Biomedical subjects

Aaron T Beck

Publications and source records attributed to Aaron T Beck.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Beck Depression Inventory-II items associated with self-reported symptoms of ADHD in adult psychiatric outpatients.

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) and the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self-Report: Screening Version (CAARS-S:SV; Conners, Erhardt, & Sparrow, 1999) were administered to 371 (64%) female and 204 (36%) male adult (> 18 years old) outpatients who were diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders to determine whether any of the 21 items or subsets of items in the BDI-II were related to symptoms of attention deficits and hyperactivity as measured by the CAARS-S:SV DSM-IV Total ADHD Symptoms scale (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] Symptoms). Stepwise multiple-regression analyses found that the BDI-II Concentration Difficulty explained 30% of the variance in these total scores. Ratings > 1 for the BDI-II Concentration Difficulty item were discussed as being useful for ruling out possible symptoms of ADHD.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

A clinical review of cognitive therapy for schizophrenia.

Major advances have been made in the cognitive understanding and treatment of the symptoms of schizophrenia, including delusions, hallucinations, and emotional withdrawal. Experimental studies on the psychologic aspects of schizophrenia demonstrate the importance of information processing biases, such as cognitive biases and distortions, that are functionally related to the maintenance of symptoms. Understanding the aspects of schizophrenia in cognitive terms provides a framework for psychotherapeutic intervention with the adaptation of the cognitive strategies proven effective in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. The authors of this paper first outline the cognitive conceptualization and strategies employed by cognitive therapists to treat positive and negative symptoms, and conclude with a summary of the empiric status of cognitive therapy for schizophrenia. Cognitive therapy has been shown to be an important adjunct to standard treatments of schizophrenia.

Affect↗

PubMed2002

Prisoners of hate.

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001 as well as domestic terrorism in the United States and elsewhere in the world has prompted an analysis of the psychology of the terrorist. The perpetrators' profound sense of being wronged--their values undermined by foreign powers or a corrupt domestic power structure--has cried out for revolution and revenge. The fanatic ideology of the perpetrators has provided the matrix for a progressively more malevolent representation of the oppressors: the Image of the Enemy. Retribution against the Enemy in the form of mass murder of anonymous civilians becomes an imperative. The counterpart of the image of the Enemy is the idealized collective self-image of members of the movement, faction, or cult. The group narcissism of the white supremacists in the United States, the Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, and the Islamic extremists enhance their collective self-image as pure, righteous, and united. While the foot soldiers, as in any war, gain glory through martyrdom, the instigators and leaders have their own personal narcissistic goals (power and prestige) and plan. For the extremist Islamists the ultimate goal has been overthrow of the moderate Islamic governments; for the domestic terrorists, destabilization of the national government and reinstitution of the traditional values.

Anger↗

PubMed2002

Assessment of dysfunctional beliefs in borderline personality disorder.

This study had two aims: to test the hypothesis that borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients hold numerous dysfunctional beliefs associated with a variety of Axis II disorders, and to construct a BPD belief scale which captures these beliefs. Beliefs were measured using the Personality Belief Questionnaire (PBQ) which is designed to assess beliefs associated with various personality disorders, although not specifically BPD. Eighty-four BPD patients and 204 patients with other personality disorders (OPD) were randomly split into two study samples. Fourteen PBQ items were found to discriminate BPD from OPD patients in both samples. These items came from the PBQ Dependent, Paranoid, Avoidant, and Histrionic scales and reflect themes of dependency, helplessness, distrust, fears of rejection/abandonment/losing emotional control, and extreme attention-seeking behavior. A BPD beliefs scale constructed from these items showed good internal consistency and diagnostic validity among the 288 study patients. The scale may be used to assist in diagnosis and cognitive therapy of BPD.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Development and initial testing of a multimedia program for computer-assisted cognitive therapy.

A multimedia program for computer-assisted psychotherapy has been developed to help patients learn cognitive therapy skills. The program is designed to provide psychoeducation, teach self-help methods, and give information to clinicians on the patient's progress in using the software. Multimedia technology is utilized to engage users in the learning process and to make the program accessible for persons who do not have computer or keyboard skills. A preliminary study with 96 subjects who used the software along with treatment as usual found that 75 (78.1%) completed the entire program. Users indicated a high rate of acceptance of this form of computer-assisted therapy, and mean scores on a measure of cognitive therapy knowledge were significantly improved.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Convergent validity of the Beck depression inventory-II with the reynolds adolescent depression scale in psychiatric inpatients.

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS; Reynolds, 1987) were administered to 56 female and 44 male psychiatric inpatients whose ages ranged from 12 to 17 years old. The Cronbach coefficient alpha(s) for the BDI-II and RADS were, respectively, .92 and .91 and indicated comparably high levels of internal consistency. The correlation between the BDI-II and RADS total scores was .84,p <.001. Binormal receiver-operating-characteristic analyses indicated that both instruments were comparably effective in differentiating inpatients who were and were not diagnosed with a major depressive disorder; the areas under the ROC curves for the BDI-II and RADS were, respectively, .78 and .76. The results (a) indicate that the BDI-II and the RADS have similar psychometric characteristics and (b) support the convergent validity of the BDI-II for assessing self-reported depression in adolescent inpatients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Cognitive therapy for schizophrenia: from conceptualization to intervention.

OBJECTIVES: To outline the cognitive understanding of symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions, hallucinations, and emotional withdrawal, and to review the cognitive therapy approach to ameliorating these symptoms. METHOD: We identified studies examining cognitive factors associated with symptoms of schizophrenia by electronic search (using Medline and Psycinfo). This paper integrates experimental findings and clinical treatment. RESULTS: Recent studies focusing on the psychological aspects of schizophrenia demonstrate the importance of common cognitive biases and distortions that are functionally related to the maintenance of symptoms. Understanding the disorder in cognitive terms provides a framework for psychotherapeutic intervention. Adapting cognitive strategies successfully used in cognitive therapy of depression and anxiety provides an important adjunct to standard treatment of schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Given that the outcome of current treatment for schizophrenia remains poor, attention to therapist training in psychological approaches is essential.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗