We have studied the occurrence of dual diagnoses (psychoses as well as abuse of either amphetamine, cannabis or opiates) during a 15-year period, among patients treated at Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of the study is to evaluate if the different drugs were coupled to different rates of psychiatric co-morbidity. During the period in question, 461, 425 and 371 different patients respectively had been admitted at least once due to dependency on amphetamine, cannabis and opiates. Approximately 30% of the patients with a pure abuse of amphetamine or cannabis and less than 6% of the opiate abusers had been diagnosed at least once with any of the psychoses studied. Comparing the frequency of psychoses among mixed and pure abusers of illegal drugs, with and without a concomitant abuse of alcohol, we found that the co-morbidity rate for mixed opiate abusers increased significantly from 7.2 to 20.2% when alcohol abuse was also present. For abusers of amphetamine and cannabis (both pure and mixed), no differences in co-morbidity rates were seen when an abuse of alcohol was added to that of the drugs. It is difficult to find an explanation for the significant difference between the co-morbidity of pure abuse of amphetamine or cannabis on the one hand and opiates on the other. In conclusion, our findings show that the distribution of psychotic illness is high among abusers of amphetamine and cannabis, in contrast to the generally lower co-morbidity among abusers of opiates. Although these findings are consistent with earlier studies that have shown a propensity for developing psychoses among abusers of amphetamine and cannabis, one should bear in mind that this study is based on inpatients, and is not necessarily representative for all abusers of the drugs in question.

This study is a careful examination of the relationships between different components of the alexithymia construct and state versus trait anxiety. In order to study the relations between anxiety and alexithymia in a subclinical population, we administered to 125 female college students a test battery including measures of alexithymia (TAS26), state and trait anxiety (STAI) and depression (QD2A). Results indicated positive correlations between depression, anxiety (state and trait) and alexithymia scores. Partial correlations revealed a tight link between trait anxiety and alexithymia. Furthermore, in agreement with the view that alexithymia is a multidimensional construct, the various alexithymia dimensions were found to be diversely correlated with anxiety. On the basis of partial correlation analyses, a descriptive model of the relationships between depression, state anxiety, trait anxiety and alexithymia was postulated. This model was confirmed by pathways analyses.

The need for support and participation in treatment of relatives to voluntarily and compulsorily admitted patients was addressed in a study of the quality of mental health services in two Swedish county councils. The aims of the study were to investigate differences in the above aspects between subgroups of relatives, the differences between two years of investigation, 1986 and 1991, and the differences between relatives of voluntarily and compulsorily admitted patients. The relatives investigated consisted of 79 spouses, 118 parents and 31 grown-up children. The results showed that there were only minor differences between the subgroups concerning their participation in care. Grown-up children experienced significantly less need of support and received less help for this need. In 1991, relatives participated more in the care situation, were more interested in support with regard to their own life situation, and also showed more positive attitudes towards the psychiatric services than in 1986. The relatives of the voluntarily admitted patients felt more involved in the patient's treatment, whereas the relatives of those compulsorily admitted felt less involved and perceived obstacles to admission.

The quality of life concept has been increasingly used as a major tool for patient care and clinical investigations. The Heinrichs quality of life scale (QLS) is the quality of life assessment method widely used in schizophrenic patients. The QLS was translated into its French version by J.D.Guelfi according the back-translation method. This version of the validation study included 60 schizophrenic inpatients. The scale possesses acceptable psychometric qualities. The test-retest reliability is good for nearly all items of the scale and for the categories and overall score. The internal consistency alpha-coefficients were 0.9 for the global score and varied between 0.6 and 0.9 according to the category. Factor analysis elicited four factors. Convergent validity is good. Recommendations for future use of the QLS are proposed.

In a previous study of 15 panic patients, we demonstrated that body-related (somatic) word stimuli elicited an enhanced positive cortical slow wave compared to non-somatic word stimuli. Healthy controls did not show this difference. The present paper reports on psychometric ratings in relation to cortical slow waves in these patients. Patients were clinically reexamined after about 1.5 years. Although no significant correlations between neurophysiology and psychometric measures could be found at the onset of the study, there was a significant correlation between improvement over the follow-up period and neurophysiology. A decline in the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), which proved to be the best estimate for improvement, was associated with the relative magnitude of the positive slow wave elicited by somatic stimuli. Our findings support cognitive models of panic disorder, which stress that abnormal processing of bodily symptoms is relevant for the development and/or maintenance of the disorder.