Although children with social phobia (SP) and selective mutism (SM) present similarly in a clinical setting, it remains unclear whether children with SM are unable to speak due to overwhelming anxiety, or whether withholding speech functions as an avoidance mechanism. A total of 35 children (ages 5-12 years) with either SM (n = 10), SP (n = 11),…

Four articles examining methodological applications of exposure therapy and its limited dissemination were briefly reviewed. Methodological articles included those by Abramowitz et al., Gryczkowski et al., and Weiner and McKay, which addressed couple treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), modification of evidence-based anxiety…

Experiential avoidance (EA) is considered a risk factor for psychopathology. This study explores whether EA mediates the relationship between maladaptive coping styles (palliative, avoidance, and passive coping) and psychopathology and positive mental health. A total of 93 adults with mild to moderate psychological distress completed measures…

Previous research has indicated that although eating pathology is prevalent in college populations, both CBT and non-CBT-based therapies achieve only limited effectiveness. The current study examined several questions related to the treatment of eating pathology within the context of a larger randomized controlled trial that compared standard CBT…

This article explores the efficacy of virtual environments representing situations that are emotionally significant to patients with eating disorders (ED) to modify depression and anxiety levels both in these patients and in controls. Eighty-five ED patients and 108 students were randomly exposed to five experimental virtual environments (a…

It is well-established that coping and enhancement drinking motives predict college student drinking and that personality traits predict drinking motives. Little is known, however, about personality and drinking patterns among individuals who drink for both enhancement and coping reasons. University students in the current study completed…

This report presents results of a treatment for panic disorder with moderate to severe agoraphobia (PDA-MS) called sensation-focused intensive treatment (SFIT). SFIT is an 8-day intensive treatment that combines features of cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder, such as interoceptive exposure and cognitive restructuring with ungraded…

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has a small but growing database of support. One hundred and one heterogeneous outpatients reporting moderate to severe levels of anxiety or depression were randomly assigned to traditional cognitive therapy (CT) or to ACT. To maximize external validity, the authors utilized very minimal exclusion criteria.…

Articles about systematic desensitization that appeared in mainstream behavior therapy journals between the years 1970 and 2002 were counted. Graphic displays of the data point to a sudden and lasting decline of interest in systematic desensitization among academics and researchers. A questionnaire concerning clinical use of orthodox systematic…

The main goal of this study was to examine the effect of written exposure on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)-related symptoms in high worriers. Thirty nonclinical high worriers were randomly assigned to either a written exposure condition or a control writing condition. Self-report measures were used to assess worry, GAD somatic symptoms,…

The present investigation examined the developmental course(s) of lifetime cigarette use and panic attack comorbidity. Participants included 4,409 adults, ages 15 to 54 years of age (M[Age] = 33.1, SD = 10.7, N (females) = 2,221) from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS). The primary objective of the present investigation was to better understand…

The main and interactive effects of pubertal status and emotional reactivity to bodily sensations elicited by a voluntary hyperventilation challenge were examined in relation to panic symptoms and self- and parent-reported somatic complaints among 123 (56 females) adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years (M[age] = 15.05; SD = 1.50). As…

Preoperative anxiety (anxiety regarding impending surgical experience) in children is a common phenomenon that has been associated with a number of negative behaviors during the surgery experience (e.g., agitation, crying, spontaneous urination, and the need for physical restraint during anesthetic induction). Preoperative anxiety has also been…

This study sought to assess the effectiveness of a marital distress prevention program for couples by examining how marital quality, especially marital competencies such as dyadic coping, could be improved by means of a prevention program focusing on the enhancement of coping resources (Couples Coping Enhancement Training). The study consisted of…

The factor structure, psychometric properties, and relationship with personality variables of a Spanish version of the Savings Inventory-Revised (SI-R) are investigated in a sample of 381 undergraduate students. A maximum likelihood factor analysis suggests a three-factor structure, which is similar but not identical to that of the original…