Homeopathic constitutional type questionnaire correlates of conventional psychological and physical health scales: individual difference characteristics of young adults.

Full Abstract

This study examined associations between scores for 19 different remedies on the constitutional type questionnaire (CTQ) and scores on standardized psychological and medical trait and state scales from health psychology research. Subjects were 104 young adult American college students (mean age 20 years; 67% female). Scales included the chemical intolerance index (CII) for environmental sensitivity, the NEO personality inventory, Marlowe-Crowne social desirability (MCSD) Scale for defensiveness, Harvard parental caring scale (HPCS) for perceived mother and father traits, Profile of Mood State (POMS) scale, Pennebaker symptom checklist (PSC), and a 3-item global health rating scale. The majority of CTQ constitutional type scores correlated significantly with greater NEO neuroticism, lower MCSD defensiveness, and greater psychological distress on the POMS subscales. NEO Extraversion and Openness subscales correlated with specific CTQ scores in directions consistent with clinical remedy pictures. CTQ Carcinosin differed from other remedies, showing no significant correlations with other scales. As hypothesized (a) persons high on CTQ scores for Carcinosin and low in parental caring (HPCS) had the highest symptom score; (b) those high on CTQ scores for Sulphur and low on HPCS had the poorest global health ratings; (c) individuals high on four different CTQ type scores (Carcinosin, Lachesis, Nux vomica, Sulphur) and high on environmental sensitivity (CII) exhibited the highest symptom scores. Taken together, the data offer additional validation of the CTQ and provide a foundation for studying interactions of constitutional type with both psychosocial and physicochemical environmental factors in homeopathic provers and patients.

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Author information

Author/s: Bell, Iris R (IR); Baldwin, C M (CM); Schwartz, G E (GE); Davidson, J R T (JR);

Affiliation: Program in Integrative Medicine, The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson 85719, USA. ibell@u.arizona.edu

Grants: K24 AT00057-02 (Agency:United States NCCAM) ; P50 AT00008-03 (Agency:United States NCCAM) ; R21 AT00315-02 (Agency:United States NCCAM)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Homeopathy : the journal of the Faculty of Homeopathy (Homeopathy), published in Scotland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Apr; vol 91 (issue 2) : pp 63-74

Dates: Created 2002/10/09; Completed 2003/01/31; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12371459, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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Associated Chemicals: Materia Medica (0)

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