HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Eysenck, S. B. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Eysenck, S. B. G.

Personality, and Pain Assessment in Childbirth of Married and Unmarried Mothers

Institute of Psychiatry, University of London

ABSTRACT

Though we have chosen a very complex problem to analyse, the results of the study appear fairly clear-cut. One hundred married and one hundred unmarried primiparae mothers were tested after the birth of their babies, and scores on extraversion, neuroticism, rigidity and intelligence were obtained, as well as replies to a postnatal questionnaire pertaining to their labours. In addition, married mothers completed an antenatal form at the thirty-sixth week of their pregnancy. The results show that:

1. Extraverts tend to complain of more severe pain experiences during labour than do introverts.
   
2. Neuroticism played no part in predicting either the behaviour or the attitude to labour of the mothers.
   
3. Intelligence played no part in the patients' assessments of pain during labour.
   
4. Married mothers had higher extraversion and lower neuroticism scores as compared to the general population means.
   
5. Unmarried mothers tended to be more extraverted or more neurotic than the general population, the majority being both more extraverted and more neurotic.