[Life events and self-destructive behavior]. / Acontecimientos vitales y conducta autodestructiva.

The role of life events in precipitating self-destructive behaviour, especially in suicide attempts, needs to be studied in this paper the social readjustment rating scale (Holmes and Rahe), in its spanish version, in a sample of 100 suicide attempters are reported. The mean social readjustment index was 255.2 +/- 137.01, which is a higher score than that observed in medical inpatients (180.69 +/- 72.03) in our context. The mean life events index was 8.69 +/- 4.32, higher valves than were recorded in the somatic in patients sample (5.97 +/- 2.99). No sex differences were found in any of the two indexes. The finding of a greater number of unpleasant life events by different researchers is discussed.

[Symptomatic profile of depression]. / Perfil sintomático de la depresión.

There is no precise documentation about an universal nuclear composition of the depressive syndrome. Moreover, secondary manifestations of depression are even more controversial. In this paper the symptomatic profile of a sample of depressive patients attended in the Hospital Universitario de Canarias is analyzed. The characteristics, profiles and frequencies of the symptomatic pattern are discussed and commented.

[Quantification of the stress reactivity in psychiatric patients admitted to an acute care unit]. / Cuantificación de la reactividad al estrés en pacientes psiquiátricos ingresados en una unidad de agudos.

We studied stress reactivity in a sample of 48 psychiatric acute inpatients of a psychiatric ward in a general hospital. Stress Reactivity Questionnaire (IRE-32 items) was used, this instrument supplies an index of the subject's individual response to stressful situations. The mean Stress Reactivity Index of the sample was 13.02 (s.d. 6.31), which is significantly higher than that found by us in general population--9.67 (s.d. 5.47)--and similar to the score obtained by psychiatric outpatients in our Department--13.30 (s.d. 6.07). According to gender, women reached the highest score (13.76). The various scores obtained in the Stress Reactivity Index by the different diagnosis are outlined.

[A comparative psychopathologic study of university students]. / Estudio psicopatológico comparativo en estudiantes universitarios.

We present here the results of GHQ-28 items in its spanish version in a sample of 50 university students in examination period. The mean total score was 8.20. We observed a higher mean total score in medical students (9.40) than in students of other careers (7.00), which indicates greater psychopathology in medical students. This fact is corroborated by the higher scores obtained in etch scale.