Psychosomatic Medicine 30:121-124 (1968)
© 1968 American Psychosomatic Society

Negatively Correlated External and Internal Symptom Clusters

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, N. Y., and the Department of Psychiatry, Syracuse University; Present address: Psychiatric Services Branch, Department of Public Health, Provincial Health Building, Regina, Sask., Can.
² Department of Psychiatry, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, N. Y., and the Department of Psychiatry, Syracuse University; Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y.

A computer analysis of outer vs. inner symptom relationships was completed on medical questionnaire data obtained using machine processed answer sheets among 2486 freshman university students. On the basis of a body image frame of reference, 16 disturbances localized in skin, skeletal muscle, and joints were classified as "external" (e.g., dry skin, general muscle pain, and pain in the joints). Twelve items referring either to stomach or heart were defined as "interior" (e.g., stomach upset and heart pounds). For each subject, indices of outer and inner clustering were calculated by summing the scores of each item and dividing by the total number in the category. Initially, the results were analyzed eliminating everyone who had received treatment for any symptom. Computation of the Pearson product moment coefficients in the remaining 1030 men and 947 women produced values of -0.240 and -0.130, respectively. Following this, the procedure was repeated in the over-all population. In this instance, the correlation coefficients were -0.269 for the men and -0.232 for the women. All coefficients were significant at a probability of less than 0.001. The negative correlation was considered to be consistent with the existence of a process involving perceptual inhibition between outer and inner somatic layers.