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P Boyce

Publications and source records attributed to P Boyce.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Endogenous depression as a construct: a quantitative analysis of the literature and a study of clinician judgements.

We review the concept of endogenous depression historically and undertake quantitative analyses of representative factor analytic studies. We also report an empirical study, isolating symptoms and signs associated with a clinical diagnosis of psychotic/endogenous depression, made by a large number of clinical raters assessing 300 depressives. The quantitative analyses and the study of practising psychiatrists agreed in delineating depressive type and together suggest a more restricted construct of endogenous and psychotic depression than has been held historically. Key clinical features isolated were severity, retardation, delusions and paranoid features, non-reactivity and non-variability in mood, while vegetative features appeared to lack relevance.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Development of a scale to measure interpersonal sensitivity.

We describe the development of a self-report measure (the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure or IPSM). The IPSM generates a total score as well as five sub-scale scores: interpersonal awareness, need for approval, separation anxiety, timidity and fragile inner-self. Its reliability is demonstrated by high internal consistency in two separate groups, and by stability in scores over time in a non-clinical group. Studies of a clinical group of depressives showed change in scale scores following improvement in the depressive state, suggesting some sensitivity of the measure to mood state. The IPSM appears related to measures of neuroticism and to low self-esteem but not to a modified concept of neuroticism, emotional arousability. The constructs contributing to interpersonal sensitivity and their relevance to depression are considered. Some preliminary findings of higher scores in depressives compared to non-depressives are reported.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Seasonal affective disorder in the southern hemisphere.

To determine whether seasonal affective disorder exists in the southern hemisphere and whether there is any seasonal specificity in phenomenology, the authors compared 23 subjects who reported a winter/autumn affective disorder, consistent with earlier definitions of the syndrome, with 22 subjects who reported a spring/summer affective disorder. The subjects with winter/autumn onset were characterized by increased appetite, carbohydrate craving, and increased sleep; those with spring/summer onset reported decreased sleep and decreased appetite. Hypotheses concerning the etiology of seasonal affective disorder are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effects of light on melatonin production.

A study was carried out to determine the intensity of light necessary to suppress melatonin. Ten normal subjects were exposed to four light intensities of 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 lux for 2 hr on different occasions, and melatonin levels were measured during exposure. All light intensities suppressed melatonin significantly, but none do daytime levels, with 2500 lux appearing to be the most "potent."

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The establishment of a mood disorders unit.

The establishment within a general hospital psychiatry ward of a mood disorders unit (MDU), a specialised facility for the assessment and treatment of patients with affective disorders, is described. The aims include provision of a clinical service, a teaching resource for affective disorders and the development of a research centre. Details are provided of the organisation of the MDU, the development of programs for management of patients and the difficulties encountered. In the first year, 164 patients were assessed, of whom 36 were judged not to have a primary mood disorder. For the remainder, the most common DSM-III diagnosis was major depressive episode (n = 68), with about half having the melancholic sub-type. It is argued that a specialised diagnosis-related facility is feasible within a general hospital psychiatry service with area health commitments.

Affective Disorders, Psychotic↗
PubMed1985

Neuroticism as a predictor of outcome in depression.

Low levels of neuroticism have variably been associated with a better outcome of depressive disorders but the interpretation of this phenomenon is clouded by the knowledge that severity of depression may itself confound ratings of neuroticism. To clarify any relationship between neuroticism and outcome, the authors assessed the predictability of neuroticism (as assessed by questionnaire, psychiatrist rating, and subject self-report) in separate groups of psychiatric patients and symptomatic volunteers with nonmelancholic depression. Depressives' judgments of their own neuroticism correlated with neuroticism scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), but neither of these measures predicted improvement at 6 nor 20 weeks. Judgments of neuroticism made by psychiatrists, which did not correlate with EPI neuroticism scores, did predict improvement. The study suggests that differences in defining neuroticism contribute to its variable association with outcome and further suggests the relevance of clinically assessing neuroticism as a personality variable.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1982

Genetics of Standardbred stallion reproductive performance.

Reproductive performance of 10 Standardbred stallions was related to the probability that the embryo resulting from a given mating would be heterozygous for transferrin or plasma esterase. Fertility, measured by foaling rate per insemination or by foaling rate per year, showed a highly significant regression on the probability of offspring heterozygosity for transferrin and, to lesser extent, for esterase. Substantial differences between stallions in the slope of the regression line and no deficiency of foals homozygous for either protein suggests that the relationship to fertility is indirect, probably a reflection of the amount of outcrossing between lines within the breed. An example of the potential impact of maximizing the probability of foal transferrin heterozygosity on the productivity of an actual farm is presented.

Animals↗