Psychosomatic Medicine 21:389-396 (1959)
© 1959 American Psychosomatic Society

Personality Features of Patients with Primary Glaucoma

A Medico Psychosocial Exploration

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.

Nineteen patients with primary glaucoma were studied from a medical, sociological, and psychiatric viewpoint in an effort to evaluate the personality features of this group. The control group consisted of 16 patients with nonglaucomatous eye disease, matched as to age, sex, race, socioeconomic class, chronicity of eye disease, and degree of visual impairment. These two groups were assessed and compared with respect to the oft-mentioned emotional and personality characteristics alleged to be typical of glaucomatous patients.

The study provided data on the comparative incidence of certain psychosomatic diseases, and, on the basis of their data, the authors seriously question the validity of the concept of a "psychosomatic constitution."

The glaucomatous and control groups were remarkably alike from a sociological and psychiatric viewpoint, and no impressive differences were noted. Emotional factors were recognized equally by both groups as being of importance in precipitating exacerbations of eye symptoms. Depression and other neurotic personality traits were common to both groups, and there appeared to be no particular personality configuration specific to glaucoma. Also discussed is the concept of organ vulnerability as a critical factor in the occurrence and type of psychosomatic disease; the importance of psychic factors in disease in general regardless of etiology; the significance of degree of visual handicap rather than prognosis in influencing the patient's outlook; and the occurrence of glaucoma in people of very diverse personality make-ups.

In a subsequent paper, the authors plan to report on the use of psychological tests in the investigation of personality features of patients with primary glaucoma.