Clinical psychosomatic research.

Psychosomatic medicine embrances the influence of psychological factors on the development and course of diverse physical symptoms. Reasons are given why it is recognized that physical morbidity is influenced by such factors, with illustrations from the authors' research on acute ischemic heart disease, peptic ulcer and bronchial asthma. The nature of the psychological factors can be elucidated with the use of recently developed psychometric tests; these relate particularly to mood disturbance, either attributable to affective disorder or prominent personality traits. To insure that samples studied are representative of the disease or symptom being considered, and that all relevant variables are taken into account, the research approach usually necessitates a multidisciplinary team.