Depression, Personality Characteristics and Gain among Female Patients Suffering From Somatoform Disorder and Chronic Physical Pain in Comparison to Normal Controls.

The study purports to compare the degree of depression, certain personality characteristics and perceived gain in persons suffering from somatoform disorder, orthopedic pain and normal controls. The sample consisted of 30 women suffering from somatoform disorder, 30 from orthopaedic pain and 30 normal controls. They were administered a detailed information schedule, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Neo Five Factor Inventory and a Gain schedule prepared for the purpose. MANOVA was conducted to determine the significance of differences among the groups, followed by individual ANOVAs and Scheffe's tests. Results revealed that depression and gain from disease were highest and extraversion lowest in the somatoform group. The two patient groups differed from the control in terms of other personality variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]