W ALLEN has analyzed the food aversions of normal and neurotic males at a Marine training station (2), and has described a list of 20 foods which can be used in studying food dislikes (3). The following brief study utilizes this list, and the general method of the former paper, in order to provide comparable findings.
PROCEDUREA neurotic group of 79 white and colored male patients from the neuropsychiatric section of the station hospital was selected. This group included 8 mild psychoneurotics, 27 moderate psychoneurotics, 35 severe psychoneurotics, and 9 psychopathic personalities. The diagnoses were made by competent psychiatrists, in accordance with the usual criteria. A normal group of 254 soldiers who had been screened for psychiatric disorders at an Army Service Force's personnel replacement depot, prior to being sent overseas, was also selected. The normal and experimental group were adequately matched for age, race, education, Army test scores, and state of origin.The list of 20 foods was read to each subject by one of the examiners, and aversions, as well as the reasons for dislikes, were recorded. The food list is as follows: tea, grapefruit juice, bean soup, potato soup, salmon, beef steak, veal chops, chicken, fried eggs, cottage cheese, swiss cheese, lima beans, cabbage, corn, mushrooms, radishes, tomatoes, cantaloupe, cherries, and pears.
