Hysterical pattern in Eastern Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Seventy-two patients suffering from hysteria were seen in the psychiatric outpatient clinics at King Fahd Hospital of the University. A semistructured psychiatric interview and the standard mental state examination were used in assessing the patients. The incidence of hysteria was 5.1%; 48.7% were between the age of 11 and 30 years. The female/male ratio was 1.81, and 61% were single. Hysterical conversion was the commonest type [73%], and hysterical dissociation was rare. Twenty-six percent formed a distinct group with similarities to Briquet's syndrome. In 83% of the cases, a stressful situation preceded the most onset of symptoms. No gross deviations of intelligence were noticed in the patients, and the typical hysterical personality was rare