, the chance, and the other previsible, the powerful others. The results showed that the alcoholics as the controls are more external than the healthy subjects (Chance and Powerful others subscales). They also showed that the alcoholics who refused the alcohol treatment program proposed at the admission were more internal than those who accepted. We also found that, during the treatment, the alcoholics' scores of Internality increased while their scores of externality (Chance and Powerful others) decreased. This decreasing was also found with the check inpatients. So these changes would have connections with an "hospitalization factor" and wouldn't be due to the alcohol treatment. As for the last purpose, there were no significant differences between the initial locus of control scores of the successes and those of the failures.

Adult↗

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[The "lethality" of attempted suicide].

It is possible to quantify medical severity of a suicide attempt ("lethality") and its relationships with other components of the suicidal gesture have to be analysed. Our study about 758 suicide attempts aims to define psychiatric and psychological factors which are linked to "lethality" as measured by Weisman and Worden scale. Results of factorial analysis show a strong relation between "lethality" and some variables proving the intensity of psychological difficulties. Those results suggest the existence of relationship between "high lethality" on one hand, and diagnosis of psychosis, depressive symptomatology, high suicidal intent, some conceptions of death, on the other hand. A "low lethality" is associated with hedonistic conception of death, lack of positive signs of depression, existence of impulsiveness, psychopathic behaviors or lack of established mental disorder. These results reinforce the hypothesis of a relation between severity of patients psychological difficulties and medical severity of suicide attempt.

Adolescent↗

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[Anticholinergics during neuroleptic treatment. Value and withdrawal].

In a study on 144 chronic psychotic patients treated with neuroleptics, the authors tried to define a therapeutic schedule for anti-cholinergic drugs use to control parkinsonism induced by anti-psychotic drugs. Systematic treatment by anti-cholinergic drugs seems to be useless, even dangerous, and, if they have to be employed, the treatment must not exceed six months. The authors emphasize and analyse through the literature, the problems of drug abuse, withdrawal and psychological dependence with anti-parkinsonian drugs and their neurochemical effects.

Adult↗

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[Anticholinergic agents. Drug addiction and dangerous withdrawal].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Humans↗

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[Epidemiological knowledge and clinical truth: objectivity and clinical practice].

The authors analyse the difficulties of the knowledge given by epidemiological studies from the clinician's point of view. They propose three arguments to define the aid epidemiology can bring to clinicians: to give rise to hypotheses from clinical experience, validate some epidemiological results, and reflect on the integration of predictive knowledge in clinical practice. These arguments are illustrated by examples taken from the authors work and propositions of epidemiological studies of which the aim and the problematic could emanate from observation and clinical experiences.

Epidemiologic Methods↗

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