RESUMEN
A consecutive series of 160 women admitted to hospital for breast tumor biopsy was assessed prior to, and at 3, 12, and 24 months following operation for marital, sexual, interpersonal and work adjustment, depression, and personality characteristics by means of rating scales based on structures interviews and standard tests. By 2 years there wery no significant differences in social adjustment between mastectomy patients and benign breast disease controls; 70% of cancer patients were no longer stressed by mastectomy at 1 year. Factors predicting poor adjustment to mastectomy were high preoperative scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Neuroticism Scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory; deterioration in sexual adjustment was associated with biological or chronological perimenopausal status. Significantly more cancer than benign disease patients were dissatisfied with the information they received about operation and diagnosis. Implications of these findings for the care of the mastectomy patient are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias de la Mama/psicología , Mastectomía/psicología , Ajuste Social , Enfermedades de la Mama/psicología , Neoplasias de la Mama/cirugía , Depresión/etiología , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Matrimonio , Menopausia , Persona de Mediana Edad , Escalas de Valoración Psiquiátrica , Conducta SexualAsunto(s)
Neoplasias de la Mama/diagnóstico , Pruebas Psicológicas , Factores de Edad , Femenino , Humanos , Tamizaje MasivoRESUMEN
A follow-up study is reported of a consecutive series of 360 women who underwent termination of first trimester pregnancies by vacuum aspiration. Each patient received brief counselling before termination. Follow-up examinations were carried out by means of detailed, structured interviews at three months and between 15 months and two years (mean: 18 months) after termination. Outcome was assessed in terms of psychiatric symptoms, guilt feelings, and adjustment in marital and other interpersonal relationships, sexual responsiveness and work record. Compared with ratings of psychosocial adjustment before termination, significant improvement had occurred at follow-up in respect of psychiatric symptoms, guilt feelings and interpersonal and sexual adjustment; there was no significant change in marital adjustment. Adverse psychiatric and social sequelae were rare.
PIP: A consecutive series of 360 women underwent termination of first trimester pregnancies by vacuum aspiration. Prior to the procedure patients received brief counseling. Psychological and social adjustment after abortion were evaluated. Follow-up examinations consisted of detailed, structured interviews at 3 months and between 15 months and 2 years (mean, 18 months) after termination. Psychiatric symptoms, guilt feelings, and adjustment in marital and other interpersonal relationships, sexual responsiveness, and work record were evaluated. Significant improvement had occurred at follow-up with respect to psychiatric symptoms, guilt feelings (p less than .00001), and interpersonal and sexual adjustment (p less than .00005) compared with ratings before the procedure. Significant change in marital adjustment was absent. Few adverse psychiatric and social effects were observed. These results indicate that legal abortion performed in the first trimester via vacuum aspiration and accompanied by brief counseling carried only minimal psychosocial risks up to 2 years afterwards.
Asunto(s)
Aborto Terapéutico/efectos adversos , Síntomas Afectivos/etiología , Ajuste Social , Depresión/etiología , Empleo , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Culpa , Humanos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Entrevista Psicológica , Londres , Matrimonio , Inventario de Personalidad , Embarazo , Primer Trimestre del Embarazo , Pruebas Psicológicas , Conducta Sexual , Factores de TiempoRESUMEN
A selection of psychological and social factors present in 360 women who underwent legal termination of pregnancy are related to their contraceptive practice. One-third of the group were ignorant about contraceptive methods, ignorance being more common in women from social classes IV and V and in those under the age of 19. Nearly half of those who had some knowledge of contraceptive practice became pregnant after knowingly taking a risk. A total of 41% had been using some form of contraception immediately before conception. The reliability of contraceptive methods used was found to be inversely related to neuroticism scores obtained from the Eysenck Personality Inventory, neuroticism being highest in women who had not used any form of contraception.Of 91% of the group seen three months after their termination 86% were using reliable contraceptive methods. A follow-up study one or two years after termination has shown that 81% of the 215 women contacted so far are using a reliable method of contraception; two unwanted pregnancies have occurred but both were due to contraceptive failure. This satisfactory outcome has been ascribed to the system of counselling all women before and after termination.