Witthöft Michael, Rist Fred, Bailer Josef
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2008;71(11-12):795-802. doi: 10.1080/15287390801985687.
Absorption as a personality trait refers to the predisposition to get deeply immersed in sensory (e.g., smells, sounds, pictures) or mystical experiences, that is, to experience altered states of consciousness. Absorption is markedly related to constructs openness to experiences, hypnotic suggestibility, imagination, and dissociation. Although absorption was hypothesized to be a risk factor for medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), the construct has yet not been investigated in individually suffering from idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI), formerly better known as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). IEI is a complex condition marked by MUS, which patients attribute to various chemical substances that are typically detectable by their odor (e.g., exhaust emissions, cigarette smoke). The current study investigated whether IEI was related to the personality trait of absorption. In a longitudinal study, 54 subjects with IEI were compared to 44 subjects with a somatoform disorder (SFD), but without IEI, and 54 subjects with neither SFD nor IEI (control group, CG). Self-report measures of somatic symptoms, severity of IEI, and level of absorption were collected both at a first examination and 32 mo later. On both assessments, subjects with IEI and individuals with SFD reported similar highly elevated levels of MUS, compared to CG. In contrast to SFD, IEI was specifically related to elevated absorption scores. IEI was specifically associated with a tendency to experience self-altering states of consciousness. Since absorption is related to both openness to unusual experiences and elevated imaginative involvement, absorption might contribute to IEI via two routes by (1) enhancing the susceptibility for IEI-specific convictions and (2) fostering classical conditioning processes of MUS via enhanced cognitive-imaginative representations of assumed IEI triggers.
作为一种人格特质的专注性是指个体易于深度沉浸于感官体验（如气味、声音、画面）或神秘体验，即体验意识状态的改变。专注性与体验开放性、催眠易感性、想象力和解离等特质显著相关。尽管专注性被认为是医学上无法解释的症状（MUS）的一个风险因素，但该特质尚未在患有特发性环境不耐受（IEI，以前称为多重化学敏感性，即MCS）的个体中进行研究。IEI是一种以MUS为特征的复杂病症，患者将其归因于各种通常可通过气味检测到的化学物质（如废气排放、香烟烟雾）。本研究调查了IEI是否与专注性人格特质相关。在一项纵向研究中，将54名患有IEI的受试者与44名患有躯体形式障碍（SFD）但无IEI的受试者以及54名既无SFD也无IEI的受试者（对照组，CG）进行了比较。在首次检查时和32个月后分别收集了躯体症状的自我报告测量、IEI的严重程度和专注性水平。在两次评估中，与CG相比，患有IEI的受试者和患有SFD的个体报告的MUS水平都同样高度升高。与SFD不同，IEI与专注性得分升高特别相关。IEI与体验自我意识改变状态的倾向特别相关。由于专注性与对不寻常体验的开放性和想象力投入增加都有关，专注性可能通过两条途径导致IEI，即（1）增强对IEI特定信念的易感性，（2）通过增强对假定的IEI触发因素的认知 - 想象表征来促进MUS的经典条件作用过程。
