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Article
April 1955

Aspects of the Psychology of the Tuberculous.

AMA Arch Intern Med. 1955;95(4):631-632. doi:10.1001/archinte.1955.00250100137020

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Abstract

In the preface to this monograph the author states he has attempted "an intensive study of the personality factors in persons with tuberculosis." As investigative tools he has used a series of clinical interviews and a variety of standard and specially devised psychologic tests. His initial comments that "psychological factors mediated through the autonomic nervous system and the body chemistry" may help constitute the "lowered resistance" which predisposes to this disease and that his data may help determine whether "there is a basic personality pattern for all tuberculous patients" are somewhat misleading and raise greater expectations than his study fulfills.

At the very outset it is evident that his study group of 32 subjects is too small for statistical purposes and, containing as it does 12 medical personnel (9 nurses and 3 physicians), is too unlike the average tuberculous population for its psychologic characteristics to have general application. Furthermore, there

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