Biomedical subjects

L Alden

Publications and source records attributed to L Alden.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1989

Short-term structured treatment for avoidant personality disorder.

Forty-two men and 34 women (mean age 27.5 years) who met DSM-III criteria for avoidant personality disorder were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment conditions or to a waiting-list control group. Treatment Ss who participated in a 10-week group treatment program displayed significantly greater improvement on a variety of self-report and behavioral measures than did untreated control subjects. The inclusion of skills-training procedures did not contribute to the effects of graduated exposure procedures alone. The gains made during treatment were maintained over the follow-up period, but few further improvements were made. Clinical significance was evaluated by both the subjective evaluation method and the social comparison method. These procedures indicated that although significant improvements had been made, these avoidant Ss were not functioning at the level of normative comparison samples at treatment termination.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Attributional responses of anxious individuals to different patterns of social feedback: nothing succeeds like improvement.

The causal attributions of socially anxious and nonanxious subjects were studied following four patterns of social feedback: consistent success, improvement, deterioration, and consistent failure. Providing anxious subjects with improving feedback produced the strongest internal attribution for positive outcomes, albeit to the unstable factor of effort. Nonanxious subjects, on the other hand, accepted greatest personal responsibility for consistent success. Socially anxious individuals also ascribed greater importance to the external factors of luck and task difficulty than did nonanxious subjects. Possible implications for treatment of socially anxious clients are discussed.

Anxiety↗

PubMed1986

A comparison of treatment modes in the management of myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome.

This research compares different treatment regimes for the management of chronic facial pain associated with the masticatory musculature. Twenty-one females meeting specific criteria were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: a dental splint and physiotherapy program; a relaxation program utilizing progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, and stress management techniques; or a minimal treatment program involving transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Improvement was assessed through a dental examination, self-monitoring of pain, and an assessment of EMG activity during resting and task conditions. Significant changes were obtained in response to all treatment programs. The treatment programs differed only in the relative pattern of treatment effects obtained from the self-report monitoring of pain. The data are consistent with the concept of MPD as a psychological response to stress which maintains chronic pain through increased muscle tension in the jaw.

Biofeedback, Psychology↗

PubMed1981

Changes in alcohol consumption after childbirth.

The early post-partum period is one of the few times of life stress for which health care professionals recommend alcohol consumption. In this study, a group of nursing mothers who had delivered normal full-term, first-born infants were examined during the 1-month period following childbirth. Data were collected on alcohol consumption patterns prior to and during pregnancy and following childbirth. Most women reported abstaining or decreasing consumption during pregnancy. Those who continued to drink during pregnancy reported drinking on social occasions, rather than when depressed or bored. During the post-partum period, a number of women began drinking. By far the most common post-partum drinking situation was during or prior to breast feeding. Reportedly, many women were advised to drink by nurses and doctors in order to relax and to aid the letdown reflex. Several factors seem worth noting. First, professional advice may be based on misinformation. Animal studies have suggested that alcohol inhibits the letdown reflex and may interfere with nursing. Secondly, because alcohol has been shown to enter the milkstream, attention should be given to possible harmful effects of alcohol (on the newborn) during nursing. Nurses could easily incorporate up-to-date information into their nursing practice.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Treatment environment and patient improvement.

This study investigated the relationship between treatment environment and patient behavior change. The psychosocial environments of eight psychiatric wards were assessed by having patients complete the Ward Atmosphere Scale and by having observers record ongoing social interactions on the ward. These environmental measures were related to behavior change scores taken from staff ratings of patient behavior. Both the patient perceptions of the ward environment and the observational environmental measures displayed significant relationships with behavior change. Patient perceptions of staff control and of staff acceptance of anger were found to be important environmental dimensions for patient improvement. In addition, wards having more patient-staff interaction displayed more patient improvement.

Adolescent↗