ILLUSTRATION OF CONCOMITANT TIMES SERIES ANALYSES IN A CASE OF SOMATOFORM DISORDER

The purpose of this article is to illustrate, for those unfamiliar wit h the methods, concomitant time series analyses and their utility in p sychopathology research. In a case involving somatoform disorder, we o ffer a detailed illustration of these analytic procedures where hypoth eses regarding psycho-social antecedents of somatic symptoms are teste d. Also portrayed are methods for describing across-time trends and cy cles in longitudinal data. Included is a discussion of other clinical questions amenable to a time series approach, as well as a considerati on of practical issues in the design of such studies.