Abstract
The present report examines the epidemiology of psychosomatic disorders among a sample of police officers and examines those variables believed to be significant predictors of psychosomatic illness. A psychosomatic disorder, as defined by Davison and Neale (1978), is a “disorder characterized by physical symptoms, which may involve actual tissue damage, usually in one organ system, produced in part by continued mobilization of the autonomic nervous system under stress” (p. 598). Psychosomatic disorders for present purposes include the following symptoms and conditions: headaches, indigestion, constipation, nervous stomach, stomach aches, diarrhea, high blood pressure, asthma, ulcers, colitis, and problems in weight control.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barnes, G.E. & Vulcano, B.A. Measuring rationality independent of social desirability. Paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference on Rational Emotive Therapy. New York: June, 1980.
Barnes, G.E. & Vulcano, B.A. Measuring rationality independent of social desirability. Paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference on Rational Emotive Therapy. New York: June, 1980.
Cohen, J. & Cohen, P. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioural sciences. New York: Wiley, 1975.
Davison, G.C. & Neale, J.M. Abnormal psychology: an experimental
clinical approach (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley, 1978. Ellis, A. How to live without anger. New York: Readers Digest Press, 1977.
Ellis, A. & Harper, R.A. A guide to rational living. Hollywood, California: Wilshire Book Company, 1961.
Glass, D.C. Behaviour patterns, stress and coronary disease. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1977.
Henry, J.P. & Stephens, P.M. Stress health and the social environ-ment: a sociobiologic approach to medicine. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1977.
Jenkins, D. Psychologic and social precursors of coronary disease (Part I). New England Journal of Medicine, 1971, 284 (5), 244.
Jenkins, C.D., Rosenman, R.H. & Zyzanski, S.S. The Jenkin activity survey for health prediction. Boston: Published by the authors, 1972.
Kagan, A.R. & Levi, L. Health and environment-psychosocial stimuli: a review. Social Science and Medicine, 1974, 8, 225–241.
Kroes, W.H. & Hurrell, J. (Eds.). Job stress and the police officer. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (Niosh), 1975.
Lachman, S.J. Psychosomatic disorders: a behaviouristic interpretation. New York: John Wiley, 1972.
Luborsky, L., Todd, T.C. & Katcher, A.H. The self administered social assets scale for predicting physical and psychological illness and health. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1973, 17, 109–120.
Margolis, B.L., Kroes, W.H. & Quinn, R.P. Job stress: an unlisted occupational hazard. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 1974, 16 (10), 659–661.
Matthews, K.A. & Brunson, B.I. Allocation of attention and the Type A coronary-prone behaviour pattern. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1979, 37, 2051–2090.
Nuckolls, K.B., Cassell, J. & Kaplan, B.H. Psychosocial assets, life crisis and the prognosis of pregnancy. American Journal of Epidemiology, 1972, 95, 431–441.
Pelletier, K.R. Mind as healer, mind as slayer. New York: Delacorte Press, 1977.
Russell, D., Peplau, L.A. & Cutrona, C.E. The revised UCLA loneliness scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Los Angeles, 1979.
Sarason, I.G., Johnson, S.H. & Siegel, J.M. Assessing the impact of life changes: development of life experience survey. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 932–946.
Schwab, J.J., Fennell, E.B. & Warheit, G.J. The epidemiology of psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatics, 1974, 15, 88–93.
Schwab, J.J. & Traven, N.D. Factors related to the incidence of psychosomatic illness. Psychosomatics, 1979, 20, 307–311, 315.
Selye, H. The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978. Smith, P.C., Kendall, L.M. & Hulin, C.Z. The measurement of satisfaction in work and retirement. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969.
Spielberger, C.D., Gorsuch, R.L. & Lushene, R.E. STAI Manual. Palo Alto, Ca.: Consulting Psychologist’s Press, 1970.
Stone, G.C., Cohen, F. & Adler, N.E. Health psychology: a handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980, pp. 77–112.
Stratton, J.G. Police Stress: an overview–Part I. Police Chief, 1978, 4, 58–63.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vulcano, B.A., Barnes, G.E., Breen, L.J. (1983). The Prevalence and Predictors of Psychosomatic Symptoms and Conditions Among Police Officers. In: Krakowski, A.J., Kimball, C.P. (eds) Psychosomatic Medicine. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4496-4_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4496-4_27
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4498-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4496-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive