Common irrational beliefs associated with the psychophysiological conditions of low back pain,peptic ulcers and migraine headache: A multivariate study

Low back pain, peptic ulcers, migraine headache and a medical control were examined with respect to their irrational beliefs, age, sex and socioeconomic status. Two hundred and sixty-four subjects were diagnosed as having a psychosomatic condition or comprised the medical control group. Subjects were administered the Common Beliefs Survey III, (CBS III) (Bessai, 1977; 1978) and a personal data sheet. The data were analyzed by a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with dependent variables consisting of six mean factor scores of the CBS III age and socioeconomic status. The MANOVA found group differences on perfectionism. The psychosomatic groups were next combined and compared to the control by a component analysis of variance (CANOVA). The CANOVA found significance on perfectionism, and self-downing for the psychosomatic groups. Age and sex were analyzed and their results discussed. The results were discussed with respect to the experimental and control groups on the factor scores of the CBS III, age, and socioeconomic status.The study is part of a series of investigations conducted at Riverside Methodist Hospital under Drs. Donald J. Tosi and David R. Rudy. This study is based on a dissertation conducted by Dr. Michael A. Forman under the supervision of Dr. Donald J. Tosi. Reprint requests should be sent to: Dr. Forman