Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:926-929
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Are hysterical seizures more than hysteria? A research diagnostic criteria, DMS-III, and psychometric analysis
RS Stewart, R Lovitt and RM Stewart
In a double-blind study the authors compared severity of psychopathology
and personality organization in three groups of patients: those with
organic (neurogenic) seizures alone (N = 11), those who exhibited both
neurogenic and psychogenic ("hysterical") seizures (N = 13), and those with
pure psychogenic ("hysterical") seizures (N = 13). Patients with neurogenic
seizures were found to have alcoholism, anxiety disorder, and minor
affective disorder. Patients with mixed and psychogenic seizures had more
severe psychopathology, including major affective disorders and major
character pathology. Patients with mixed and psychogenic seizures also had
a markedly higher incidence of suicide attempts and past history of
psychiatric treatment.
