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Biomedical subjects

S Meikle

Publications and source records attributed to S Meikle.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

An investigation into the psychological effects of hysterectomy.

The major aim of the present study was to determine whether women exposed to a hysterectomy procedure showed any greater evidence of postsurgery mood disorder than a cholecystectomy control group. In addition, the investigation also considered whether sterilization by hysterectomy resulted in more frequent mood disturbance than in tubal ligation where the uterus remains undisturbed. Fifty-five hysterectomy patients were compared with 38 cholecystectomy and 60 tubal ligation patients by means of the Profile of Mood States. Presurgery, 6-weeks postsurgery, and 3-months postsurgery measures were obtained. No evidence was found to support the view that the special psychological significance of the uterus results in greater postsurgery mood disturbance than occurs with a control procedure such a cholecystectomy. Neither did the results suggest that sterilization involving organ removal was psychologically more traumatic than where the sterilization procedure left the uterus undisturbed. The two significant group X occasion interactions implied that the groups differed in their pattern of responding to surgery with respect to the Tension-Anxiety and the Fatigue-Inertia variables.

Adult

Recent changes in the emotional reactions of therapeutic aboriton applicants.

The emotional status of one hundred women applying for therapeutic abortions during 1967/68 was compared with that of 100 more recent applicants in 1975. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory of the two groups reveals a significant reduction in psychopathology amongst the more recent applicants. This difference remains when group differences in age are controlled, and applies when married and single subgroups are considered separately. These results are interpreted as suggesting that the generally more liberal social atmosphere surrounding present-day abortions is reducing psychological stress among women undergoing this procedure.

Abortion, Therapeutic