Family planning needs of female chronic psychiatric outpatients
Article Abstract:
Women with chronic mental illness may have special needs for birth control and family planning services. Chronic psychiatric patients may exhibit poor judgement and have emotional or thought disorders that interfere with their use of family planning information. Unwanted pregnancy may be particularly unfortunate when the mother suffers from psychiatric illness. Eighty women being treated as outpatients at a county mental health clinic agreed to be interviewed. The subjects had diagnoses of schizophrenia, depression, manic depression, substance abuse and anxiety disorders. Virtually all subjects had been previously hospitalized for psychiatric problems and 46 percent had been hospitalized in the past year. The interviews revealed that 31 percent had at least one abortion in the past. Sixty percent of the 75 children born to the subjects were living with someone other than the natural mother. One-third of the subjects who reported they had sexual intercourse during the past year did not want to become pregnant but did not use birth control. The tendency for these subjects to have abortions and give up their children to others for rearing suggests chronic mental illness may make women less able to cope with parenthood. The frequency of unprotected sexual intercourse indicates that this population needs relevant family planning counseling. Contraceptives that require consistent use, such as the birth control pill, may be the least appropriate. A high proportion of subjects reported they had not had a pelvic exam in the previous three years. Psychiatrists could improve the general health of their female patients by referring them for routine gynecological care.
Publication Name: American Journal of Psychiatry
Subject: Psychology and mental health
ISSN: 0002-953X
Year: 1989
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Sexual and physical abuse histories and psychiatric symptoms among male psychiatric outpatients
Article Abstract:
Higher rates of psychiatric disturbances have been associated among individuals having childhood histories of abuse. The prevalence of histories of abuse among men has not been as closely examined as for women, but the authors suggest that the prevalence is similar. The histories of 125 consecutive male psychiatric patients in an outpatient clinic were studied. Demographic data were considered; most of the patients were unmarried, white, in college or employed, and Roman Catholic. In addition, the Symptom Checklist-90, revised (SCL-90-R) was administered to the group. Sixty patients (48 percent) indicated that they were victims of abuse at some time in their life; of these men, 44 (35 percent) reported physical abuse only; nine (7 percent) reported sexual abuse only; and seven (6 percent) reported both types of abuse. For 53 of the men who indicated that they were abused, 85 percent said that the first episode of abuse occurred before the age of 18. The 48 percent rate of abuse in these male patients is not dissimilar to rates reported for female psychiatric patients. The male psychiatric patients who had histories of abuse also had significantly higher scores on the SCL-90-R global severity indexes than those without histories of abuse. Symptoms were more severe in patients reporting past sexual abuse or a combination of sexual and physical abuse. In general, there was a significant association between the number of episodes of abuse and higher scores. These results suggest that persistent long-term effects of abuse exist. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Psychiatry
Subject: Psychology and mental health
ISSN: 0002-953X
Year: 1990
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Physical and sexual assault histories among psychiatric outpatients
Article Abstract:
The impact of physical and sexual assault is becoming more widely recognized. Patient chart reviews can not provide adequate incident rates, as many clients do not divulge this information informally. This study used a direct interview method to help reveal histories of sexual and physical assault among psychiatric outpatients. Thirty-one new outpatients, 26 women and five men, made up the study population. Twenty-one (68 percent) of the patients reported histories of major physical and/or sexual assault. Sexual assault during childhood was related to physical assault as an adult. The patients were more likely to have told someone of physical assaults than of sexual assaults, and sexual assaults were much more likely to be associated with strong feelings of guilt than were physical assaults. Physical assaults more often led to major repercussions later in life. Drug or alcohol consumption was associated with physical assaults that occurred in adulthood. Compared with a previous study on assault histories of inpatients, the outpatients had a lower percentage of physical assault in adulthood, but a much higher percentage of sexual assault in childhood. The results of this study demonstrate the major impact that these events have on the patients' lives. More studies that involve direct questioning are needed to fill the gap in the literature on assault experiences and sequelae. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Psychiatry
Subject: Psychology and mental health
ISSN: 0002-953X
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
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