Objective: This study examined (a) duration of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) as a moderator of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) versus its components (cognitive therapy and self-control desensitization) and (b) increases in dynamic flexibility of anxious symptoms during the course of psychotherapy as a mediator of this moderation. Degree of…

Objective: This study tested the comparative effectiveness of modified behavioral self-control therapy (MBSCT) and naltrexone (NTX), as well as the added benefit of combining the 2, in problem drinking men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking to reduce but not quit drinking. Method: Participants (N = 200) were recruited and urn randomized to 1 of 2…

Objective: As emotion regulation is widely considered to be a primary motive in the misuse of alcohol, our aim in the study was to investigate whether deficits in adaptive emotion-regulation skills maintain alcohol dependence (AD). Method: A prospective study investigated whether emotion-regulation skills were associated with AD and whether these…

No randomized clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of psychotherapy for intermittent explosive disorder (IED). In the present study, the authors tested the efficacy of 12-week group and individual cognitive-behavioral therapies (adapted from J. L. Deffenbacher & M. McKay, 2000) by comparing them with a wait-list control in a randomized…

Many tinnitus sufferers believe that their tinnitus has an organic basis and thus seek medical rather than psychological treatments. Tinnitus has been found to be associated with negative appraisal, dysfunctional attention shift, and heightened psychophysiological arousal, so cognitive-behavioral interventions and biofeedback are commonly…

These findings in concert with case history data suggest that the thought-stopping-covert-assertion treatment "package" may hold considerable promise as an efficient and effective clinical tool. (Author)

Using speech anxiety as the target behavior, this study compared two self-control desensitization procedures. Speech-anxious community residents (N=42) volunteered for participation in the program and were seen within a group context for a total of seven therapy sessions. No differential effectiveness was found between the two desensitization…

This research examined whether cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness interventions that target responses to chronic stress, pain, and depression reduce pain and improve the quality of everyday life for adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The 144 RA participants were clustered into groups of 6-10 participants and randomly assigned to 1 of…

Subjects were assigned to conditions based on smoking rates: self-monitoring nicotine plus health hazard information; self-monitoring cigarettes plus health information; and self-monitoring cigarettes with no health information. Nicotine self-monitoring groups showed greater reactivity. Exposure to health hazard information had no effect. (Author)

Compared rapid smoking (overt aversion), covert sensitization (symbolic aversion), and a combination of the two in a self-punishment procedure for eliminating cigarette smoking. Training sessions were spaced over a one-month period. The overt group achieved significantly greater reduction than the symbolic group. The combined group did not differ…

Evaluated three separate versions of a self-control therapy program for depression: one with a behavioral target, one with a cognitive target, and one with a combined target. Found that all conditions improved significantly and equally on measures of both behavioral and cognitive target variables and on self-report and clinician rating scales of…

Compared smoking treatment programs using negative (recording number of cigarettes smoked) v positive (recording number of urges resisted) self-monitoring. Subjects demonstrated significant reduction in smoking frequency compared with no treatment. Findings were maintained at follow-up. Findings question the positive and negative labels used to…

From a population of 20 children, the treatment group received six sessions of verbal self-instructions via modeling with response-cost contingent upon efforts during training, and controls received similar training without specific treatment. Two self-report measures and teacher and staff ratings of locus of conflict did not show treatment…

Assigned problem drinkers to waiting-list control condition or to treatment conditions based on behavioral self-management strategies or on a modified developmental counseling approach. Drinkers in both treatment programs reported significant improvements pre- to postassessment and at followup, in alcohol consumption, mood, and participation in…

Investigated the effectiveness of coping strategies in undergraduate females reporting fear of flying. Self-reports of anxiety were obtained before takeoff, during flight, and after landing. Under serious threat with the cockpit door open, self-talk and combined subjects coped better. With the door closed, all groups increased in anxiety.…