On the Natural History of Hysteria in Women (A Follow-Up Study Twenty Years After Hospitalization)

The present investigation was designed to obtain a generous sample of the life histories of a group of women who were given the diagnosis “psychoneurosis hysteria” at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, in the years 1927-32. 66 patients were included in the study. During the follow-up period, 15 patients had died, including one suicide which occurred within 5 years of the original hospitalization. The study revealed ambiguities in the usage of the term “hysteria” & a need for more concrete patient descriptions. (7 refs.)