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The Psychopathology of Gilles de la Tourette's Syndrome

A Controlled Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Mary M. Robertson*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University College and Middlesex School of Medicine, London
Shelley Channon
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University College and Middlesex School of Medicine, London
Jane Baker
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University College and Middlesex School of Medicine, London
Deborah Flynn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University College and Middlesex School of Medicine, London
*
Department of Psychiatry, Wolf son Building, Middlesex Hospital, Mortimer St, London W1N 8AA

Abstract

The present study compares adults with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome (GTS) with depressed adults and normal controls on questionnaires measuring obsessionality, depression, and anxiety. The GTS and depressed groups scored significantly higher than the normal controls on all measures. The GTS subjects had similar scores on measures of obsessionality to those of the depressed subjects, but significantly lower scores on measures of depression and anxiety. This suggests that obsessionality is a prominent feature of GTS, and that the psychopathological profile is different to that of patients with major depressive disorder.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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