Sensory decision theory analysis of the effects of anxiety and experimental instructions on pain.

Used the procedures prescribed by the theory of signal detection (TSD) to investigate the effects of trait anxiety and experimental instructions, designed to manipulate the consequences of pain reports, on the focal pressure pain thresholds of 96 undergraduates who were chosen from a larger pool on the basis of their high and low scores on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale. The results indicate that both anxiety and instruction affected pain thresholds. The TSD analysis, however, revealed that these findings were due to differences in response bias. No differences in sensitivity were found. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social modeling influences on sensory decision theory and psychophysiological indexes of pain.

Ss exposed to social models dissimulating tolerance or intolerance generally exhibit matching behavior in their verbal ratings of painful stimulation. It has been unclear, however, whether these changes reflect voluntary alteration of evidence or genuine changes in distress. The present study examined nonpalmar skin potential in addition to palmar skin conductance and heart rate (HR) indexes of psychophysiological response to electric shock and evaluated verbal expressions of pain with sensory decision theory methodology. Of 20 female undergraduate volunteers, 10 served as controls, and 10 were exposed to a tolerant female model. Both the S and the model verbalized ratings of discomfort provoked by a series of electric shocks of increasing intensity. Ss then underwent a series of preselected random shocks. Sensory decision theory analyses revealed lower discriminability of the shocks among Ss exposed to a tolerant model. Several indexes of nonpalmar skin potential and HR reactivity exhibited lower reactivity in the tolerant group. Tolerant modeling was also associated with decreases in subjective stess. The results are consistent with the position that changes in pain indexes associated with exposure to a tolerant model represent variations in fundamental characteristics of painful experiences as opposed to suppression of information. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thermal pain: A sensory decision theory analysis of the effect of age and sex on d', various response criteria, and 50% pain threshold.

Studied the reactions of 64 18-67 yr. Old male and female normal volunteers to 0-300 mcal/sec/cm2. Over almost all intensities older females showed a lower ability to discriminate among stimuli (d') (p     

Sequential analysis of chronic pain behaviors and spouse responses.

Social reinforcers such as spouse behaviors have been hypothesized to be important in maintaining chronic pain behavior. This study used direct observation to test whether solicitous and aggressive spouse behaviors systematically precede and follow patient pain behaviors. 50 chronic pain patients and spouses and 33 control couples were videotaped performing specified tasks. Spouse solicitous behaviors were significantly more likely to precede and follow nonverbal pain behaviors, and nonverbal pain behaviors were significantly less likely to follow spouse aggressive behaviors in pain than in control couples. Within couples, spouse solicitous behaviors preceded and followed verbal and nonverbal pain behaviors beyond chance levels more often in pain than in control couples. Results support an operant conceptualization of factors maintaining chronic pain behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A causal analysis of chronic pain and depression.

There is considerable controversy in the literature regarding the extent to which chronic pain and depression are associated and the possible causal relationship of such an association. The present study examines these issues with a sample of 243 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were mailed questionnaires for six waves of data collection. The results indicated that RA patients experience higher levels of depressive symptomatology than community samples. Using a two-latent-variable, cross-lagged design, covariance structural modeling was conducted on self-report measures of pain and depression over 6-month intervals. Results most strongly supported a causal model in which pain predicts depression during the last 12 months of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive-somatic anxiety response patterning in chronic pain patients and nonpatients.

100 chronic pain patients (mean age 42.3 yrs), 100 undergraduates (mean age 20.2 yrs), 35 patients with low-back pain (mean age 44.5 yrs), and 30 health professionals (mean age 34.7 yrs) completed a cognitive-somatic anxiety questionnaire to examine group differences in Ss' manner of self-reporting anxiety. Patients, relative to nonpatients, acknowledged fewer total signs of anxiety and endorsed significantly more somatic than cognitive indicators of anxiety. Group differences suggest that global scale measures of a multidimensional symptom construct may obscure different group patterns of item endorsement. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family ties of drug abusers.

Examined the family ties of heroin addicts applying for drug treatment. Information was abstracted from the intake applications of 98 consecutive admissions to methadone maintenance program to determine the extent to which applicants were connected with family members. Results indicate that approximately 67% of Ss lived with a family member, including 26% who lived with a parent; 52% of Ss were born in the local area; 75% claimed to have close relationships with their mothers. Results imply that drug treatment programs might increase their effectiveness by using a family systems approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational rehabilitation of drug abusers.

Employment has been identified as an important element in the rehabilitation of drug abusers and, together with abstinence from illicit drugs and criminal involvement, is frequently used as a criterion of treatment outcome. The research literature for the last 20 years on variables affecting employment and the vocational rehabilitation of drug abusers is reviewed with an emphasis on (a) the identification of variables influencing the employment of drug abusers and (b) the evaluation results of interventions that have been developed for this purpose. It is concluded that a number of programs have been demonstrated to have had some success in the vocational rehabilitation of drug abusers. Specific recommendations are made concerning both the direction of further research in this area and the application of existing knowledge in current practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective analysis of acceptance of pain and values-based action in patients with chronic pain.

Objective: Acceptance of pain and values-based action appear important in the emotional, physical, and social functioning of individuals with chronic pain. The purpose of the current study was to prospectively investigate these combined processes. Method: 115 patients attending an assessment and treatment course for chronic pain in the U.K. completed a standard set of measures on two occasions separated by an average of 18.5 weeks. Results: Correlation analyses showed that acceptance of pain and values-based action measured at Time 1 were significantly correlated with pain, pain-related distress, pain-related anxiety and avoidance, depression, depression-related interference with functioning, and physical and psychosocial disability measured at Time 2. Multiple regression analyses, in which pain and relevant patient background variables were controlled, showed that the combined acceptance and values measures accounted for between 6.5% and 27.0% of variance in six key measures of patient functioning later in time. Conclusion: These results support the importance of acceptance and values-related processes in relation to chronic pain. These results also encourage continued applications of a functional contextual model of psychopathology, the model underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and related approaches such as Contextual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictive validity of six neurodiagnostic tests: A decision theory analysis.

Investigated different aspects of predictive validity for EEG, skull X ray, brain scan, arteriogram, pneumoencephalogram and the Block Rotation Test. The validation sample was based on cases referred to a Neuropsychology Service from 1964-1968. The criterion distribution, brain disease (B) and no brain disease (F), and the test signs, positive (+) and negative -, were both dichotomized for analysis. The overall hit rate, percentage of valid positives, and strength of predictive association were extremely low for several of the tests. However, the predictive utility reversed appreciably for some of the tests when base-rate information (inverse probabilities) and types-of-error risk (cost efficiency) were computed. Implications for diagnosis in neurology and psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drug preferences of multiple drug abusers.

Attempted to develop a reliable measure of preferences among types of controlled drugs, and examined the correspondence between the most preferred drug and the drug most frequently used. 130 17–29 yr old active multiple drug abusers rated their preferences among 11 combinations of controlled drugs and common methods of administration (e.g., smoking marihuana, snorting cocaine, shooting cocaine, injesting amphetamines, shooting amphetamines) using the method of paired comparisons. Edwards' coefficient of consistency indicated that preferences were highly consistent (.92) and therefore internally reliable. Nearly half of the Ss most preferred drugs other than the type that they most frequently used, and their preferences were related to the method of administration. Results suggest that preference is one of several determinants of drug use. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent variable analysis of coping, anxiety/depression, and somatic symptoms in adolescents with chronic pain.

Reports of adolescents' coping with recurrent pain, symptoms of anxiety/depression, and somatic complaints were obtained from a sample of 164 adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain and their parents. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that coping consisted of 3 nonorthogonal factors: Primary Control Engagement Coping (problem solving, emotional expression, and emotional regulation), Secondary Control Engagement Coping (positive thinking, cognitive restructuring, acceptance, and distraction), and Disengagement Coping (denial, avoidance, and wishful thinking). Structural equation modeling using latent variables revealed that secondary control engagement coping predicted lower levels of anxiety/depression symptoms and somatic complaints, and disengagement coping was related to higher levels of anxiety/depression and somatic complaints. Implications for understanding child and adolescent coping with pain are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality change in drug abusers: A comparison of therapeutic community and prison groups.

Compared test measured changes (MMPI, the Sensation-Seeking Scale, Eysenck's Personality Inventory, and the Personal Orientation Inventory) in 59 male drug abusers treated in a therapeutic community (TC) with the changes in 37 untreated male drug abusers spending the equivalent time in prison. The treated (TC) group decreased more than the controls on MMPI measures of general psychopathology, but measures of impulse disorder (Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania scales) remained elevated in the TC group. The TC group also showed a greater decrease in sensation seeking and greater increases in self-actualization and extraversion tendencies. Results show very little change in drug abusers confined in prison relative to the marked changes in those treated in a TC. Whereas the TC treatment did affect neurotic-like and psychotic-like tendencies, it did not markedly affect the psychopathic traits of many drug abusers. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the Taylor-Spence theory of anxiety.

"The present studies tested the Taylor-Spence theory under 2 conditions: (a) Competing and noncompeting materials were equated in difficulty for a nonanxious group. The prediction from the Taylor-Spence theory that the anxious Ss would perform more poorly on the competing than on the noncompeting material was not sustained. (b) Anxious and nonanxious Ss were tested on easy competing and difficult noncompeting materials. The prediction from the Taylor-Spence theory was that anxious Ss would do more poorly (relative to nonanxious Ss) on the easy competing than on the difficult noncompeting material. The results were opposite from those predicted and significant at beyond the .05 level." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working with alcoholics and drug abusers in private practice: A psychoanalytic-chemical dependency model.

Describes a combined model of chemical dependency and psychoanalytic approaches in the psychotherapeutic treatment of alcoholics and drug abusers. The ambiguity of treatment goals and impediments and enhancements inherent in private practice with this population are discussed. Modifications in treatment are recommended on the basis of contributions from the addictions field, the self-help movement, and etiologic research. The broadening scope of psychoanalytic theory and practice with greater applicability to the treatment of addiction is reviewed. Clinical material illustrates psychoanalytic principles and the combined model of psychotherapy with alcoholics and drug abusers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drive theory and manifest anxiety.

A considerable bibliography of experimental studies using the Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS) has accumulated since its initial introduction to the research literature. The purpose of this article is to critically examine this research as it relates to drive theory and the original purposes of the scale. Experiments concerned with the relationships between the MAS and classical conditioning, stimulus generalization, maze learning, and verbal learning are presented. In addition, the relationship between anxiety and stress and the MAS and clinical measures of anxiety are explored. In general, the experimental evidence supports the notion of an interaction between anxiety level and task complexity but additional research is necessary to determine if the theory can be successfully expanded to include more complex situations than originally seemed appropriate. 49 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multialternative decision field theory: A dynamic connectionst model of decision making.

The authors interpret decision field theory (J. R. Busemeyer & J. T. Townsend, 1993) as a connectionist network and extend it to accommodate multialternative preferential choice situations. This article shows that the classic weighted additive utility model (see R. L. Keeney & H. Raiffa, 1976) and the classic Thurstone preferential choice model (see L. L. Thurstone, 1959) are special cases of this new multialternative decision field theory (MDFT), which also can emulate the search process of the popular elimination by aspects (EBA) model (see A. Tversky. 1969). The new theory is unique in its ability to explain several central empirical results found in the multialternative preference literature with a common set of principles. These empirical results include the similarity effect, the attraction effect, and the compromise effect, and the complex interactions among these three effects. The dynamic nature of the model also implies strong testable predictions concerning the moderating effect of time pressure on these three effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression history and coping with chronic pain: A daily process analysis.

This study examined how a previous episode of depression is related to daily pain and reactions to pain among individuals with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome. Seventy-one women with fibromyalgia (including 30 who were previously depressed) rated their pain and mood 3 times daily for 30 days. Each night, participants rated the extent to which they responded to pain by catastrophizing, how much control they had over that day's pain, their ways of coping with pain that day, and the effectiveness of their coping efforts. Multivariate multilevel regression models revealed that after controlling for neuroticism and current depressive symptoms, formerly depressed and never-depressed individuals differed in how they coped with increased pain and in how they appraised the efficacy of their coping efforts. Formerly depressed participants who also reported more current depressive symptoms showed a greater decline in pleasant mood on more painful days than did formerly depressed participants who were experiencing fewer current depressive symptoms. These findings illustrate how a history of depression can be captured in the dynamics of daily life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)