Comparison of a community dysthymia sample at screening with a matched group of nondepressed community controls.

The primary goal of the study was to compare the psychosocial functioning of an untreated, community sample of DSM-III-R dysthymia subjects (N = 24) at screening to that of a matched sample of community nondepressed volunteers (N = 18) with no lifetime or current history of axis I disorders. Subjects were compared across a number of psychosocial indices. The dysthymics were found to be less sociable (introversion) and clinically high on neuroticism-instability, external in regard to their causal attributions, less stable for positive uncontrollable events and more stable and global for negative uncontrollable events, relying more on coping strategies such as wishful thinking and self-blame, more interpersonally submissive and hostile, and to have a poorer social support-resource network.

One-year prospective replication study of an untreated sample of community dysthymia subjects.

This study replicates an earlier naturalistic-prospective investigation of nontreatment, community DSM-III-R dysthymia subjects. Major goals were to determine spontaneous remission rates and monitor the stability of psychosocial functioning levels over time. Twenty-four dysthymia subjects were followed for 1 year.

Comparison of early and late onset dysthymia.

The present investigation compares early and late onset community dysthymia groups on insidious onset patterns, cognitive, coping, and symptom measures testing the assumption implicit in DSM-III-R that the two groups are qualitatively dissimilar. The results suggest that, regardless of age of onset, the groups did not differ except on some features of coping style. Homogeneity, not heterogeneity, was the predominant finding.

Effects of extraversion and neuroticism on experimental pain, clinical pain, and illness behavior.

The effects of 2 personality traits, extraversion and neuroticism, on experimental and clinical pain were characterized in a group of myofascial pain dysfunction (MPD) patients. Extraverts did not differ from introverts in visual analogue scale (VAS) sensory or VAS affective ratings of graded 5-sec nociceptive temperature stimuli (43-51 degrees C) nor in VAS sensory-VAS affective relationships related to their clinical pain. However, high extravert patients scored lower on affective inhibition (Pilowsky Illness Behavior Questionnaire; IBQ) compared to low extravert patients.