Result of Multiphasic Personality Inventory on Pneumo- or Hemo-thorax : Retrospective Cross-Sectional Analysis of Military Candidate in Korea / 신경정신의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify associations between pneumo- or hemo-thorax presence and psychological distress in young males by using the Military Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MPI) test. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on data from 19-year-old examinees that were admitted to the Military Manpower Administration in Korea between February 2009 and January 2010. A total of 1955 young males were enrolled in this study. Among them, a normal volunteer control group (n=1561) included individuals without a pneumo- or hemo-thorax. The pneumo- or hemo-thorax group (n=394) included individuals with a pneumo- or hemo-thorax. The latter group was divided into two subgroups Group A (treated with conservative care or chest tube insertion, n=341) and Group B (treated with wedge resection, n=53). RESULTS: We compared each of three groups (Control group, Group A, Group B) by using covariance analysis. The somatization subscale score within the neurosis category was significantly higher in Group A (p<0.001) than in the Control group, and there was a tendency toward a higher somatization score in Group B than in the Control group (p=0.073). The other score categories (validity scale ; anxiety, depression, and personality disorder subscales for neurosis scale ; and psychopath scale) showed no significant differences among the three tested groups. CONCLUSION: Conservative care or chest tube insertion group was associated with higher somatization symptom scores than that in the control group. The wedge resection group had a tendency toward a higher somatization score than that in the control group. The result indicate that individuals with a history of pneumo- or hemo-thorax may be more concerned about their body shape and/or general condition than those without such a history. Supportive intervention and psychiatric education approaches may be useful in relieving somatic distress.