Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts (SAs) are especially prevalent in borderline personality disorder. One proposed mechanism for the maintenance of NSSI and SAs is escape conditioning, whereby immediate reductions in aversive emotional states negatively reinforce the behaviors. Psychophysiological and subjective indicators of…

Examined the differential effects of reinforcement versus extinction in contingency management of outpatient unipolar depression for depressed subjects (N=6) and their significant others. Supports the efficacy of contingency management. (Author/ABB)

Examined therapist and client perceptions of transcripts of psychotherapy--one using facilitative conditions as treatment and one using them as intermediate variables leading to assertive training. For therapists, assertive training was estimated as more effective. The behavioral therapist was seen as more expert. For clients, no significant…

Process and outcome of a smoking cessation program using behavior therapy along (BT) or behavior therapy plus the nicotine patch (BTP) was studied in 64 participants. Abstinence was significantly higher for the BTP group from the end of behavioral treatment (79% vs. 63%) through the three-month follow-up, with the effects weakening at the six- and…

In comprehensive wieght loss program, overweight women exposed to instruction in self-standard setting and to situational management techniques lost more weight than those instructed only in situational management techniques. Findings illustrate facilitative effect of teaching individuals to set specific, objective, and realistic goals for eating…

Reviews behavioral and psychological concepts currently applied to the assessment and treatment of chronic pain syndromes, including operant conditioning and psychophysiologic concepts such as the stress-pain hypothesis, the pain-muscle spasm-pain cycle, and the neuromuscular pain model. Discusses relaxation and biofeedback training and concepts…

Examining cognitive changes in alcoholics in treatment and nonalcoholics after alcohol cue exposure. Alcoholics responded to alcohol cues with reports of increased physical symptoms, decreased confidence about coping with future temptation, and increased guilt. Findings suggest that alcoholics in high-risk relapse situations experience an increase…

Investigated whether women undergoing outpatient chemotherapy for breast cancer can develop classically conditioned emotional distress. Patients' responses to a distinctive stimulus were assessed in a location not associated with chemotherapy administration. Results supported hypothesis that pairing a distinctive stimulus with chemotherapy would…

Evaluated the ability of propranolol hydrochloride to enhance results achieved with relaxation-biofeedback training. Results suggest that concomitant propranolol therapy (CPT) significantly enhanced the effectiveness of relaxation-biofeedback training. CPT also yielded larger reductions in analgesic use and greater improvements in quality-of-life…

Assessed the extent to which postassault situational variables reflecting exposure to attack-similar stimulus appeared to relate to long-term psychological distress of victims. Determined whether a classical conditioning model could adequately describe long-term responses by victims of different forms of assault, including (but not limited to)…