Relative benefits of assertion or cognitive self-control treatment for depression as a function of proficiency in each domain.

Compared responses to an assertion training and a cognitive self-control treatment as a function of 28 depressed females' (mean age 40 yrs) initial assertion and cognitive self-control skills. 16 other Ss served as waiting list controls. All Ss were assessed on measures including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Beck Depression Inventory, and Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. It was predicted that (a) reductions in depression would be greater for treated as compared to waiting-list control conditions and (b) Ss low in a skill (cognitive or assertion) would benefit most from treatment addressing that skill. Only the 1st prediction was supported; treated Ss obtained greater depression reduction than controls. Neither cognitive nor assertion skill level significantly predicted response to the treatments. Effects of the treatments were not specific to targeted skills, and treatment had a significant impact only on cognitive self-control skill. Implications for skills-deficit models of depression therapy are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group psychotherapy with mastectomy patients.

Compared 20 women who participated in 10 weekly sessions of group psychotherapy with 20 women placed on a waiting list after they had mastectomies. Ss were matched on age (33–65 yrs old), marital status, time since surgery, prognosis, and SES. A structured, scaled interview was used to assess maladjustment, and 2 inventories were used to assess therapy outcome; all Ss were administered all measures before the treatment program began, when it finished 10 wks later, and 4 wks after the end of treatment. Results show that over the course of the therapy period, both groups showed changes in a positive direction; however, Ss in the treatment group showed significantly greater improvement. In the 4-wk follow-up period Ss in the treatment group continued to show significant positive change. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implosive therapy and desensitization theory using free association in the treatment of inpatients.

Treated 36 male psychiatric inpatients with implosive therapy, a desensitization procedure using free association, or standard hospital milieu treatment. Ratings of achievement of individualized behavioral goals, the MMPI, and the Mooney Problem Check List were administered before and after treatment and at 6 mo. following treatment. Employment and hospitalization status were recorded during the year following treatment. Both individually treated groups showed immediate outcomes superior to controls; the implosive group was superior on more measures and maintained improvement better at 6 mo. As predicted, the implosive group reported more anxiety-related physiological stress (e.g., heart pounding, butterflies in stomach) during therapy sessions than Ss in the desensitization group. Support was not obtained, however, for the hypothesis that the degree of self-reported stress during therapy sessions is related to behavior change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental comparison of outcomes in insight- and non-insight-oriented therapy groups.

Compared the effectiveness of (a) group therapy stressing interpretive procedures intended to bring about client insight, and (b) a form of group therapy experience encouraging client * client interaction without the intentional development of insight. A total of 24 male psychiatric inpatients (20 diagnosed schizophrenic) were randomly assigned to insight, interaction, insight-interaction, or control groups. Ss were given behavioral, psychometric, and self-rating measures (e.g., the MMPI) before and after treatment. Although there were no significant differences between experimental conditions on any of the outcome measures, the insight-interaction group showed the most consistent indications of improvement on the 21 measures assumed to assess "personal functioning." None of the other group comparisons were statistically significant. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrating behavior therapy and psychotherapy in the treatment of agoraphobia.

Investigated the effects of treatment that combined behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, family systems therapy, logotherapy, and Gestalt therapy in the treatment of agoraphobia. Ss were 30 females and 5 males (mean age 35.18 yrs) who had been agoraphobic for a median of 7.05 yrs and who had applied for a 2-wk intensive treatment program (ITP). Ss were administered a battery of questionnaires including the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Ss either began treatment on a weekly basis while waiting for the ITP to begin (treatment Ss) or were placed on a waiting list (control Ss). Significant changes on self-reported avoidance behavior, panic attacks, social anxiety, depression, chronic anxiety, assertiveness, and fear of fear were observed in the treatment Ss up to 6 mo after beginning the ITP. No change had occurred on these measures during the same time in the controls. Results indicate that psychosocial treatment without drugs is effective for the majority of clients seeking treatment for agoraphobia. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of cognitive and behavioral group treatment on the depressive symptomatology of Puerto Rican women.

Compared a control, a cognitive, and a behavior therapy group in the reduction of depression in 26 low-income Puerto Rican women (mean age 38 yrs). Ss were identified as depressed by self-report (Beck Depression Inventory), clinical ratings (a revised version of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression), and depression behavior rating scales and were randomly assigned to 3 treatment conditions. Five treatment sessions of 1? hrs each were conducted over 4 wks. Results show a significant reduction in depression for therapy groups and no significant differences between the behavior and cognitive approaches. A 5-wk follow-up assessment revealed that the alleviation of depression had generally been maintained, with a slight advantage for the behavioral approach. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specificity of planning in adult self-control: An applied investigation.

Conducted an 11-wk study improvement program reviewing self-control and study skills techniques with a low-grades (D+ average) and a high-grades (B average) group. 48 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 3 conditions; daily (highly specific) plans, monthly (moderately specific) plans, and no plans. Process and outcome measures afforded analyses of compliance with programmatic instructions, effects on self-monitored study time, and, with respect to 65 low-grades and 20 high-grades controls, effects on grades and study habits and attitudes. The 3 major findings are as follows: (a) Monthly planning, not daily planning as predicted, increased study time and improved study habits compared with the no-plan comparison intervention; (b) the program improved grades somewhat; and (c) low-grades Ss expected more but complied less than high-grades Ss. The discussion includes analysis of potential inhibitory and facilitatory effects of highly vs moderately specific planning in adult self-regulation and contributions of the findings toward understanding self-regulatory failure. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of reframing and self-control directives on loneliness, depression, and controllability.

57 female undergraduates who scored at least 1 standard deviation above the mean (47 or above) on the UCLA Loneliness Scale and who scored as moderately depressed (8–26) on the Beck Depression Inventory also completed the Causal Dimension Scale and were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: reframing, self-control directives, and a waiting-list control. Treatment groups met for 2 weekly ?-hr interviews. Interviewer responses in the reframing group focused on ways to experience loneliness more positively, whereas self-control responses involved encouraging Ss to overcome loneliness. All 3 groups were again administered the 3 measures posttreatment and 2-wk follow-up. Results indicate that Ss in the reframing group experienced a more significant reduction in depression than Ss in the self-control or control groups. All Ss became less lonely over time, but no treatment was more effective than another in reducing loneliness. No differences were found for controllability. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of widows' groups in facilitating change.

70 32–74 yr old urban widows participated in 1 of 3 group treatments for a 7-wk period or a waiting list control group. Two therapists each led a self-help group, a "confidant" group, and a women's consciousness–raising group. Personality, attitude, and behavioral measures were obtained at pretest, posttest, and 14-wk follow-up. At posttest, Ss in all conditions had significantly higher self-esteem, experienced a significant increase in intensity of grief, and espoused significantly more negative attitudes toward remarriage. Experimental Ss showed significant improvement in their ratings of future health and became significantly less other-oriented in their attitudes toward women relative to the controls. The therapist variable produced few differences in response to treatment. At follow-up, treatment gains were maintained. Life changes were significantly more positive in the consciousness-raising groups, and posttest evaluations of the program by these Ss were significantly higher. All treatments resulted in high rates of contact among participants in the group. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of a social problem-solving therapy approach for unipolar depression.

26 depressed Ss participated in 1 of 3 conditions: problem-solving therapy (PST), problem-focused therapy (PFT), and waiting-list control (WLC). The PST group was based on a systematic model of social problem solving, whereas the PFT condition was conceptualized as a legitimate group-therapy regimen. Treatment was conducted over 8 1.5–2 hr weekly sessions. Outcome measures included the Beck Depression Inventory, Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Depression scale. PST Ss reported a significant decrease in their depression, which covaried with concurrent increases in problem-solving effectiveness and the adoption of an internal locus-of-control orientation. This improvement was maintained at a 6-mo follow-up. PST Ss reported significantly lower posttreatment depression scores than either the PFT or the WLC groups. Additional analyses indicated these changes to be clinically meaningful. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirically derived characteristics of psychiatric inpatients with DSM-III diagnoses of schizophreniform disorder.

165 18–50 yr old active-duty military, male, psychiatric inpatients with DSM-III diagnoses of schizophreniform disorder (n?=?71), schizophrenia (n?=?40), bipolar disorder—manic type (n?=?25), and unipolar depression (n?=?29) were compared on a variety of demographic, behavioral, and personality (MMPI) measures to determine the unique characteristics of schizophreniform disorder. Schizophreniform and schizophrenic Ss did not differ on any of the demographic or behavioral measures, but they differed significantly on the MMPI when age was controlled for by means of multivariate ANCOVA. Conversely, schizophreniform and bipolar manic Ss differed on the demographic correlates and on 1 behavioral measure (i.e., hyperactivity) but failed to differ on the MMPI. Schizophreniform and unipolar Ss, on the other hand, differed widely on all 3 sets of correlates. It is suggested that some schizophreniform patients will likely satisfy the criteria for schizophrenia if the diagnostician waits long enough (i.e., 6 mo). (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concept therapy for adolescent females.

14 adolescent females referred for delinquent and acting-out behaviors were compared pre- and posttreatment on measures of self-concept, ideal self-concept, and anxiety. These Ss were in a 10-wk socialization program designed to produce positive changes in self-concept; 9 Ss were in a group run by community volunteers, and 5 Ss were in a group run by mental health professionals. Self-concept changes in a nonreferred comparison group of 8 nondelinquent Ss appeared nearly random in contrast to the systematic improvement for the 14 Ss in therapy. There was some evidence of differential affectiveness in that Ss in the professionally led group appeared to undergo the most marked changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory correlates of dysphasic language disturbances.

Compared the MMPI performances of 15 male dysphasic brain-damaged adults with the performances of 15 matched control brain-damaged Ss without specific language impairment. A significant overall difference on the 9 clinical scales combined was shown by multivariate analysis, with higher scores obtained by dysphasic Ss. Further univariate analysis showed significantly higher scores on the Pd and Sc scales. Results are discussed in terms of (a) evidence for a closer relation between MMPI variables and behavioral measures than between MMPI variables and neurological measures of lesion laterality, and (b) the interpretive limitations implied by uncritical transference of MMPI findings based on psychiatric patients and normals to patients with central nervous system lesions. The need for validation studies investigating social behavior correlates of MMPI results in brain-damaged samples is emphasized. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates.

Investigated the frequency of 342 college students' procrastination on academic tasks and the reasons for procrastination behavior. A high percentage of Ss reported problems with procrastination on several specific academic tasks. Self-reported procrastination was positively correlated with the number of self-paced quizzes Ss took late in the semester and with participation in an experimental session offered late in the semester. A factor analysis of the reasons for procrastination Ss listed in a procrastination assessment scale indicated that the factors Fear of Failure and Aversiveness of the Task accounted for most of the variance. A small but very homogeneous group of Ss endorsed items on the Fear of Failure factor that correlated significantly with self-report measures of depression, irrational cognitions, low self-esteem, delayed study behavior, anxiety, and lack of assertion. A larger and relatively heterogeneous group of Ss reported procrastinating as a result of aversiveness of the task. The Aversiveness of the Task factor correlated significantly with depression, irrational cognitions, low self-esteem, and delayed study behavior. Results indicate that procrastination is not solely a deficit in study habits or time management, but involves a complex interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and affective components. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI evaluation of 5-year methadone treatment status.

Evaluated treatment outcome over a 5-yr period for 148 1st admissions (mean age, 27.14 yrs) to a methadone treatment program. Eleven Ss (7%) were successful treatment completions, 16 Ss (11%) transferred to other methadone programs, 38 Ss (26%) remained in continuous treatment, and 83 Ss (56%) were unsuccessful treatment terminations. Discriminant analysis using the MMPI suggested that the more stable Ss at admission had the best treatment outcome. For the patients in continuous treatment, MMPIs administered at 6-wk, 6-mo, and 5-yr intervals indicated that this group of Ss did not change on the personality dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping and the self-control of chronic tension headache.

Assigned 39 community residents, mean age 35.2 yrs, with chronic tension headache to 1 of 2 self-control treatment groups, a headache discussion group, or a symptom-monitoring control group. Ss in the 2 self-control treatment groups and in the headache discussion group were provided similar rationales for treatment and were taught to monitor their cognitive responses to stress-eliciting situations. Ss in the 2 self-control treatment groups were also taught either cognitive or both cognitive and relaxation coping skills for controlling tension headache. Ss in the headache discussion group were not provided with specific skills for controlling their headaches but were led in a discussion of the historical roots of their symptoms. Both the self-control treatments and the headache discussion procedure produced substantial reductions in headache that were maintained at a 6-wk follow-up. The symptom-monitoring control group showed no change in headache symptoms. These findings provide additional evidence of the effectiveness of cognitively oriented therapeutic procedures for the treatment of tension headache but raise questions concerning the active ingredients of these treatments. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two self-control procedures in the reduction of targeted and nontargeted anxieties: A year later.

Reports a 12-mo follow-up of a study by the authors (see record 1979-29126-001) that investigated the effects of self-control interventions on targeted (test) and nontargeted anxieties. One yr after the initial 6-wk follow-up, relaxation-as-self-control and modified-desensitization groups showed maintenance of reductions in debilitating test anxiety and continued to report significantly less debilitating test anxiety than the no-treatment control group. No significant differences among groups were found for either facilitating test anxiety or GPAs. Both self-control groups tended to show maintenance of nontargeted anxiety reductions, with relaxation-as-self-control Ss reporting significantly less nontargeted anxiety than controls; the differences on nontargeted anxiety measures only approached significance for Ss in the modified desensitization condition. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and physiological changes during prolonged immobilization plus perceptual deprivation.

Ss were 30 male undergraduates. 12 Ss who successfully completed 1 wk. of immobilization plus perceptual deprivation (IPD group) showed a greater slowing of occipital EEG activity, and a poorer performance on a battery of intellectual and perceptual-motor tests than did Ss exposed to a similar duration of either immobilization (1 group) or a recumbent control condition (RC group). During the 1-wk period, the IPD group also showed a significant increase in urinary excretion of noradrenaline, but not of adrenaline, relative to the I and RC group. No significant differences were observed on behavioral measures of subjective stress and mood. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring and reactivity in the modification of cigarette smoking.

The reactive effects of self-monitoring (SM) as a function of varying the specific nature of the target behavior and the perceived negative consequences of the behavior were investigated with 40 20–55 yr old chronic smokers (at least 15 cigarettes/day for 2 yrs). Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions from stratified blocks based on initial smoking rates: (a) SM nicotine plus health hazard information; (b) SM nicotine with no health hazard information; (c) SM cigarettes plus health information; and (d) SM cigarettes with no health information. Ss self-monitored during a 4-wk nondemand phase and during a 4-wk treatment phase or until they quit smoking. The 2 nicotine SM groups showed greater reactivity. There were no differences among groups as a function of exposure to health hazard information. Results are discussed in relation to models of self-control and previous investigations of other parameters of reactive SM. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior therapy for obesity: A comparative investigation of long-term efficacy.

Both individual and group behavior therapies were compared to a stringent social pressure program in the treatment of 72 obese females (mean age, 41.5 yrs) with a long-standing history of obesity (mean, 15.9 yrs) and inability to lose weight or maintain a weight loss. Following an 8-wk treatment phase, half of each treatment condition received 4 additional booster sessions and the remaining half simply reported for regularly scheduled follow-up weigh-ins at 3, 6, 9, and 12 mo, respectively. Both behavioral treatments were significantly superior to the social-pressure therapy at posttreatment. However, whereas the 2 group treatments resulted in successful maintenance of treatment-produced weight reduction, Ss treated with individual behavior therapy showed substantial relapse at long-term follow-up. It is hypothesized that initial treatment success and subsequent maintenance of weight loss are governed by partially different processes. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)