Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K A Holroyd.
In an experimental "party" situation socially anxious subjects and subjects who received negative social evaluations drank less beer and had lower blood alcohol concentrations than did subjects who were not socially anxious or who received positive evaluations.
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A link between headache and depression has been noted in the literature for over 30 years. To date, however, studies investigating this relationship have ignored the potential impact transdiagnostic symptoms (i.e., symptoms indicative of both depression and headache) may have on correlations between measures of depression and measures of headache activity. The present study examined this issue using the Beck Depression Inventory in a large sample of recurrent headache sufferers who had presented for treatment at one of two university-based clinics. Factor analysis identified two distinct, albeit correlated, factors reflecting cognitive/affective symptoms and somatic symptoms. Correlational analyses found consistent relationships between the somatic symptom factor and measures of headache activity, but not between the cognitive/affective factor and headache activity. We suggest that the BDI items comprising the somatic factor identified in this study may not be appropriate indicators of depression in recurrent headache samples.
Subject samples used in research on recurrent headache disorders typically are composed of individuals who are seeking or receiving treatment. To the extent such subjects are unrepresentative of the larger population of recurrent headache sufferers, the external validity of findings may be jeopardized. We examined young recurrent (tension-type or migraine) headache sufferers and compared individuals who had sought treatment (N = 81) and individuals who had not sought treatment (N = 109) for their headache problem. Subjects who did not experience headaches (N = 129) served as a comparison group. Recurrent headache sufferers who had sought treatment reported more frequent headaches and experienced problem headaches for a longer period of time than recurrent headache sufferers who had not sought treatment for their headaches. However, the two treatment-seeking groups did not differ on measures of psychological symptoms, coping strategies, or beliefs about their headache disorder. Irrespective of whether they had sought treatment or not sought treatment for their headache problems, recurrent headache sufferers reported higher levels of depression and physical symptoms than comparison subjects. These results provide no support for the hypothesis that psychological symptoms or neuroticism are associated with treatment-seeking behavior in recurrent headache sufferers.