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Biomedical subjects

Gerhard Andersson

Publications and source records attributed to Gerhard Andersson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Directions for the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII).

In 2004, the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII) was formed to encourage eHealth researchers to collaborate in their efforts to further the science behind developing, testing, and disseminating Web-based treatment programs. The group held its second meeting (April 2006) to clarify the Society's direction and identify key issues that need addressing in the field. These issues are identified and examined in the current paper. Given the success of using the Internet to treat a range of medical and mental health problems, and the growing need for better dissemination of health care, Internet interventions will almost certainly play a prominent role in global health. ISRII plans to provide the necessary venue to ensure the science driving this field is strong, enabling researchers to conduct the highest quality research and permitting meaningful conclusions from completed studies.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed2006

Consequences of suppressing thoughts about tinnitus and the effects of cognitive distraction on brain activity in tinnitus patients.

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of any appropriate external stimulus. Based on the clinical observation that tinnitus patients may distract themselves from their sounds, we performed an experimental test on the effects of suppressing thoughts about tinnitus with 45 tinnitus patients, to systematically evaluate the immediate consequences of suppressing thought vs. attending to tinnitus. Suppression instructions tended to lead to a subsequent decrease in tinnitus-related thoughts, whereas attention to tinnitus resulted in an increase in such thoughts. No effects were seen in a control group who neither suppressed nor attended to their tinnitus. In an independent positron emission tomography study of cerebral blood flow with 8 patients we found that silent backward counting ('serial sevens test') led to a decrease in neural activity in auditory cortex, as well as perceived decrease of tinnitus loudness and annoyance. Thus, distraction that altered the tinnitus experience seemed to attenuate auditory cortex activity.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Internet-based self-help with therapist feedback and in vivo group exposure for social phobia: a randomized controlled trial.

Sixty-four individuals with social phobia (social anxiety disorder) were assigned to a multimodal cognitive-behavioral treatment package or to a waiting list control group. Treatment consisted of a 9-week, Internet-delivered, self-help program that was combined with 2 group exposure sessions in real life and minimal therapist contact via e-mail. Results were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis, including all randomized participants. From pre- to posttest, treated participants in contrast to controls showed significant improvement on most measured dimensions (social anxiety scales, general anxiety and depression levels, quality of life). The overall within- and between-groups effect sizes were Cohen's d = 0.87 and 0.70, respectively. Treatment gains were maintained at 1-year follow-up. The results from this study support the continued use and development of Internet-distributed, self-help programs for people diagnosed with social phobia.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Everyday memory self-assessed by adult patients with acquired brain damage and their significant others.

Self-assessment of everyday memory dysfunction was examined in a sample of 48 patients with acquired brain injury. A modified version of the Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ20) was used as an interview. Patients were compared to 30 persons without brain injury. EMQ20 was completed by significant others (SOs) to both patients and controls. Patients reported a higher frequency of memory problems (days per week) and more distress due to memory deficits compared to controls. A high degree of consistency was found between patient and SO ratings on these measures. No difference was found on the total usage of memory aids, but patients asked other people more for a reminder and used loose notes less than controls. Implications for rehabilitation and future research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Cognitive bias via the Internet: a comparison of Web-based and standard emotional Stroop tasks in social phobia.

There is accumulating evidence to suggest that social phobia is associated with attentional bias for words related to social threat. Information processing in individuals with social phobia (n = 87) was investigated in the present study using 2 versions of the emotional Stroop task. Results from a standard emotional Stroop task indicated delayed colour naming of socially threatening words relative to neutral words, in line with previous research, whereas results from a Web-based emotional Stroop task indicated a facilitation effect, with faster manual indication of colour choice for socially threatening words than for neutral words. Possible explanations for these contrasting findings and issues for further research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

CBT and religion.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗
PubMed2006

Memories of significant episodes in child psychotherapy: an autobiographical memory approach.

In this study, child psychotherapists (N=31) were asked to retrieve emotionally valenced therapy episodes by using an autobiographical memory approach, with cue words to elicit specific therapy episodes (e.g. irritated, ashamed, loving, and elated). One group of teachers for the disabled (N=10) and one group of music therapists (N=9) were also tested and served as comparison groups. Results showed that all participants were able to retrieve memories of episodes. When asked to rate each memory, negative memories were returned to less often, and overall positive memories were rated as more easy to recall and more vivid. Memories derived from positive cue words were also judged to have a more positive compared with negative importance for outcome. Surprisingly, memories derived from the cue word irritated were seen as having more positive than negative importance for outcome. Finally, we checked memory specificity for each memory derived. A high degree of specificity was found overall (72-88%). In conclusion, cue words might be a useful way to generate specific memories of therapy episodes in future research.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A controlled trial of cognitive-behavior therapy combined with vestibular rehabilitation in the treatment of dizziness.

Dizziness is a common and often untreated symptom in the general population. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a combined cognitive-behavioral/vestibular rehabilitation (VR) program, using a randomized control design. A total of 29 participants were randomized to treatment consisting of psychoeducation, vestibular exercises, relaxation and cognitive interventions, or to serve as waiting list controls. Measures of dizziness-related handicap, dizziness-provoking movements, and daily diary registrations of dizziness symptoms at pre- and post-treatment showed statistically significant improvements in many domains, which translated to moderate effect sizes. These findings provide preliminary support for the combination of Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and VR methods in the treatment of dizziness.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Fears, hyperacusis and musicality in Williams syndrome.

The study investigated the prevalence of fear and hyperacusis and the possible connections between fear, hyperacusis and musicality in a Swedish sample of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS). The study included 38 individuals and a cross-sectional design, with no matched control group. Two persons, who knew the participant well, completed a questionnaire. On reported fears, 58% of the participants scored higher than +2S.D., compared to a psychometric study. Thirteen percent scored above the suggested cut-off for hyperacusis, compared to 2.5% in a psychometric study. Female participants generally had higher reported fears and hyperacusis compared to male participants. There were also startling findings of correlations between reported fears and hyperacusis. This preliminary report supports a hypothesis that fears and anxiety could be associated with hyperacusis in the WS population. A hypothesis that musicality could serve as a protective factor and prevent anxiety, received no or very limited support. A hypothesis that hyperacusis could be connected to a general, readily arousal, tendency in the sympathetic nervous system and could be seen as vulnerability for psychopathology is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Coping strategies, injury characteristics and long-term outcome after burn injury.

Coping consists of cognitive and behavioural strategies aimed at enhancing adaptation, and the use of certain coping strategies is proposed to be beneficial for health. The relationship between coping strategies and burn injury characteristics, sociodemographics and long-term outcome was evaluated in 161 previous victims of severe burn injury. Functional and psychosocial restrictions were measured with the burn specific health scale-brief (BSHS-B) and related to coping strategies measured by the coping with burns questionnaire (CBQ). Patients were on average 47.7 years at measurement of health status and they were assessed 9.2 (S.D. = 4.8) years after injury. The mean area burned was 24.0 and 7.2% was full thickness injury. There was no relation between coping strategies and injury characteristics except in individuals with a full thickness burn exceeding 10%, who exhibited more Revaluation/adjustment. An Avoidant coping strategy was related to work status, marital status and living conditions, and this was the strategy most clearly related to "Bad outcome" in all scales of the BSHS-B. Emotional support was the most beneficial strategy and was mainly associated with the psychosocial scales of the BSHS-B.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Treatment of tinnitus in the elderly: a controlled trial of cognitive behavior therapy.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in elderly people with tinnitus (<65 years). Thirty-seven patients were called in for a structured interview. Following exclusion, twenty-three participated in the trial. All participants underwent medical ear, nose, and throat (ENT) examination, audiometry, and tinnitus matchings. A randomized controlled design with a waiting list control group was used. A CBT treatment package was delivered in six weekly two hour group sessions. Outcome was measured using validated self-report inventories and daily diary ratings of annoyance, loudness and sleep quality for one week pretreatment, post-treatment. A three month follow-up was included at which time all participants had received treatment, but in a shorter format for the control group. Results showed statistically significant reductions of tinnitus-related distress. Thus, CBT was better than no treatment, but the particular aspects of CBT that contributed to the effects can not be established. In conclusion, the findings give some support for the use of group CBT for elderly people with tinnitus.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Stroop facilitation in tinnitus patients: an experiment conducted via the world wide web.

Cognitive mechanisms have been proposed to play an important role in tinnitus. In the present study, tinnitus participants were administered an emotional Stroop test via the Internet, incorporating words related to tinnitus concerns. In line with previous research using this Web-based version of the emotional Stroop test, faster color naming was demonstrated for concern-relevant words relative to neutral words. The present results thus provided support for a role for cognitive factors that are important for the understanding of tinnitus. However, future research is warranted in order to clarify the precise mechanisms involved in tinnitusrelated Stroop effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Extracting a maximum of useful information from statistical research data.

The practice of statistical inference in psychological research is critically reviewed. Particular emphasis is put on the fast pace of change from the sole reliance on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) to the inclusion of effect size estimates, confidence intervals, and an interest in the Bayesian approach. We conclude that these developments are helpful for psychologists seeking to extract a maximum of useful information from statistical research data, and that seven decades of criticism against NHST is finally having an effect.

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMed2005

Fear-avoidance in recovered burn patients: association with psychological and somatic symptoms.

Fear-avoidance, an important model in the understanding of chronic pain, has not yet been studied in patients with burns. The purpose of this study was to investigate if recovered burn patients have fear-avoidance beliefs and to explore the association with psychological and somatic symptoms. Eighty-four recovered burn patients completed self-report questionnaires. The results showed that there were fear-avoidance beliefs, but not to a large extent. Beta coefficients from multiple regression analyses indicated a strong association between fear-avoidance and problems with work, heat sensitivity and arousal symptoms. The model was capable of explaining 73 per cent of the variance in fear-avoidance beliefs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Internet-based self-help for depression: randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Major depression can be treated by means of cognitive-behavioural therapy, but as skilled therapists are in short supply there is a need for self-help approaches. Many individuals with depression use the internet for discussion of symptoms and to share their experience. AIMS: To investigate the effects of an internet-administered self-help programme including participation in a monitored, web-based discussion group, compared with participation in web-based discussion group only. METHOD: A randomised controlled trial was conducted to compare the effects of internet-based cognitive-behavioural therapy with minimal therapist contact (plus participation in a discussion group) with the effects of participation in a discussion group only. RESULTS: Internet-based therapy with minimal therapist contact, combined with activity in a discussion group, resulted in greater reductions of depressive symptoms compared with activity in a discussion group only (waiting-list control group). At 6 months' follow-up, improvement was maintained to a large extent. CONCLUSIONS: Internet-delivered cognitive cognitive-behavioural therapy should be pursued further as a complement or treatment alternative for mild-to-moderate depression.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The use of the Internet in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to review the emerging literature on the use of the Internet in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The questions asked are: (1) are Internet-delivered treatments for anxiety disorders supported by the research literature? (2) what is the quality of the evidence as it stands? (3) is there any evidence to suggest that Internet interventions can be harmful? RECENT FINDINGS: Recent and ongoing trials on panic disorder show that Internet-based self-help with minimal therapist contact is a promising approach in the treatment of panic disorder. However, trials have been small and there is a need for large-scale trials and studies conducted in psychiatric settings as most studies have recruited patients via advertisement. There is no evidence in the literature that Internet intervention is harmful, but most likely a stepped-care approach would be feasible to handle cases who fail to respond. SUMMARY: Internet-delivered interventions for anxiety disorders, and in particular panic disorder, are promising. There is however a need for further research and evaluation and there is also a need to find a proper place for such interventions in the clinical management of anxiety disorders, preferably using a stepped-care approach.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Stroop interference for food- and body-related words: a meta-analysis.

According to cognitive theories of eating disorders, biased information processing in favour of dysfunctional attitudes about food and body appearance plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of such disorders. Data from 27 studies evaluating Stroop interference for food- and body-related words with negative overtones were included in a meta-analysis in order to investigate whether such processing biases are specific to eating disordered samples. Participants were females characterised as eating disordered, non-eating disordered but nevertheless over-concerned with body appearance and eating, and normal controls. Mean Stroop interference for eating disordered females was of medium effect size (Cohen's d=0.48) and significantly larger than for both non-eating disordered females concerned with body appearance and eating, and normal control females (both d=0.21). Stroop interference for eating disordered females was thus of fairly modest magnitude where it was unclear whether such interference is specific to this sample.

Anorexia Nervosa↗