Psychological aspects of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

The unmistakable symptoms of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome are classically of muscular spasms or tics, often accompanied by uncontrolled verbal outbursts or shouting of obscenities. Anecdotal as well as clinical reports suggest that these patients also suffer some psychological distress. This study used traditional MMPI scales to evaluate the psychopathological features that may underlie or accompany this disorder. In addition, we analyzed individual items of the MMPI to learn more of the phenomenology of this disorder. Data were collected from 29 Tourette patients and 29 normal controls matched for age and sex. A multivariate analysis of the clinical MMPI scales revealed group differences in score profiles. Univariate analyses indicated that Tourette subjects scored higher on the following scales: Schizophrenia, Depression, Psychopathic Deviate, Psychasthenia and Hypochondriasis. The results indicate that Tourette patients are in considerable psychological distress.