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Creativity and psychopathology. A study of 291 world-famous men.

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Title: Creativity and psychopathology. A study of 291 world-famous men.
Authors: Post, Felix, Post, F (AUTHOR)
Source: British Journal of Psychiatry. May94, Vol. 165, p22-34. 13p. 4 Charts.
Subjects: Pathological psychology, Mental health, Epidemiology, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Mental depression
Abstract: Background: This investigation sought to determine the prevalences of various psychopathologies in outstandingly creative individuals, and to test a hypothesis that the high prevalence of mental abnormalities reported in prominent living creative persons would not be found in those who had achieved and retained world status.Method: The family background, physical health, personality, psychosexuality and mental health of 291 famous men in science, thought, politics, and art were investigated. The membership of the six series of scientists and inventors, thinkers and scholars, statesmen and national leaders, painters and sculptors, composers, and of novelists and playwrights was determined by the availability of sufficiently adequate biographies. Extracted data were transformed into diagnoses in accordance with DSM-III-R criteria, when appropriate.Results: All excelled not only by virtue of their abilities and originality, but also of their drive, perseverance, industry, and meticulousness. With a few exceptions, these men were emotionally warm, with a gift for friendship and sociability. Most had unusual personality characteristics and, in addition, minor 'neurotic' abnormalities were probably more common than in the general population. Severe personality deviations were unduly frequent only in the case of visual artists and writers. Functional psychoses were probably less frequent than psychiatric epidemiology would suggest, and they were entirely restricted to the affective varieties. Among other functional disorders, only depressive conditions, alcoholism, and, less reliably, psychosexual problems were more prevalent than expected in some professional categories, but strikingly so in writers.Conclusions: Similar findings have been reported for living artists and writers, and this suggests that certain pathological personality characteristics, as well as tendencies towards depression and alcoholism, are causally linked to some kinds of valuable creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of British Journal of Psychiatry is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Creativity and psychopathology. A study of 291 world-famous men.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Post%2C+Felix%22">Post, Felix</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Post%2C+F%22">Post, F</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22British+Journal+of+Psychiatry%22">British Journal of Psychiatry</searchLink>. May94, Vol. 165, p22-34. 13p. 4 Charts.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pathological+psychology%22">Pathological psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health%22">Mental health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Epidemiology%22">Epidemiology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+illness%22">Mental illness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alcoholism%22">Alcoholism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+depression%22">Mental depression</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: <bold>Background: </bold>This investigation sought to determine the prevalences of various psychopathologies in outstandingly creative individuals, and to test a hypothesis that the high prevalence of mental abnormalities reported in prominent living creative persons would not be found in those who had achieved and retained world status.<bold>Method: </bold>The family background, physical health, personality, psychosexuality and mental health of 291 famous men in science, thought, politics, and art were investigated. The membership of the six series of scientists and inventors, thinkers and scholars, statesmen and national leaders, painters and sculptors, composers, and of novelists and playwrights was determined by the availability of sufficiently adequate biographies. Extracted data were transformed into diagnoses in accordance with DSM-III-R criteria, when appropriate.<bold>Results: </bold>All excelled not only by virtue of their abilities and originality, but also of their drive, perseverance, industry, and meticulousness. With a few exceptions, these men were emotionally warm, with a gift for friendship and sociability. Most had unusual personality characteristics and, in addition, minor 'neurotic' abnormalities were probably more common than in the general population. Severe personality deviations were unduly frequent only in the case of visual artists and writers. Functional psychoses were probably less frequent than psychiatric epidemiology would suggest, and they were entirely restricted to the affective varieties. Among other functional disorders, only depressive conditions, alcoholism, and, less reliably, psychosexual problems were more prevalent than expected in some professional categories, but strikingly so in writers.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Similar findings have been reported for living artists and writers, and this suggests that certain pathological personality characteristics, as well as tendencies towards depression and alcoholism, are causally linked to some kinds of valuable creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of British Journal of Psychiatry is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=24870133
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1192/bjp.165.1.22
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 22
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      – SubjectFull: Pathological psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Epidemiology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental illness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Alcoholism
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      – SubjectFull: Mental depression
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: May94
              Type: published
              Y: 1994
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              Value: 165
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