ABSTRACT
Thirty patients with blood phobia, fulfilling the DSM-III-R criteria for simple phobia, were assessed with behavioral, physiological and self-report measures. They were randomly assigned to 3 different conditions: (1) 5 sessions of applied tension; (2) 1 session of applied tension (maximum 2 h); and (3) I session of tension-only (maximum 2 h). The results showed that the patients in the 3 treatments were all significantly improved at post-treatment and the effects were maintained at the 1 yr follow-up. At post-treatment and follow-up the proportions of clinically improved patients were: AT5 50 and 60%, AT1 0 and 70%, and T1 30 and 60%, respectively. The conclusion that can be drawn is that I-session therapist-directed applied tension or tension-only is the treatment of choice for blood phobia, but completed with a maintenance program of self-exposure.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy , Blood , Phobic Disorders/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Anxiety/diagnosis , Blood Pressure , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Phobic Disorders/diagnosis , Phobic Disorders/psychology , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Syncope/etiology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The food intake of children aged 3-7 years was related to selected parental and child mealtime behaviours from video recordings of meals in 50 Swedish families and a 7-day weighed record of dietary intake from 39 of these. The children's mean intakes of fat and sucrose were relatively high (23% of energy from sugar-rich snacks) and their energy intake and number of meals were evenly distributed over the day. No relationship between energy intake and overweight was found. Children spent 50% of the total mealtime eating. One-third of all child mealtime behaviours were verbal. Most parental behaviours were verbal with negative, non-eating statements about the child being very common and negatively correlated with child energy intake. The child's energy intake was positively correlated with the child taking food on recommendation by the parent. The results indicate parental influences on children's eating which may have implications for the development of food preferences and overweight in childhood.
Subject(s)
Eating/psychology , Energy Intake , Parent-Child Relations , Adult , Body Weight , Child , Child Behavior , Child, Preschool , Diet Records , Female , Humans , Male , Minicomputers , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and Questionnaires , Sweden , Time Factors , Video RecordingABSTRACT
Thirty patients with phobia for blood, wounds and injuries were treated individually with applied tension (AT), exposure in vivo (E), or tension-only (T) for 5 sessions. They were assessed on self-report, behavioral and physiological measures before and after treatment, and at a 1 yr follow-up. All groups improved significantly, and the improvements were maintained at follow-up. Applying stringent criteria, 90% of the AT-, 80% of the T-, and 40% of the E-patients were clinically improved at the end of treatment. The corresponding figures at follow-up were 100, 90 and 50%, respectively. AT differed significantly, and T marginally from E at both assessments. Applied tension, or tension-only should, from a clinical point of view, be considered the treatment of choice for blood phobia.
Subject(s)
Arousal , Blood , Desensitization, Psychologic/methods , Phobic Disorders/therapy , Wounds and Injuries/psychology , Adult , Blood Pressure , Female , Heart Rate , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Phobic Disorders/psychologyABSTRACT
The etiology of gastric pain is an unsolved riddle, despite nearly a century of research. While much research and many pharmacologic treatment methods have been aimed at controlling acid secretion, the role of acid in reports of pain is unclear. In this study, 30 patients (10 with endoscopically verified duodenal ulcers, 10 with verified nonulcer dyspepsia, and 10 healthy volunteers) participated in a double-blind crossover study of the effects of ranitidine on pain reports after an injection of pentagastrin. The results showed that whereas pentagastrin caused a significant increase in gastric secretion, only the patients with nonulcer dyspepsia reported any appreciable pain before or after the injection. In addition, they chose more adjectives to describe their pain and reported more symptoms, especially directly after the injection. There were no significant differences between the drug and placebo conditions nor between the ulcer and healthy subjects. The role of acid in reported pain remains unclear.
Subject(s)
Duodenal Ulcer/physiopathology , Dyspepsia/physiopathology , Gastric Acid/metabolism , Pain/etiology , Adult , Double-Blind Method , Duodenal Ulcer/drug therapy , Dyspepsia/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Pain Measurement , Pentagastrin , Random Allocation , Ranitidine/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Thirty patients with phobia for blood, wounds and injuries were treated individually with applied tension, applied relaxation, or the combination of these two methods for 5, 9 and 10 sessions, respectively. They were assessed on self-report, behavioral and physiological measures before and after treatment, and at a 6-month follow-up. All groups improved significantly on 11/12 measures, and the improvements were maintained at follow-up. Applying stringent criteria, 73% of the patients were clinically improved at the end of treatment and 77% were so at follow-up. Despite a failure to find between-group differences, on many measures there was a trend favoring applied tension. Since this method is as effective as the other treatments in only half the time, applied tension should clinically be the treatment of choice for blood phobia.
