Responsivity to an Experimentally Induced Stress as a Function of Life Change and Personality

Recent research has consistently shown that life change, as measured by the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, is significantly correlated with the onset of physical and/or psychological problems. Despite their statistical significance these correlations account for very little variance. More recently it has been suggested that personality variables may mediate one\u27s ability to cope with life change. In the present study the relationships between life change and the personality measures of Repression-Sensitization, Sensation-Seeking, Health Locus of Control, State-Trait Anxiety and self reported psychological discomfort (Lanyon\u27s PSI Discomfort subscale) were investigated in a multiple regression analysis. The second major goal of the study was to examine how the above- mentioned variables affect one\u27s responsivity to a film-induced stress. Specifically, do subjects who have experienced more life changes differ in their self reported and physiological responses to a standard stressor? Do the personality variables of Repression-Sensitization, Sensation-Seeking, Health Locus of Control, State-Trait Anxiety and psychological discomfort affect subjects\u27 responsivity? Does life change interact in any meaningful way with the personality variables in the film stress situation? One hundred and six female undergraduates completed Sarason\u27s Life Experiences Survey and the personality questionnaires. Eighty-eight subjects returned for the second part of the study and were randomly assigned to one of three male experimenter assistants. Subjects viewed a stressful film, It Didn\u27t Have to Happen. Dependent measures were pre minus post film state anxiety and skin conductance, which was measured continuously throughout the film. Results of the present study demonstrated significant relationships between reported life change and several personality measures. Most notably, reported negative life change—both recent (within 1 year) and remote (beyond 1 year)—was significantly associated with Repression- Sensitization, State-Trait Anxiety, psychological discomfort and the chance dimension of Health Locus of Control. However, these measures were all highly intercorrelated and did not contribute unique variance to reported life change. These results were interpreted in terms of Neuroticism, a tendency to employ mainly undesirable adjectives in describing oneself. Subjects higher on the Neuroticism dimension may tend to endorse significantly more negative life change items. Further, higher negative life change was associated with fewer positive life changes. Thus, reported life change may in fact be mediated by the personality variable/dimension of Neuroticism. Previously reported correlations between life change and subsequent physical illness may simply reflect a greater tendency to report, endorse or recognize ill health. The study did not support previously reported evidence of Sensation-Seeking as a moderator variable. In regard to the physiological measure of stress responsivity, an overall relationship between the personality/life change measures and skin conductance was not found. Skin conductance responses were, however, significantly associated with specific life change/personality measures at specific intervals during the film. Considered preliminary, these relationships were cautiously interpreted and discussed in the text. Finally, despite rigorous attempts for consistency, the experimenter variable had a very powerful effect upon subjects\u27 psychophysio- logical response to the filmed stress; the three experimenters were successfully discerned on the basis of skin conductance via a discriminant function analysis. Thus subtle differences between experimenters had a significant effect upon subsequent responsivity to a filmed stress

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PALMAR SWEAT INDEX AS AN APPLIED MEASURE IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Five studies are described, examining the validity of the Palmar Sweat Index (PSI) as an alternative to traditional measures of electrodermal activity (EDA). A review of research using the PSI identified tour topics which needed to be addressed, before the PSI could be accepted as an alternative to measures of EDA. The first of these topics concerns the reliability of the PSI. A preliminary analysis confirmed that the PSI could be scored reliably. The second topic to be examined, was the relationship between the PSI and measures of EDA. The PSI was found to correlate significantly with several parameters of EDA. These results provide some support for models of EDA involving a single effector. More importantly, the PSI response was observed to show rapid recovery, and in one study the PSI was observed to show adaptation over the course of the session, while skin conductance level did not. The difference in the temporal patterning of the responses shown by the two measures provides an explanation for previous reports of a dissociation between the PSI and EDA. The final topics to be examined concerned the effects of psychological stress and anxiety, respectively, on the PSI. Stressful cognitive tasks were observed to lead to increased palmar sweating. Previous claims that the PSI may decrease in response to stress were not supported. More ecologically-valid stressors were less consistently associated with elevated levels of sweat gland activity. There was some support for a relationship between the PSI and experienced anxiety. It is suggested that this may explain the raised sweat gland activity observed during stressful tasks. Data are also presented from three collaborative studies. This data was collected by other workers and demonstrates the utility of the PSI for applied clinical research

Persönlichkeit und Entspannung vs. Ablenkung beim Zahnarzt

Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte den Einfluß von hoch und niedrig ausgeprägter Zahnbehandlungsangst und den Einfluß der Intervention durch ein Entspannungs- und Ablenkungsverfahren (und Kontrolle) bei der Antizipation einer Zahnbehandlung. Die Teilnehmer waren 49 Patienten einer Giessener Zahnarztpraxis, die parallelisiert nach Alter und Geschlecht auf die Bedingungen aufgeteilt wurden. Anders als in anderen Studien wurden die verschiedenen Meßaspekte in umfassender Weise betrachtet: es wurden peripher-physiologische, immunologische, subjektiv-verbale und behaviorale Indikatoren herangezogen. Außerdem wurde der Einfluß der Ausprägung der Zahnbehandlungsangst und der Art der Experimentalbedingung auf das aktuelle Coping-verhalten untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass peripher-physiologische und immunologische Indikatoren nicht von der Ausprägung der Zahnbehandlungsangst beeinflußt waren. Allerdings zeigten sich subjektiv-verbale Unterschiede: Hochängstliche schätzten ihre körperliche Erregung höher ein als Niedrigängstliche, was auf eine Tendenz der Hochängstlichen zurückgeführt wurde, körperliche Reaktionen stärker als Niedrigängstliche zu beachten. Weiterhin zeigten sich behaviorale Unterschiede: Hochängstliche wirkten starrer und wurden als ängstlicher, weniger entspannt und weniger kooperativ eingeschätzt. Allerdings hat sich das aktuelle Copingverhalten von Hoch- und Niedrigängstlichen nicht unterschieden. Die Ergebnisse sprechen jedoch für eine Wirksamkeit des Entspannungsverfahrens, vor allem bei Hochängstlichen. Zwar haben sich die Experimentalgruppen, wie auch die Persönlichkeitsgruppen, nicht in peripher-physiologischen und immunologischen Indikatoren unterschieden, allerdings verbesserte das Entspannungsverfahren die subjektive Befindlichkeit besonders bei den Hochängstlichen. Auch behaviorale Unterschiede weisen auf die Wirksamkeit des Entspannungsverfahrens hin, dass sich von der Wirkung des Ablenkungsverfahrens und der Kontrollbedingung unterscheidet. Die Ergebnisse zur Wirksamkeit des Ablenkungsverfahrens sind weniger eindeutig. Das Ablenkungsverfahren unterscheidet sich in einigen Punkten vom Entspannungsverfahren, allerdings kaum von der Kontrollbedingung. Dies wird der verwendeten Technik (Audio-Präsentation) angelastet, die vergleichsweise wenig Ablenkungskraft hat. Allerdings beeinflußte das Ablenkungsverfahren das aktuelle Copingverhalten während der Zahnbehandlung

Cognitions, chronicity, distress and disability in temporomandibular disorder (idiopathic orofacial pain)

This thesis attempts to bring the understanding of orofacial pam, and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) in particular, into line with that of other chronic pain conditions, in order that the principles of psychological pain control through education and self-management, apparently effective in other conditions, may be specifically adapted to facial pain. Reviews of the literature on coping, beliefs, depression, and anxiety, establish the current status of theoretically derived measurement instruments, their use in chronic pain patient groups, and the findings there from. Further reviews of psychological aspects of dental pain and primary headache present these as acute and chronic pain conditions for comparison. The first study, assessing disability by means of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP), found no significant relationships between OHIP factors and clinical signs. However, all OHIP factors, except for the functional and physical subscales, correlated significantly with pain intensity, suggesting that psychosocial rather than physical aspects of disability relate to pain report. Anxiety, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD), was associated with pain intensity (McGill Pain Questionnaire, MPQ), catastrophising (Coping Strategies Questionnaire, CSQ), and with 'psychological' pain beliefs (pain Beliefs Questionnaire, PBQ). In addition, anxiety appeared to be related to perceived problems with speech (GHIP). Depressive symptoms (HAD) were associated with 'passive' coping strategies, notably catastrophising, and with emphasis on the impact on tasting and digesting food (OHIP). The second study sought to evaluate how pain symptoms of different character and intensity (MPQ) might influence cognitions relating to cause, time1ine, consequence, and controI/cure (Illness Perceptions Questionnaire, IPQ). Greater intensity of 'constant' pain contributed to greater advocation of physiological cause, and greater perceived consequence of pain on psychosocial functioning, whilst a longer period in full-time education appeared to increase endorsement of psychological causes, and to beneficially influence judgments of time1ine and consequence. Facial pain, though reportedly less painful of lesser consequence, and more controllable than headache, was also found to be less responsive to treatment, as demonstrated over six months following hospital specialist consultation. The contribution of perceived permanence and consequence (lPQ), and of catastrophising (CSQ), to continuing pain, disability, and distress indicates that these factors were suitable targets for a psycho-educational approach aimed specifically at ameliorating pain beliefs and coping strategies. In the final study, a self-management programme for TMD was developed from the findings of the earlier studies, and successfully piloted in a small sample of patients, demonstrating the acceptability of the programme, indicating a need for a full-scale trial

Smoking and Second Hand Smoking in Adolescents with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Report from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) Cohort Study

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking and second hand smoking [SHS] in adolescents with CKD and their relationship to baseline parameters at enrollment in the CKiD, observational cohort study of 600 children (aged 1-16 yrs) with Schwartz estimated GFR of 30-90 ml/min/1.73m2. 239 adolescents had self-report survey data on smoking and SHS exposure: 21 [9%] subjects had “ever” smoked a cigarette. Among them, 4 were current and 17 were former smokers. Hypertension was more prevalent in those that had “ever” smoked a cigarette (42%) compared to non-smokers (9%),