Anxiety and depression in 100 female geriatric inpatients. A psychopathological study.
50 anxious and 50 depressed female geriatric inpatients aged 70 and above were assessed with a semistructured interview focusing on the patient's experience of her illness and hospital admission and on the doctor-patient relationship. Each interview was completed by psychodynamic evaluations and a clinical assessment. The psychopathological findings suggested the distinction of four groups of patients characterized by different psychological reaction profiles: patients with anxiety reaction only, anxious patients with some depressive reactions, depressive-dependent and depressive-resigned patients. These profiles were related to age: anxiety was more frequent among the younger patients while severe depression (resigned depression) prevailed among the oldest age-group (80 years and above). Sociological, psychological and psychotherapeutic implications are discussed.
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*