Abstract
Recently, it is said that there are many psychosomatic diseases and neuroses in the industrial society, but epidemiological data concerning these diseases are scarce. In order to meet this need, we, the Mental Health Research Committee, have developed the Japan Productivity Center Mental Health Inventory (JMI). The new inventory system cen contribute to better assessment of mental health and thereby aid the further development of preventative methods against mental disorders. The four categories, that is body, abnormality, personality and occupational adjustment are the basic components of JMI.In the present study, the validity of JMI was tested by two stepwise discriminant analyses. One analysis was made between 25 essential hypertension patients and 80 samples randomly selected from those who did not say "yes" to psychosomatic disease check list which was given to 12,009 working persons. The total rate of correct diagnosis is as high as 100.0% at the 16 th step, and 98.1% at the 5 th step. The other analysis was made between 37 heart neurosis patients and the 80 same samples as above. The total rate of correct diagnosis is as high as 100.0% at the 33 rd step, and 96.6% at the 8 th step.The validity of JMI was examined from another angle. The essential hypertension profile of each score is very much a like to the profile of those who are prone to heart disease, called a Type A behavior pattern. The Type A characteristics are equivalent to some of the JMI scales : these scales are goal-attainment, attention-seeking, motivation to work, spontaneity, version, hypochondriacal trend, and empathy. Scores in all scales are on the significantly high level.Heart neurosis's scores indicate the highest level in the cardiovascular system. Scores in anxiety, hypochondriacal, obsessive-compulsive, attention-seeking and pre-melancholic scales are significantly high; on the other hand, hypomanic is significantly low.These results correspond to Ishikawa's classification of 5 types of heart neurosis according to mental states.These analyses show the validity of JMI in that it could discriminate essential hypertension and heart neurosis among from many workers.
