Apotemnophilie, Amputee Identity Disorder oder Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) bezeichnen das intensive Gefühl, der Körper wäre „kompletter” nach der Amputation eines Gliedes. Der Artikel diskutiert die Frage nach übereinstimmenden Persönlichkeitseigenschaften Betroffener und fragt nach Motiven. Anhand von Aussagen von 9 Personen werden Beispiele für auslösende Erfahrungen zitiert. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Kindern waren die Betroffenen oft vom Anblick eines Behinderten fasziniert. Im Artikel wird untersucht, ob das entsprechende Körperteil häufiger Erkrankungen zeigte. Geschildert wird typisches Pretending-Verhalten. Geprüft wird, ob es Parallelen zu körperdysmorphen Erkrankungen (BDD), Fetischismus oder Wahn gibt. Diese fielen gering aus, in der Mehrzahl ist der Wunsch auf ein spezifisches Körperteil fixiert, die Betroffenen sind sich der Absonderlichkeit ihres Begehrens völlig bewusst und hadern mit dem Pro und Kontra. Sexuelle Motive fanden sich bei etwa einem Drittel. Einige der Befragten befanden sich in ärztlicher oder psychologischer Behandlung; dies brachte den Amputationswunsch nicht zum Verschwinden. Bei mehreren der unter BIID-Leidenden wechselte der Amputationswunsch von einer Seite auf die andere. Dieser Befund ist mit der gängigen Theorie einer ZNS-Läsion nicht erklärbar. Diese Menschen haben eher das Ideal eines „perfekten” Körpers, der einen Arm oder ein Bein nicht umfasst. Die meisten bewundern die Schönheit eines Stumpfes und sehen Amputierte als „Helden”, die trotz der Behinderung ihr Leben meistern. BIID ist keine einheitliche Störung, sondern man muss mindestens 3 Achsen trennen: 1. Stärke der neuronalen Dysfunktion, 2. psychische Komponenten (z. B. sekundärer Krankheitsgewinn) und 3. Intensität des sexuellen Interesses. Apotemnophilia, Amputee Identity Disorder or Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) is the intensive feeling that the body will be “more complete” after amputation of a limb. The article disputes the question of matching personality characteristics of these subjects and asks for motives. Based on reports of nine individuals, triggering experiences are referred. In contrast to other children, often these subjects were fascinated by the sight of a handicapped person. In the article is investigated, whether the concerned limb showed more affections. Described is typical pretending behavior. Parallels to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), fetishism, or delusions are investigated. These were minor, in most cases the wish was fixated on a specific limb, the subjects were aware of the abnormity of their desire and quarreled with the pros and cons. Sexual motives were found in one third. Some of the interviewed persons were in medical or psychological therapy; this did not let the desire disappear. In several BIID sufferers the wish for amputation changed, e. g. from the left to the right leg. This finding is not in accordance with the brain-dysfunction-theory. These people rather have an ideal of a “perfect” body minus one arm or leg. Most admire the beauty of a stump, and see amputees as “heroes” who still master their life in spite of their handicap. BIID is not a homogenous disturbance, one should separate three axes: 1. Strength of neuronal dysfunction, 2. Psychic components (e. g. secondary morbid gain) and 3. Intensity of sexual interests.

This study analyzed aspects of the work of clinical neuropsychologists across Europe. There are no published comparisons between European countries regarding the nature of clinical neuropsychologists’ work. Forty-one national psychological and neuropsychological societies were approached, of which 31 (76%) responded. Data from seven countries with less than 10 neuropsychologists were excluded. A license is required to practice clinical neuropsychology in 50% of the countries. Clinical neuropsychologists work independently in 62.5%. Diagnostic/assessment work is the most frequently reported activity (54%). Most neuropsychologists work in public hospitals, followed by health centers. Adult neuropsychology was the most frequent area of activity. Services in public institutions are covered by public entities (45.8%), or by a combination of patient funds and public entities (29.2%) and only 4.2% by the patient; whereas services in private institutions are covered by the patient (26.1%) and the combination of patient, public entities (21.7%) or patient and private entities (17.4%). The data suggest that the number of neuropsychologists working across European countries is considerably low in comparison to other medical professionals. The results of the survey identified similar aspects of neuropsychologists’ work, despite variations in terms of reimbursement and mechanisms, reflecting economic and healthcare differences. Estimates on the number of clinical neuropsychologists suggest insufficient access to neuropsychological services.

To study Health related quality of life (HRQoL) of a sample of kindergarten children with migration background. Five kindergartens in Frankfurt/Main and Darmstadt (Germany) participated. HRQoL was measured with the Kiddy-KINDL (KK) in 3 to 5 year old children. We examined the associations of HRQoL with socio-demographic variables, positive development and resilience, socio-emotional and motor development. Linear regression models were applied to examine differences in HRQoL between migrant and native-born German children. The response rate was 90.5% (N = 283). The children had predominantly migrant background (81.35%). Perceived health was slightly higher in migrants (69.85, SD 17.00) compared to native-born German children (68.33, SD 17.31, p > 0.05), even though migrant children were characterized by a lower socio-economic status (p < 0.01). Results suggest that HRQoL at early ages in our study exhibits a different pattern than reported previously in studies among older individuals. We attribute the discrepancy partly to a possible changing pattern of migration in Europe with more migrants capable to migrate with healthy profiles, and to the age of our population. Our findings underscore the need to study the life course trajectory of HRQoL among young immigrants and replication in representative samples.

Background: The urge to be permanently blind is an extremely rare mental health disturbance. The underlying cause of this desire has not been determined yet, and it is uncertain whether the wish for blindness is a condition that can be included in the context of body integrity identity disorder, a condition where people feel an overwhelming need to be disabled, in many cases by amputation of a limb or through paralysis. Objective: The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that people with a desire for blindness suffer from a greater degree of visual stress in daily activities than people in a healthy visual control group. Method: We created a Likert scale questionnaire to measure visual stress, covering a wide range of everyday situations. The wish for blindness is extremely rare and worldwide only 5 people with an urge to be blind were found to participate in the study (4 female, 1 male). In addition, a control group of 35 (28 female, 7 male) visually healthy people was investigated. Questions addressing issues that may be experienced by participants with a desire to be blind were integrated into the questionnaire. Results: The hypothesis that people with a desire for blindness suffer from a significantly higher visual overload in activities of daily living than visually healthy subjects was confirmed; the significance of visual stress between these groups was p < 0.01. In addition, an interview with the 5 affected participants supported the causal role of visual overload. Conclusions: The desire for blindness seems to originate from visual overload caused by either ophthalmologic or organic brain disturbances. In addition, psychological reasons such as certain personal character traits may play an active role in developing, maintaining, and reinforcing one’s desire to be blind.