HOPELESSNESS AND PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN HOSPITALIZED PHYSICALLY ILL ADOLESCENTS

This study compares scores on psychiatric disturbance and hopelessness in two adolescent samples. The one sample was a physically ill hospit alized group, and the other was a matched group of healthy control sub jects. It was found that the hospitalized physically ill group scored significantly higher on both psychiatric disturbance and hopelessness than the health group. At six-month follow-up, the physically ill grou p's scores on psychiatric disturbance had declined significantly, but hopelessness scores remained significantly high. In line with other fi ndings, this study suggests that insufficient clinical attention is pa id to psychiatric symptoms in hospitalized physically ill patients, an d that the high hopelessness scores after six months warrant clinical psychological evaluation.