Fundamental Personality Trends in Tuberculous Women

A thesis presented to the Graduate Department of George Washington University in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Much has been written on the psychology of the tuberculous and the mental reactions in the tuberculous, with the result that a great many conflicting and diversified opinions have been formulated. Therefore, it was decided to undertake a piece of scientifically planned and carefully systematized work, the object of which was to determine if there were any common personality factors, and, if so, if these were in any way related to the physical features observed in women suffering with pulmonary tuberculosis.

The patients studied were thirty in number. They were, with the exception of four, cases seen in hospitals; eleven were in a private institution; ten were in a district hospital and five were patients in a psychopathic institution. Of the last five, two were psychotic at one time, and three had been finally diagnosed psychoneurotics. The other twenty-five had all made good adjustments in the world and were considered by the people in their environment as normal.

They represented varied conditions of life. Some were of good family, very well educated and wealthy; others had a good education, but were poor; still others were poor with only a small amount of education. Some had had to work hard and had achieved financial independence; others had done absolutely nothing.

Furthermore, of the thirty, two were Latins, one a Celt, one a Scandinavian, and one a Negro. Eleven were from the Eastern part of the United States; three from the Northern part; three from the West; six from the South, and three from the Middle West.

Showing a variation also was the type of occupation of those who worked. Two were government employees; three were stenographers; one was a clerk in a store; one a clerk in a bank; one a