The Development of Neurosis in the Wives of Neurotic Men

Part I. Symptomatology and Personality

¹ MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH-105HF

1. A group of 40 male psychoneurotics and their wives were examined. It was hypothesized that if the interaction theory is correct and symptoms in the wives result from living with a neurotic husband two possible mechanisms may be considered: (1) that the wife imitates her husband's symptoms by modelling herself upon him, whereupon a significant association between specific symptoms in the husband/wife pairs would be expected; (2) that the wife reacts to a stress situation in the form of a non-specific reaction, whereupon no significant association of specific symptoms in the pairs would be expected. The Wing PSE was used to assess symptomatology. In this particular sample the findings did not support the general hypothesis. that the specific symptoms develop in the wives as a result of a modelling process ; an important exception was irritability and nervous muscle tension, on which the husband/wife pairs significantly correlated (p < 0.01).

2. Dividing the wives at a CMI score of 20 total CMI and/or 10 on the M-R section revealed that there were 21 (52.5 per cent) 'ill' wives and 19 (47.5 per cent) 'well' wives. Neither exposure to nervous illness during childhood nor previous psychological illness prior to marriage differentiated the 'ill' from the 'well' wives. Illness in the wives was not related to either duration of marriage, duration of the husbands' neurosis, or the severity of the husbands' symptoms. The combination of duration of marriage or duration of neurosis in the husband and the severity of his symptoms exerted no cumulative effect.

3. Although both groups of husbands showed neurotic personality profiles on the 16PF, the husbands of the 'ill' wives were significantly more expedient, dependent and emotionally irresponsible, in addition to being more physically aggressive to their wives. On the HDHQ, their scores did not differ significantly.

4. The degree of the husbands' neuroticism was found to be an important factor in determining the level of symptomatology in the wives.

5. The personality profiles of the 'ill' wives were essentially normal, while those of the 'well' wives showed above average stability.

6. With increasing duration of marriage and increasing duration of neurosis in the husbands, the husband/wife pairs correlated significantly on tough poise and neuroticism. These findings are in accord with the interaction hypothesis.

7. It is concluded that the severity of the husband's neurotic personality deviance and the stability of the wife's personality are important factors differentiating the 'ill' and 'well' wives. Those variables, particularly duration of marriage, which had differentiated the patient-spouse group from controls in other studies did not distinguish 'illness' within the patient-spouse groups in this sample.

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