Factors descriptive of psychopathology and behavior of hospitalized psychotics.

Abstract

HE PURPOSE of this study was to identify through factorial method some of the principal parameters descriptive of the psychopathology and behavior of psychotic patients. The analysis was motivated by a conviction that a simpler and more economical conceptual framework for describing symptomatology than is presently available is needful and will contribute toward the understanding of mental illness. It was also expected that the findings would prove useful for the evaluation of therapeutic procedure and for the measurement of patient change. METHODProcedure. A schedule of 81 brief descriptive rating scales was constructed, field tested, and twice revised (4, 7). The schedule was designed to measure (a) 12 hypothesized factors, (6) the major symptoms of recognized syndromes in the various functional psychoses, (c) characteristic interview and ward behavior, and (d) a number of variables descriptive of the degree and kind of supervision and nursing care received.The factors hypothesized were based partly on Thurstone's analysis of Father T. V. Moore's data (6) and partly on the conventional diagnostic syndromes. The following were the concepts utilized in constructing scale variables: (a) manic excitement versus depressive retardation, (6) paranoid projection, (c) perceptual distortion (hallucinations), (d) catatonia (manneristic postures and movements), (e) anxiety reaction, (/) withdrawal versus sociability, (g) disorientation, (ft) obsessive-compulsive reaction, (£) hostility, (j) passive resistance, (K) sense of personal adequacy, (I) loss of reality contact (irrelevant and incoherent speech, thought-feeling disharmony).Each scale variable consisted of a number of brief descriptive statements. Forty-seven of the scales consisted of 4 graded elements, 20 scales consisted of 5 elements, the remaining 14 consisted of 3 elements. Approximately one third of the scales, descriptive of 1 The authors wish to express their appreciation for the invaluable assistance of Mrs. Janet Jenkins Mullally in coding data and computing the correlations. Dr. James Q. Holsopple contributed generously at all stages of the study.

Ward-Observable Psychotic Behavior Syndromes

“…Factor The Hostile Belligerence (ward) factor confirmed here has also been identified by Degan (1952), by Lorr et al (1955Lorr et al ( , 1957, and by Guertin (1952) The Resistiveness (ward) factor has been isolated only in ward observations. In addition to identification in PRP, it has also been found in rating scales (Lorr, Jenkins & O'Connor, 1955;Lorr et al, 1957 The Dominance factor appears to be more directly an interpersonal or personality trait. As will be subsequently seen, the bossy, belligerent, and paranoid characteristics join in a higher level Hostile Belligerence.…”

A note on nonprofessional judgments of mental health

“…Thus a large number of scales that represented observable behavior were selected from several psychiatric rating scales (Lorr, Jenkins, & O'Connor, 1955;Aumack, 1962). Redundancies were eliminated, and the remaining scales were further reduced based on the pretest responses of 15 clinical psychologists.…”

Abnormalities of Behavior

“…When orthodox factor analytic techniques were applied by this same re search group (22) to the intercorrelations of 55 ratings received by the same patients, 11 oblique first-order factors were derived. These workers acknowl edge that their original schedule was designed to reflect 12 hypothesized factors, and we have another illustration of the use of factor analytic tech niques to arrive at mathematical definitions of preconceived factors.…”