[Personality markers of patients with vocal cord granuloma]

Particular features of the personality of patients with vocal cord granuloma have been reported in the literature based on intuitive observation of individual cases in clinical examination. The present study was designed to examine systematically a larger number of patients with vocal cord granuloma by means of a psychosomatic interview and with objective standardised personality inventories. The aim was to investigate characteristics of personality structure, the extent and form of psychosomatic complaints, and the psychosocial self-image of these patients. 33 patients with the diagnosis of vocal cord granuloma participated in the study. They underwent a psychodynamic psychosomatic interview and filled in the Giessen test, a standardized personality inventory, the Giessener Beschwerdebogen, a somatic complaints list, and a social questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed. Psychodynamic diagnostics revealed two types of the functional level of personality: narcissistic and psychosomatic structures were almost equally represented. With respect to the drive organisation of personality structure, mainly compulsive and to a lesser extent depressive dominant features were found. The structure of somatic complaints in our patient group with vocal cord granuloma was different from that of the norm population as well as that of a group of psychosomatic-psychoneurotic outpatients. With regard to the extent of somatic complaints, the scores of our patients were in the middle between the norm values and those of psychosomatic patients. In the self-image of their personality and their psychosocial relations, patients with vocal cord granuloma deviated from the values of the norm population in all scales into the direction of the scores of psychosomatic-psychoneurotic outpatients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)