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49% of US Presidents suffered mental illness in Duke study
The Chronicle ^ | February, 2006 | Haley Hoffman

Posted on 04/20/2006 10:05:20 PM PDT by Torie

23/02/2006 - Duke: Duke study posits presidents had mental illness

U-Wire via NewsEdge Corporation :

By Haley Hoffman, The Chronicle (Duke)

DURHAM, N.C. -- No one would ever expect the general who led the Union army to victory in the Civil War to have a debilitating fear of blood.

But Ulysses S. Grant was among the 49 percent of former U.S. presidents afflicted by mental illness, according to an article published recently by psychiatrists at the Duke University Medical Center.

Jonathan Davidson, professor of psychiatry and director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program, has a particular interest in history, especially U.S. presidents.

After culling data from presidential biographies, Davidson was joined by Kathryn Connor, associate professor of psychiatry, and Marvin Swartz, professor and head of the social and community division of psychiatry, to analyze the information. Together, they diagnosed the commander-in-chiefs from 1776 to 1974.

According to the study, published in January in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, of the 37 presidents researched, 18 were found to suffer a mental illness of some form. Depression was the most prevalent disorder among presidents, occurring at a rate of 24 percent.

The researchers wrote that the 49 percent rate mirrored national mental illness statistics, but the rate of depression was high for a male population.

"A fairly high number of people have mental disease at some level, so it would be surprising if presidents didn't," said John Aldrich, professor of political science. "Certain things, like depression, are associated with artistic accomplishment."

Other diagnoses included anxiety, alcohol abuse, bipolar disorder and social phobia. Howard Taft apparently suffered from sleep apnea.

At least 10 presidents were affected by episodes while in office, and the study found evidence that symptoms interfered with their performance in almost all cases.

To make their diagnoses, the researchers used the criteria of the DSM-IV, the Diagnostic Statistical Manual all psychiatrists use to treat patients. They examined the data to identify symptoms, determine if they were persistent and caused dysfunction and then establish their own levels of confidence that mental illness existed.

Such remote diagnosis through secondary research, however, can be problematic.

"Using biographical materials may be an imperfect way to gauge mental illness," Aldrich said.

Swartz explained that detailed analysis of primary sources, while ideal, was outside of the scope of the study but that the published article elaborated on its own relevance and weaknesses.

"You have to rely on what historians reported based on their research," he said. Still, Swartz estimated that their sources erred on the side of undercounting illness among presidents.

The troubles of certain presidents are already very well known. Abraham Lincoln famously suffered from symptoms of depression, though he triumphed politically more than Franklin Pierce, whose more modest legacy the study attributed greatly to his illness.

Having witnessed the violent death of his son in a railway accident just before he assumed office, Pierce suffered from symptoms indicating depression or post-traumatic stress during his term. The study noted that his associates accused Pierce of being a different person than the one who had energetically campaigned for office.

While personal tragedy and the weight of the presidency may have incited the problems of some presidents, others were apparently afflicted long before they moved into the White House.

According to the article, contemporaries of Grant, James Madison, Rutherford Hayes and Woodrow Wilson who watched them as young men would have thought that these men would do very little with their lives based on their seeming mental problems or deficiencies.

Whether they were suffering from an illness before they entered the White House or not, presidents' afflictions raise questions about their ability to do the executive job.

"The extensiveness of Richard Nixon's alcohol abuse was pretty remarkable and alarming, given the authority he had," Swartz said.

Though Calvin Coolidge's hypochondria may not have had the most profound effect on affairs of state, Coolidge, Grant and Thomas Jefferson were diagnosed with social phobia by Davidson and his associates.

"Social phobia is kind of remarkable in a president. It meant he was shy and avoided social circumstances, and yet he was president," Swartz said.

The study noted among its implications that no national calamities seem to have been a result of presidential mental illness.

It also considered the possibility that knowledge of these afflictions might lessen the stigma of psychological treatment. But there remains a question about the public's right, and need, to know the psychological state of the president, in an age of increased psychological vigilance.

"It's obviously about as stressful and physically demanding a job as there is for mature adults, so it has to at least exacerbate any [already existing] problems," Aldrich said. "You know, the president is not a person, he's an institution.... There are a lot of checks and redundancies to make sure he doesn't do anything foolish."

##30##

((Distributed on bahalf of U-Wire via M2 Communications Ltd - http://www.m2.com)) ((U-Wire - http://www.uwire.com))


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abrahamlincoln; bs; calvincoolidge; dukeuniversity; franklinpierce; howardtaft; jamesmadison; johnaldrich; jonathandavidson; kathrynconnor; marvinswartz; mentalillness; presidents; richardnixon; rutherfordhayes; thomasjefferson; ulyssessgrant; woodrowwilson
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To: Torie
49%?

That means that 21.07%

The real debate is which president was 0.07% mentally ill.

41 posted on 04/20/2006 11:10:46 PM PDT by uglybiker (Don't blame me. I didn't make you stupid.)
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To: Torie

Psycho-history is lame. But it's sure a heck of a lot better than socio-cultural history.


42 posted on 04/20/2006 11:20:15 PM PDT by Cyclopean Squid (History is a work in progress)
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To: Torie


43 posted on 04/20/2006 11:29:51 PM PDT by M. Espinola (Freedom is never free)
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To: Old Professer

Well said, Professer!


44 posted on 04/21/2006 12:16:09 AM PDT by spyone
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To: Sonny M

Thom Jefferson spent all his time thinking ... reading, writing, inventing, planning, creating ... who can do that with a bunch of people around wanting to party?


45 posted on 04/21/2006 12:42:52 AM PDT by Rte66
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To: Torie
49% of US Presidents suffered mental illness in Duke study

100% of LIBERALS are nuts.

46 posted on 04/21/2006 2:18:02 AM PDT by beyond the sea (Oh, for the days when "disrespect" was just a noun.)
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To: DemforBush
Does Clinton count twice for being a pathological liar AND a sexual deviant? ---

****

LOL

47 posted on 04/21/2006 2:18:42 AM PDT by beyond the sea (Oh, for the days when "disrespect" was just a noun.)
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To: BostonianRightist
proving once again why psychiatry is a useless field of study

agreed

48 posted on 04/21/2006 2:21:37 AM PDT by beyond the sea (Oh, for the days when "disrespect" was just a noun.)
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To: Torie

Elect Hillary and get an even 50%.


49 posted on 04/21/2006 3:16:23 AM PDT by thoughtomator (That new ring around Uranus is courtesy of the IRS)
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To: Old Professer
Projection is the refuge of the self-absorbed Liberals

There. I fixed it. But, very well put!

50 posted on 04/21/2006 3:43:40 AM PDT by rlmorel ("Innocence seldom utters outraged shrieks. Guilt does." Whittaker Chambers)
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To: Torie

Just more verbal diarrhea from the "I hate America" crowd. Ignore them or shout them down, it doesn't matter, because they are not adults, hate their own lives, hate freedom, and want to die. I wish they'd just do it and leave the rest of us in peace.


51 posted on 04/21/2006 3:43:46 AM PDT by Clock King ("How will it end?" - Emperor; "In Fire." - Kosh)
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To: Torie
Yes. 49%. We all really just need to talk about our problems. It will help us become "adjusted".

Effing Liberals. I have one for all of you:

Liberalism is a mental illness. Therefore, 100% of all Liberals are mentally ill.

52 posted on 04/21/2006 3:48:22 AM PDT by rlmorel ("Innocence seldom utters outraged shrieks. Guilt does." Whittaker Chambers)
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To: Torie
I think they are stretching a bit with the sleep apnea. That is more of a physical condition mostly due to being overweight. I can understand this in Taft.

I guess it is true what they say - you have to be crazy to want that job! I wonder how many of these presidents became depressed after becoming president. I just finished John Adams. The description of Jefferson is of a frigging nutcase.

53 posted on 04/21/2006 3:51:26 AM PDT by 7thson (I've got a seat at the big conference table! I'm gonna paint my logo on it!)
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To: singfreedom

We have a winner! Good one!


54 posted on 04/21/2006 3:54:19 AM PDT by 7thson (I've got a seat at the big conference table! I'm gonna paint my logo on it!)
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To: Torie
This article says far more about the silliness of modern definitions of mental illness than it does about our former presidents.

That said, Freud and William Bullitt wrote quite the fascinating psychoanalysis of Wilson: Thomas Woodrow Wilson which was distinctly unfavorable to Professor Wilson. Since I dislike Wilson intensely, I've always enjoyed it. Erik Ericson also did an interesting psychobiography of Luther: Young Man Luther that was very popular back in the '60s and '70s.

55 posted on 04/21/2006 3:56:20 AM PDT by CatoRenasci (Ceterum Censeo Arabiam Esse Delendam -- Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit)
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To: Torie

My guess is the percentage of professors of psychiatry who qualify as mentally ill is much higher.


56 posted on 04/21/2006 4:10:53 AM PDT by bkepley
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To: Howlin
"Are they now going to say Bush is crazy?"

That's probably where this is headed.

57 posted on 04/21/2006 4:12:05 AM PDT by blam
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To: Torie
The extensiveness of Richard Nixon's alcohol abuse was pretty remarkable and alarming, given the authority he had," Swartz said.

Another reason to cast a suspicious eye at this "study". From the accounts of those who knew and observed Nixon privately, he a social drinker not the drunk that his haters like to portray him as.

58 posted on 04/21/2006 4:22:13 AM PDT by Sir_Humphrey (The mighty oak is just a nut who held it's ground)
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To: Torie

I think this is kind of like asking what percentage of the American population is criminal. The answer is that most all of us are, because our stuped lawmakers have written so many laws that nobody can move without breaking one. Same thing with mental illness, academics will attribute so many types of behavior to it, that no one can move without being accused of mental illness. For instance, I note that shyness is now categorized as "social phobia."

That being said, I have always thought that the desire to be president indicated a certain degree of mental illness in itself. And if you told me that half the population was mentally ill, I wouldn't be surprised. How else to explain all those people who vote for Democrats?


59 posted on 04/21/2006 4:38:17 AM PDT by Sam Cree (Delicacy, precision, force)
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To: Torie

Didn't read this, but let me guess the party of those they said were mentally ill.


60 posted on 04/21/2006 4:52:54 AM PDT by jmaroneps37 (Everyday brings a new reason to distrust Hillary Clinton.)
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