Psychosomatics has been dedicated to helping its readers achieve excellence in the clinical care of patients with medical and psychiatric comorbidity. With the recent certification of psychosomatic medicine as a recognized subspecialty by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, more readers are turning to the pages of
Psychosomatics for its peer-reviewed articles and research reports on everything from the latest advances in drug therapy to psychosocial treatments for medical disorders. Crucial knowledge for all practitioners regularly appears in a column detailing the interactions occurring when medical and psychiatric conditions are treated with multiple medications. Other features include concisely written case reports, perspectives on emerging trends in the field, book reviews, and letters.
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In this Issue
Type D Personality Mediates the Relationship Between Remembered Parenting and Perceived Health The authors investigated the association between Type D personality (a tendency both to experience negative emotions and inhibit self-expression), remembered parenting, and self-perceived health outcomes. Adults from a general Dutch population were given a psychological test battery on remembered parenting, along with the Short-Form Health Survey,the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Type D personality was associated with adverse remembered parenting, and both were associated with poorer perceived health outcomes. Adverse childhood experiences should therefore be taken into account when interventions for Type D personality trait are being developed.
Motivation for Psychotherapy in Patients With Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders The authors investigated the motivation for patients' refusal to participate in or dropping out of psychotherapy (PT)/medical management programs for functional gastrointestinal disorders. In Phase I, 85 patients were asked about willingness to participate in PT if it were offered. In Phase 2, patients were actually offered PT. Age, gender, social status, and clinical symptom severity did not correlate with either motivation or participation in PT. Rather, interpersonal problems were related to motivation for PT. Therefore, overall mitivation for PT is low and is largely not determined by clinical, but by interpersonal problems. Impact of Dopamine Agonists on Compulsive Behaviors: A Case Series of Pramipexole-Induced Pathological Gambling The authors present two case reports of patients being treated for restless-leg syndrome with dopamine agonists (DAs) and who soon developed compulsive gambling behavior, in one instance, with a resultant suicide attempt. Pramipexole had previously been shown to generally lessen conservative tendencies and increase risk-taking. DAs have also been associated with other compulsive behaviors (eating, sexuality); however, these may be modified with the use of other such drugs (e.g., ropinirole). The compulsive behavior stopped within days of pramipexole discontinuation, in one case, and substitution of ropinirole, in the other. Editorial BoardEditor-in-Chief
Theodore A. Stern, M.D.
Deputy Editors
Richard C. W. Hall, M.D.
James L. Levenson, M.D.
Margaret L. Stuber, M.D.
Book Review Editor
Jason P. Caplan, M.D.
Med-Psych Drug-Drug Interactions Update Editors
Neil Sandson, M.D.
Kelly L. Cozza, M.D.
Clinical Review Editors
Constantine G. Lyketsos, M.D.
James L. Levenson, M.D.
Statistical Consultant
Michael J. Sheridan, Sc.D.
Psychometric Consultant
Leonard R. Derogatis, Ph.D.
Assistant Editors
Thomas P. Beresford, M.D.
Robert Boland, M.D.
Edwin H. Cassem, M.D.
Mary Ann A. Cohen, M.D.
Catherine C. Crone, M.D.
Andrea Dimartini, M.D.
Joel E. Dimsdale, M.D.
Steven A. Epstein, M.D.
Per Fink, M.D., Ph.D., Dr.Med.Sc.
Richard J. Goldberg, M.D.
Frederik J. Huyse, M.D., Ph.D.
Roger G. Kathol, M.D.
Kurt Kroenke, M.D.
Dominique L. Musselman
Michael K. Popkin, M.D.
Steven M. Saravay, M.D., F.A.P.M.
Graeme Smith
Maurice D. Steinberg, M.D., F.A.P.M.
Joshua L. Straus, M.D.
Paula T. Trzepacz, M.D.
Lawson R. Wulsin, M.D.
Subsection for Child and Adolescent Psychosomatic Medicine
Editor
Margaret L. Stuber, M.D.
Assistant Editors
John V. Campo, M.D.
Mary Lynn Dell, M.D.
David R. DeMaso, M.D.
Gregory K. Fritz., M.D.
John P. Glazer, M.D.
Hans Steiner, M.D., F.A.P.M.