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Biomedical subjects

G H Eifert

Publications and source records attributed to G H Eifert.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Cardiophobia: a paradigmatic behavioural model of heart-focused anxiety and non-anginal chest pain.

Cardiophobia is defined as an anxiety disorder of persons characterized by repeated complaints of chest pain, heart palpitations, and other somatic sensations accompanied by fears of having a heart attack and of dying. Persons with cardiophobia focus attention on their heart when experiencing stress and arousal, perceive its function in a phobic manner, and continue to believe that they suffer from an organic heart problem despite repeated negative medical tests. In order to reduce anxiety, they seek continuous reassurance, make excessive use of medical facilities, and avoid activities believed to elicit symptoms. The relationship of cardiophobia to illness phobia, health anxiety, and panic disorder is discussed. An integrative psychobiological model of cardiophobia is presented which includes previous learning conditions relating to experiences of separation and cardiac disease; deficient and inappropriate behavioural repertoires which constitute a psychological vulnerability for cardiophobic problems; negative life events, stressors, and conflicts in the person's present situation that trigger and contribute to the symptoms; current affective, cognitive, and behavioural symptoms and their stimulus properties; and genetic and acquired biological vulnerability factors. Finally, recommendations for the treatment of cardiophobia are derived from the model and areas of future research are outlined.

Arousal↗
PubMed1991

The triple response approach to assessment: a conceptual and methodological reappraisal.

Despite its positive effects on the increased use of multiple assessments and improved assessment validity, the triple-response concept has led to some conceptual and practical confusion. This is mainly due to two problems: (1) a confounding of the content and method of assessment; and (2) an imprecise and vague use of the 'verbal-subjective mode' which has been expanded to include cognitive elements since the introduction of cognitive-behavioural theories and treatments. A new matrix is proposed that clearly distinguishes content and method of assessment. It also defines a separate cognitive/information-processing content area and introduces affect as an additional content area. Thus, four content areas are suggested: behavioural, physiological, cognitive, and affective, which can be measured in three different ways: by means of self-report, observation, and instruments or technical equipment. We point out the implications of these changes for (1) a more appropriate selection of assessment procedures and outcome measures in clinical research; (2) a more adequate individualization of treatment through matching individual response profiles to specific treatments; and (3) an improved understanding of the interrelationship between behavioural, physiological, cognitive, and affective processes in anxiety and depression. Finally, we suggest that the lack of agreement between measures of physiological, cognitive, behavioural and affective changes in some studies may be as much a reflection of the lack of agreement arising from spurious sources of variance within content areas as it is a reflection of the operation of different processes and systems.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1990

Matching treatments to client problems not diagnostic labels: a case for paradigmatic behavior therapy.

The present article critically analyzes the current approach to treatment outcome research and the uncritical use of treatment packages. Comparing various combinations of treatments with groups of clients randomly assigned to these conditions has led to the neglect of individual differences between persons falling into broad diagnostic categories. The inconclusive results of such studies say little about the efficacy of a particular treatment for an individual client and are also not very useful in helping clinicians to decide which specific treatment to use for a given client. Although treatment packages may be attractive and at times helpful to clinicians, their simplistic use is antithetical to the original and unique approach of behavior therapy and no substitute for treatment individualization. Using the example of agoraphobic problems we show how a conceptual understanding of the processes involved in a given clinical problem and the development of an integrative paradigmatic behavioral model may guide the researcher/clinician toward more effective treatment planning. Conceptually derived treatments can be individualized more easily and therefore take better account of individual differences between clients suffering from a seemingly similar problem. Treatment outcome studies should specifically compare the efficacy of matching particular types and constellations of dysfunctional processes with different procedures which specifically target those dysfunctions.

Agoraphobia↗
PubMed1990

Components of generalized anxiety: the role of intrusive thoughts vs worry.

This study explored possible mechanisms involved with the maintenance of generalized anxiety. While several general anxiety-related variables were investigated, the relationship between worry and intrusive thoughts was of primary interest. We postulated that anxious persons continue to worry in order to avoid recollections of distressing life events. Accordingly, we hypothesized that worry can be distinguished from intrusive thoughts and that the experience of worry would be preferred to intrusive thoughts. Results of a factor analysis indicated that worry and intrusive thought items loaded on separate factors, which supports the hypothesis that worry can be distinguished from intrusive thoughts. The study also examined whether different patterns of worry and intrusive thoughts distinguish between high-anxious, panic, and low-anxious persons and how anxiety sensitivity and self-consciousness are related to generalized anxiety and panic. Finally, we discussed the implications of our results for understanding the psychopathology base of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Language conditioning, emotional instructions, and cognitions in conditioned responses to fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli.

This study compared the effects of experimentally induced self-verbalizations (SV) on conditioned responses to fear-relevant (snakes) and fear-irrelevant (rabbits) stimuli. To extend the analysis of "preparedness theory" beyond its former reliance on physiological measures of fear, subjective and behavioral measures were also included. Using aversive tones (UCS) and slides of snakes or rabbits (CS), fear was classically conditioned in 44 volunteers. In 20 subsequent language conditioning trials without aversive tones, the same slides were paired with verbalizations referring either to positive features of the animals (stimulus-referent SV) or to approach behavior (response-referent SV). Skin conductance responses to fear-relevant stimuli were more readily acquired, of higher magnitude, and more resistant to extinction. Extinction was differentially affected by the two types of SV. Snakes were consistently evaluated more negatively than rabbits and approached less in a behavior test. Results are discussed in relation to preparedness theory and interpreted within Staats' social-behavioral learning paradigm.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Inadequate presentation of behavioral measures of fear in the major journals.

This article reviews the manner in which overt behavioral measures of fear (usually Behaviour Avoidance Tests) are reported in major behaviour therapy journals. It was investigated whether instructions and procedures of BATs were outlined in sufficient detail to enable a potential researcher to replicate them. The results show that only one third (62) of 185 reviewed studies on fear, anxiety or phobias included some form of overt behavioral assessment. Only one third of these 62 studies gave a fair or detailed account of BAT instructions and procedures whereas the remaining studies provided only vague information or no details at all.

Anxiety↗