Skip to main content
PMC home page
Genitourinary Medicine logoLink to Genitourinary Medicine
. 1986 Apr;62(2):111–115. doi: 10.1136/sti.62.2.111

Survey of psychological disturbance in patients attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic.

R Fitzpatrick, D Frost, G Ikkos
PMCID: PMC1011911  PMID: 3755118

Abstract

A survey of psychological disturbance was conducted in a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic, using the general health questionnaire, the Crown-Crisp experiential index, and the illness concern questionnaire. Of 381 patients who completed the questionnaire, 158 (43%) had general health questionnaire scores indicating that they were psychiatric cases. Psychological disturbance was more common in women. The association between general health questionnaire caseness and patients' reports of concerns and worries about illness in relation to their presenting complaint was significant. The Crown-Crisp experiential index scores of cases were lower than those characteristic of patients attending psychiatric clinics, and much of the psychological disturbance found by this and other surveys of STD clinics may therefore represent distress in relation to the presenting problem. Of the 381 patients, 14 (4%) appeared to have an abnormal or unwarranted level of distress in relation to their presenting complaint.

Full text

PDF
115

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Belsey E. M., Adler M. W. Study of STD clinic attenders in England and Wales, 1978. 2. Patterns of diagnosis. Br J Vener Dis. 1981 Oct;57(5):290–294. doi: 10.1136/sti.57.5.290. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bhanji S., Mahony J. D. The value of a psychiatric service within the venereal disease clinic. Br J Vener Dis. 1978 Aug;54(4):266–268. doi: 10.1136/sti.54.4.266. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bridges K. W., Goldberg D. P. Psychiatric illness in inpatients with neurological disorders: patients' views on discussion of emotional problems with neurologists. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Sep 15;289(6446):656–658. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6446.656. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Briscoe M. E. Sex differences in perception of illness and expressed life satisfaction. Psychol Med. 1978 May;8(2):339–345. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700014409. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Byrne P. Psychiatric morbidity in a gynaecology clinic an epidemiological survey. Br J Psychiatry. 1984 Jan;144:28–34. doi: 10.1192/bjp.144.1.28. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Catalan J., Bradley M., Gallwey J., Hawton K. Sexual dysfunction and psychiatric morbidity in patients attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. Br J Psychiatry. 1981 Apr;138:292–296. doi: 10.1192/bjp.138.4.292. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Crisp A. H., Ralph P. C., McGuinness B., Harris G. Psychoneurotic profiles in the adult population. Br J Med Psychol. 1978 Sep;51(3):293–301. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1978.tb02474.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Crown S., Crisp A. H. A short clinical diagnostic self-rating scale for psychoneurotic patients. The Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire (M.H.Q.). Br J Psychiatry. 1966 Sep;112(490):917–923. doi: 10.1192/bjp.112.490.917. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. DE KITE E. C., GRIMBLE A. PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS OF VENEREAL DISEASE. Br J Vener Dis. 1963 Sep;39:173–180. doi: 10.1136/sti.39.3.173. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Frost D. P. Recognition of hypochondriasis in a clinic for sexually transmitted disease. Genitourin Med. 1985 Apr;61(2):133–137. doi: 10.1136/sti.61.2.133. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Goodchild M. E., Duncan-Jones P. Chronicity and the General Health Questionnaire. Br J Psychiatry. 1985 Jan;146:55–61. doi: 10.1192/bjp.146.1.55. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mayou R. Psychological morbidity in a clinic for sexually transmitted disease. Br J Vener Dis. 1975 Feb;51(1):57–60. doi: 10.1136/sti.51.1.57. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nabarro J. Unrecognised psychiatric illness in medical patients. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Sep 15;289(6446):635–636. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6446.635. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pedder J. R., Goldberg D. P. A survey by questionnaire of psychiatric disturbance in patients attending a venereal diseases clinic. Br J Vener Dis. 1970 Feb;46(1):58–61. doi: 10.1136/sti.46.1.58. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Pilowsky I., Spence N. D. Patterns of illness behaviour in patients with intractable pain. J Psychosom Res. 1975;19(4):279–287. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(75)90026-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Weller I. V., Hindley D. J., Adler M. W., Meldrum J. T. Gonorrhoea in homosexual men and media coverage of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in London 1982-3. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Oct 20;289(6451):1041–1041. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6451.1041. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genitourinary Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES