Being unattractive may result in more than put-downs in singles bars. Intrigued by the fact that so many people in mental hospitals are
unattractive, psychologists have looked for a link between mental illness and ugliness.
The latest chapter in this strange tale comes from Amerigo Farina, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut. In a new study of mental hospital patients, Farina determined that the less attractive patients experienced more difficulties in adjusting to life after they were discharged. This was especially true of women.
The study of male and female patients aged 18 to 56 at the Connecticut Valley Hospital rated the attractiveness of each patient, then checked the patients` progress six months after release.
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The patients, whose ailments included schizophrenia and neurosis, were rated on such factors as their ability to find a job, keep a neat home and get along with friends, Farina said in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Other reports have indicated that less attractive people are more likely to suffer from mental disorders requiring hospitalization.
One study at the University of Illinois in 1980 used high school yearbook photographs to show that people rated as less attractive had a higher incidence of mental problems, Farina said.
Accounts receivable
About half the divorced parents who have custody of their children don`t receive all the child support to which they are entitled, and one in four never gets a cent from his or her ex-, says the California-based Center for Enforcement of Family Support.
For a free brochure, ”How to Collect Past Due Child Support,” send 50 cents in postage to ”Child Support,” c/o Kip Morrison & Associates Inc., 9300 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif. 90035.
Peace and quiet
Having determined that some people snore so loudly the noise level is higher than what is allowed in factories, a Swedish company, BIAB Electronic, developed a ”snoring alarm.” The device, the size of a soap dish, contains a microphone, amplifier and vibrator. It is placed under the mattress. If it registers more than five snores, it begins to vibrate.
The vibration rouses the snorer until he changes positions or does something else to stop making noise. This method may be gentler than a swift kick or violent shake from one`s frustrated bedmate, but it is decidely more persistent.
I can`t cope
In a poll commissioned by Nuprin pain reliever, Louis Harris and Associates found that one-third of American adults feel they have too much to do and 20 to 25 percent worry about their health and having enough money for necessities.