Studies of Superobesity: I. Psychological Characteristics of Superobese Patients

Close study of twelve superobese women revealed the following principal characteristics. None had a serious psychiatric illness, but most showed moderate personality disturbances with predominant passive-aggressive traits. Depressive features, though common, were not severe. Food typically had been...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of psychiatry in medicine 1975-12, Vol.6 (4), p.465-480
Main Authors: Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Pietro, Schiebel, Douglas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude
Female
Humans
Intestine, Small - surgery
Obesity
Obesity - complications
Obesity - therapy
Parent-Child Relations
Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder - complications
Patients
Personality
Psychosocial Deprivation
Psychotherapy
Self Concept
Series & special reports
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Summary:Close study of twelve superobese women revealed the following principal characteristics. None had a serious psychiatric illness, but most showed moderate personality disturbances with predominant passive-aggressive traits. Depressive features, though common, were not severe. Food typically had been used to allay feelings of emotional deprivation present since early childhood and historically associated with the unstable marriages of these patients' parents. The label “oral character” is not sufficient to provide even a capsule description; stubbornness, defiance, needs for autonomy and wariness of entangling relationships as well as conflicts over exhibitionism also were prominent. These characteristics contribute to the traditional reputation of the obese as “difficult” patients and deserve greater attention to help improve the effectiveness both of standard medical management and of psychotherapy.
ISSN:0091-2174
1541-3527
DOI:10.2190/UK4D-NXQ6-60YH-HQHY