The Contraceptive Pill, Side Effects and Personality: Report of a Controlled Double Blind Trial

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between side effects occurring in the first two months of treatment with a contraceptive pill and questionnaire-assessed neuroticism. Because the side effects of contraceptive pills are now widely known, doctors' and patients' expectations could be a significant influence in reporting side effects. In order to control for these non-pharmacological variables we therefore designed a double blind trial of a contraceptive and an inert pill involving an intensive study of a small group of patients. It was assumed that neurotic patients were more likely to report side effects, but that if the degree of neuroticism could be controlled, any significant differences in reports of side effects would be due to the active substance.