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Indirect self-destructive behavior in patients with Buerger's disease
Journal of Personality Assessment
|February 1, 1979
Summary
Patients with Buerger's disease exhibiting indirect self-destructive behavior (ISDB) often neglect medical advice and continue smoking. These patients displayed denial, minimization of illness, and a diminished value for time and achievement.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Medicine
- Behavioral Psychology
Background:
- Buerger's disease is a severe circulatory condition often linked to smoking.
- Indirect self-destructive behavior (ISDB) in patients can impede treatment efficacy.
- Understanding ISDB is crucial for managing chronic illnesses like Buerger's disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the personality and behavioral characteristics of Buerger's disease patients exhibiting ISDB.
- To compare uncooperative patients with cooperative controls to identify factors contributing to ISDB.
- To explore attitudes toward time and death in patients with ISDB.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of medical files from uncooperative (n=26) and cooperative (n=26) Buerger's disease patients.
- Inclusion of an unselected patient cohort (n=25) for broader population context.
- Psychological assessments, including interviews and tests on attitudes toward time and death, for a subset of patients (n=12 experimental vs. n=12 control).
Main Results:
- Uncooperative patients demonstrated more complaints, manipulation, aggression, denial, and minimization of their condition.
- Patients with ISDB were more prone to pain complaints and demands for relief.
- Experimentals showed a lower valuation of time and achievement, and perceived a dull life as worse than death.
Conclusions:
- ISDB in Buerger's disease is associated with specific negative personality traits and maladaptive coping mechanisms.
- Patient non-adherence, characterized by denial and minimization, significantly impacts disease management.
- Psychological factors, including attitudes towards life and death, may play a role in the self-destructive behaviors observed in Buerger's disease patients.
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