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Biomedical subjects

M Fichter

Publications and source records attributed to M Fichter.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

The use of psychiatric facilities by depressives: results of the Upper Bavarian Study.

Utilization of psychiatric facilities by noninstitutionalized persons aged 20 years and older, identified as "depressive cases", was examined. Data were based on the representative community sample of the Upper Bavarian follow-up field study with an original sample size of 1668 people. In the 5-year follow-up 1384 (83%) subjects were interviewed, while 80 subjects (4.8%) had died. The 5-year prevalence of depressive disorders, according to the definition used, was 10.3%. We analyzed which people with depressive disorders sought help from mental health professionals according to type of depressive disorder, sociodemographic data, psychosocial factors and course of disorder. The psychiatric treatment rate (in- or outpatient) was 23.9% of the depressive cases. The majority of treated persons were outpatients. Patients with the diagnosis of endogenous depression were most likely to have received psychiatric treatment. Limitation in the ability to work due to depression was the most important psychosocial factor influencing help-seeking behavior. The highest consultation rate in psychiatric facilities was obtained from the depressives who had grown up without their parents.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

A comparative investigation of the principal component structure of the 28 item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). 15-year-old schoolgirls in England, Greece, Turkey and West Germany.

The 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire of 15-year-old schoolgirls obtained under identical conditions in two separate studies was subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). Varimax rotation produced different numbers of components for the different groups, but restricting the number of components to be rotated to four produced similar component structures, as supported by the coefficient of factor similarity, for both Turkish and Greek groups in their home countries and a heterogeneous non-British group in London in comparison to British girls. Different structures were obtained in schoolgirls from Greece, in Munich, and from the Indian subcontinent in London. Analysis of variance of the factor scores of a combined PCA produced significant overall group differences for all components and specific group differences for anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression. Somatic symptoms and anxiety and insomnia subscales, either alone or in combination with other subscales, contributed most frequently to morbidity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Stimulus overselectivity in autistic and mentally retarded children--a research note.

Groups of autistic and mentally retarded children were compared for the degree of stimulus overselectivity manifested during test probes after discrimination learning. Results demonstrated that stimulus overselectivity was a function of diagnostic category when groups were equated for performance IQ and mental age. Procedures used to obtain IQ as well as discrimination learning rate were also shown to be equivalent. Pulse rate response suggested that the test probes may be assessing performance during the early trials of a transfer problem for both groups of children. Implications for 'one-look' models of discrimination learning were discussed.

Arousal↗
PubMed1981

[Appearance and frequency of mental diseases. Epidemiological investigations (author's transl)].

After a survey of the earlier psychiatric epidemiological studies carried out in Munich, particularly the work of Brugger, three investigations carried out by the Munich Psychiatric Hospital in the last decade are described: a study to determine the administrative prevalence and incidence in the afflux area of the Gabersee District Hospital, an investigation to determine the frequency of psychic disorders among the patients of doctors in private practise and finally a field study which served to establish the true morbidity in the population. For mental disorders needing therapy a prevalence of 18.5% was found which is primarily based diagnostically on neurotic and psychosomatic diseases. To cover the need for treatment it is not proposed that specialist care should be extended but rather that the competence of the practising physician with regard to psychiatric diseases be considerably strengthened.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

[Psychosocial care structures in urband and rural districts (author's transl)].

The present study is based on a complete institutional and personal coverage of psychosocial care institutions in nine local regions within the Federal Republic of Germany. The study was carried out by means of a short structured questionnaire and was supported by local psychosocial working groups. The following questions were considered on the basis of a sociodemographic differentiation, in urband and rural districts: 1. To what extent do differences appear between urban and rural districts with regard to outpatient-, inpatient- and complementary treatment facilities? 2. To what extent do differences appear in regard to the quantity and quality of specialized professional personel operating there? 3. In what way, and to what extent, compensatory care mechanism do exist? The results show important and systematic differences with regard to the outpatient, inpatient and complementary treatment facilities. Rural districts are characterised by an emphasis on inpatient facilities, including homes, as well as by a marked lack of outpatient facilties, especially of a psychotherapeutic nature. Psychosocial professions with high qualifications, especially in psychotherapeutic respect, are mainly found in regions characterised as urban, while they are nearly completely absent in rural districts. In addition the results point at a underprivileged treatment structure of rural district. However there are indications of compensatory care mechanisms. This means that persons without any specialized training are often engaged in treatment jobs requiring specialisation. This applies in particular to the complementary field of patient care. The article discusses overlapping problems of proper geographic distribution of psychosocial treatment facilities in accordance with actual requirements. Furthermore political conclusions resulting from this aiming at improvementsof the care structure for mentally ill persons are discussed.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychosomatic disease in female teachers. Social context, contents and perspectives of inpatient treatment with a goal of rehabilitation and return to work].

Despite the considerable consequences, school teachers treated in psychosomatic in-patient settings, have not yet been the subject of investigations. Whether, for whom and which kind of job related treatment can be helpful for teachers returning to work can only be discussed if the specific stress and the social situation of teachers as public officials ("Beamtenstatus") are taken into consideration. On this point of view a systematic evaluation of 63 psychosomatically ill teachers consecutively admitted in a psychosomatic hospital was performed. The average age was 50, suffering mostly from depression or/and tinnitus. Most teachers rated job related stress as influencing their symptomatologies. A program focusing on discrepancies between personal ideals versus real situations in school, problems in social interactions and time management, should be a valuable part of the teachers' psychosomatic inpatient treatment. This approach was affected by a strong desire for early retirement in about half of the teachers.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[New aspects of complex chronic tinnitus. I: Assessment of a multi-modality behavioral medicine treatment concept].

"Complex tinnitus" is a diagnostic term denoting a disturbance pattern where the patient hears highly annoying and painful noises or sounds that do not originate from a recognisable external source and can be described only by the patient himself. It seems that the suffering mainly depends upon the extent to which the tinnitus is experienced as a phenomenon that is beyond control. Part I reports on an examination of the treatment success achieved with 28 consecutive patients who had been treated according to an integrative multimodal behavioural medicine concept. This resulted--despite continual loudness--in a decrease in the degree of unpleasantness of the tinnitus, by 17% (p less than 0.01) with corresponding normalisation of decisive symptom factors in Hopkins Symptom-Check-List (SCL-90-R) and Freiburg Personality-Inventary (FPI-R). On the whole, 19 out of the total of 28 patients showed essential to marked improvement of the disturbance pattern. Part II presents a multidimensional tinnitus model and the essential psychotherapeutic focal points of a multimodal psychotherapy concept in complex chronic tinnitus, as well as the parallel phenomena in the chronic pain syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[New aspects of complex chronic tinnitus. II: The lost silence: effects and psychotherapeutic possibilities in complex chronic tinnitus].

"Complex tinnitus" is a diagnostic term denoting a disturbance pattern where the patient hears highly annoying and painful noises or sounds that do not originate from a recognisable external source and can be described only by the patient himself. It seems that the suffering mainly depends upon the extent to which the tinnitus is experienced as a phenomenon that is beyond control. Part I reports on an examination of the treatment success achieved with 28 consecutive patients who had been treated according to an integrative multimodal behavioural medicine concept. This resulted--despite continual loudness--in a decrease in the degree of unpleasantness of the tinnitus, by 17% (p less than 0.01) with corresponding normalisation of decisive symptom factors in Hopkins-Symptom-Check-List (SCL-90-R) and Freiburg Personality-Inventary (FPI-R). On the whole, 19 out of the total of 28 patients showed essential to marked improvement of the disturbance pattern. Part II presents a multidimensional tinnitus model and the essential psychotherapeutic focal points of a multimodal psychotherapy concept in complex chronic tinnitus, as well as the parallel phenomena in the chronic pain syndrome.

Behavior Therapy↗