Subjective psychological symptoms in outpatient asthmatic adolescents.

Outpatient adolescent asthmatics were studied using the Asthma Symptom Checklist (ASC) of Kinsman et al. The study showed that outpatient asthmatic adolescents are similar in many respects to older institutionalized asthmatics, except that in the former, psychological symptoms are more diffuse and recognition of respiratory symptoms is less severe. Further studies are needed to determine which psychological symptoms are most important in predicting prognosis in affected asthmatics or the development of "psychosomatic" asthma.