Globus hystericus is the sensation of a foreign body lodged somewhere in the throat where none is actually found to exist. Although there is some disagreement, medical specialists generally contend that the condition is triggered by a highly emotional experience. Despite the absence of a physical growth to account for the sensation, the condition…

A report is given of research conducted to determine the relationship between the response of the human body to stress and the incidence of physical diseases. Seven areas of the nervous system were tested in the study: cardiovascular, electrodermal, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, piloerectors, pupilomaetric, and respiratory. The results of the…

A 17-year-old boy presented for treatment with chronic diarrhea that had proven refractory to medical treatment for a period of five years. The problem was sufficiently debilitating to cause highly erratic school attendance. Anamnesis revealed no precipitating event, though it was discovered that the patient's mother was a moderately compensated,…

This study examined how self-described "wounded school leaders" were being wounded by leadership itself. It grew out of three earlier studies that investigated the leadership crisis in U.S. schools, focusing on the similarities between the stories leaders were telling about crises in practice and those of individuals confronting medical…

Adolescence is considered a transitory phase in the life course. Failure in school during adolescence can carry with it the risk of an occupational and social downward mobility in the future life course in comparison to the family of origin. The stress associated with this risk can have detrimental effects on the social and emotional climate…

Stress and its influence upon physiological and emotional functioning has been well documented in research literature. In order to extend this research to study the relationship between accumulated life stress, symptoms, and coping responses, 202 college graduates and undergraduates, (144 females and 58 males) responded to three self-report…

Both behavioral and cognitive coping strategies are determined by an individual's perception of the stressful stimuli. To investigate the relationship of an individual's usual coping style to differential responses to a behavioral or cognitive stressor in four response systems (heart rate, muscle tension, galvanic skin response, and subjective…

The psychosomatic theory of obesity assumes that binging, eating in response to emotional distress, is characteristic of obese individuals, yet experimental attempts to demonstrate binging have yielded weak support for this assumption. The incidence of binging was investigated by means of structured interviews on food habits with 41 male and 39…

Reviews of studies of four groups (business executives, lawyers, Army officers, and working women) which demonstrate the health-damaging effects of alienation in certain life situations show that, when under stress, members of these groups who feel alienated fall ill, medically and/or psychiatrically. Three models are described which may explain…

Differences were compared in the short-term and long-term responses of subjects with headache, insomnia, or hypertension to biofeedback training, relaxation, or a combination of both. Headache sufferers, insomniacs, and hypertensives were randomly assigned in equal numbers to biofeedback, relaxation training or a record-keeping control. Over 2…

A post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scale for the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) was developed using an outpatient sample consisting of 45 clients meeting criteria for the PTSD syndrome in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III), and an equal number of matched controls. The scale was derived empirically by…

Though many theories of the greater impact of a spouse's death on men than on women derive some support from role theory, little empirical data exist to support the hypotheses. Behavioral studies of widowhood have focused on social participation as a determinant in coping, without studying the survivor's degree of social involvement before the…

This paper describes a model for an adolescent girls group used as an adjunctive therapy to focus on the issue of maturity. Background information about the group members is provided and the group is described as an ego-supportive group which functions to maintain areas of positive functioning and to aid in the development of personal resources.…

Internalizing symptoms, which include anxiety and depression, may be the most common pattern of psychopathology found in children. However, the knowledge base targeting internalizing symptomology in Native American children of the Southwest is surprisingly limited. This paper reports on a study of prevalence rates of internalizing disorders among…

School psychologists are increasingly expected to become more involved in health related issues. It has been suggested that the frequent visitor to the school nurse (FVSN) is often the student with a high need for security, nurturance, and attachment to an adult at school. This paper focuses on children and adolescents who do not have a chronic…