TIP-A:
The TIP-A (Trichotillomania Impact Project-Adults) was an online survey created by the Scientific Advisory Board to better understand the social, phenomenological (reality), occupational and academic impact of TTM. It was an online survey completed by 1,697 individuals, over age 18, which is the largest TTM study ever done. 93.2% of the participants were female, 6.5% percent male, and the rest failed to give their gender. The age range of participants was from 18-69 years old. The date were collected over the internet on a specially designed site for 2 consecutive months. it started March 2005 and ended May 2005. The survey included questions related to the social, phenomenological, occupational and academic impact of TTM, and included 3 large scales. One scale measured pulling severity, the Massachusetts General Hospital-Hair Pulling Scale. Another, the Sheehan Disability Scale assessed the effect on social, home and work situations. The last scale measured anxiety, depression and stress of TTM, which was the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. These three scales included questions related to their specific topics, and when individuals answered the questions, the data was sent in.
Results of the TIP-A
Instead of just putting down percents and numbers, I’m going to highlight the “stick-out” findings that the TIP-A resulted in. Some interesting results are:
-More than 1/2 the individuals pull from their pubic area, which is more than ever thought to be. Before now, specialists thought pulling from the pubic area was rare.
-The results showed that if you pulled because of a bodily sensation, the pulling tended to be more severe.
-The more severe the pulling, the more it effects the home, social and interpersonal areas of life.
-Pulling people tend to be very much more depressed and stressed than the regular population.
-Fewer than 15% of the individuals felt that their treatment provider knew much about Trichotillomania.
M-DOTS:
The M-DOTS (Milwaukee Dimensions of Trichotillomania Scale) was included inside the TIP-A survey. it measured and determined the difference between automatic and focused pulling. Learn more about AUTOMATIC vs. FOCUSED pulling. The scale included a 10 item (or question) focused pulling scale and a 5 item (or question) automatic scale. Questions were given such as: “I pull when I’m anxious or upset,” which would be an example of focused, or, “I pull when concentrating on another activity,” which is automatic. People responded to the questions to give data to prove that there are 2 types of pulling, automatic and focused.
Results of the M-DOTS:
-People who are more automatic pullers are less aware of their pulling
-People who are more focused pullers are more aware of their pulling
-Focused pullers are generally more anxious before pulling and are more likely to pull to relieve a body sensation
-Focused pullers also tend to have more mental anxiety and worry than less focused pullers
TIP-C:
Currently, the Scientific Advisory Board is processing the results of the TIP-C (Trichotillomania Impact Scale-Children.) This survey was very similar to the TIP-A survey (hence the names) but the TIP-A was for adults, and the TIP-C for children. The TIP-C was completed from May until July and the results are being processed now. The TIP-C was also an online survey, done through Survey Monkey which targeted children ages 10-17 and their parents. There was a section for parents, which included questions about their home life, background, their child’s pulling and how pulling effects their life. For the kid section, the kids themselves, who were the pullers, answered questions about their pulling and it’s effect on their life. In the TIP-C, just like the TIP-A, there were scales from which the questions came from. The scales were about anxiety, depression, self esteem, and focused or automatic. Included in the TIP-C is a scale very similar to the M-DOTS, but it’s revised and targeted for children.
Currently, the Scientific Advisory Board is processing the results of the TIP-C (Trichotillomania Impact Scale-Children.) This survey was very similar to the TIP-A survey (hence the names) but the TIP-A was for adults, and the TIP-C for children. The TIP-C was completed from May until July and the results are being processed now. The TIP-C was also an online survey, done through Survey Monkey which targeted children ages 10-17 and their parents. There was a section for parents, which included questions about their home life, background, their child’s pulling and how pulling effects their life. For the kid section, the kids themselves, who were the pullers, answered questions about their pulling and it’s effect on their life. In the TIP-C, just like the TIP-A, there were scales from which the questions came from. The scales were about anxiety, depression, self esteem, and focused or automatic. Included in the TIP-C is a scale very similar to the M-DOTS, but it’s revised and targeted for children.
The goal for this survey was to have 700 parent participants and 500 kids. The sample numbers ended up to be around 800 parents and 320 kids (that at least started the survey.) These numbers are the biggest numbers of participants in a study ever! This is a huge step in progressing in the field of Trichotillomania. Up until now, the largest child study ever done had 15 participants. WOW.
Also, after these studies are completed, the papers written on them will catch the eyes of big medical/science journals. Once a paper is published in a big journal, more people will read the paper, which is more publicity, and then it’s a chain reaction. More people become interested, which leads to more specialists and better well fare and treatment for all pullers. As you can see, these studies are a big deal!
In the last 10 years or so, even though it may not seem like it, the number of studies and awareness of trich have grown. More specialists are investigating different aspects of Trich. Though many little surveys and studies have been performed, none have been as large as the few I will mention here. In the past, the largest study ever done for TTM included 123 participants, and that was adults. The largest child study ever done had 15 individuals. As you will see, the TIP studies, with large numbers of participants, are a breakthrough in the field of trich.
In the next few paragraphs you will read about different scales that were included in the studies. A scale is basically a group of questions about a specific topic.
