title: Clinical speculation: is specificity back? This time thromboangiitis obliterans.
abstract: Do men with thrombangiitis obliterans (TO) show conspicuous personality features and behavior? Twenty-one men with TO were compared with 20 men with coronary artery disease (CAD). All diagnoses were angiographically confirmed. Mean ages were 40.1 (TO) and 43.4 years (CAD). Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted. Interview-behavior: TOs were more hostile, minimizing, evasive, and complicated than CADs (p < .001). The interviewer reacted with more anger, impatience, boredom, astonishment, and less empathy towards TOs (p < .001). Adult behavior: TOs had changed their place of work more often (p < .001), had more absentism from work (p < .001), and had more debts (p = .01) unrelated to the present illness. They smoked more before the illness (p = .01) and continued to smoke more frequently during their illness than CADs (p < .003). They were more often single or divorced (p < .05) and had more conflicts in their relationships (p < .001) than CADs. During conflicts, TOs more often shouted or withdrew and less frequently tried to resolve conflicts with humor and discussions (p < .001) than CADs. TOs were more frequently dissatisfied with their life situation than CADs (p < .001). TOs more often passively submitted to their illness than CADs, who tried to cope by giving up smoking and by exercising (p < .001). Childhood: TOs more often mentioned a bad relationship with their father than CADS (p = .01) and had more disciplinary problems at home and in school (p = .002). TOs show remarkable personality features.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Inselspital, University of Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hofer-Mayer
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Minder
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mahler
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radvila
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000523:psychology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010553:Personality Development; D011594:Psychometrics; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013919:Thromboangiitis Obliterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014434:Type A Personality