Mindfulness meditation has received increased attention from clinicians and researchers alike in recent decades and subsequently has been incorporated into treatments for a variety of psychological conditions, including anxiety. Although a small body of experimental research examining the influence of mindfulness on anxiety has developed, few studies to date have experimentally tested the effects of mindfulness meditations beyond a brief breathing meditation. This gap in the literature restricts our understanding of the efficacy of various brief mindfulness interventions currently utilized as clinical tools for anxiety. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to expand upon previous studies by examining the differential effect of two mindfulness exercises – a mindful body scan and a breathing meditation. More specifically, the current project investigated the influence of each intervention on 1) state mindfulness, 2) state cognitive anxiety, and 3) state somatic anxiety. Further, the project examined the moderating influence of participants’ reactions and compliance to each condition on pre-to-post intervention changes in cognitive and somatic anxiety. The current study suggests that brief mindfulness tasks induced state decentering, but not curiosity. However, there appears to be relative uniformity in the effect of both interventions on cognitive and somatic anxiety. Finally, the current study indicates that enjoyment while completing a mindfulness exercise is an important moderating factor on the efficacy of mindfulness interventions for anxiety.

This study was concerned with the relationship among anxiety scores and four selected measures of behavior in school children and attempted to determine how many factors are involved when such measures are obtained.

No description available.

I denna studie har prestationsångest undersökts i relation till tre olika typer av socialt stöd och två faktorer inom tidspress. Tidigare forskning pekar på att socialt stöd spelar en betydande roll för minskad prestationsångest i studier, samt att tidspress ger en ökad effekt. Undersökningen hade 151 manliga studenter från två olika program på en högskola. Mätningen av socialt stöd och tidspress skedde genom en tvåvägs variansanalys för oberoende mätningar för att få fram om hur dessa huvudeffekter har en inverkan på prestationsångest. Resultatet visade att högt socialt stöd och lite tidspress minskar prestationsångest samtidigt som lågt socialt stöd och mycket tidspress leder till ökad prestationsångest. En åtgärd för ökat socialt stöd kan vara att aktivt arbeta för en större sammanhållning mellan studenterna. Vi valde att endast undersöka män för att tidigare forskning kring detta ämne har haft stor fokus på endast kvinnor.

Research on the devaluation of attractive alternatives has consistently shown that the strength of one’s relationship commitment can influence an individual’s judgements about the attractiveness of a potential mate. Specifically, depending on a person’s degree of relationship commitment, he or she may devalue the physical attractiveness of that alternative as a means of minimizing the perceived threat to his or her relationship. Because the devaluation process is argued to operate as a function of perceived relationship threat, I hypothesized that in addition to the beholder’s relationship commitment, the beholder’s attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety should also predict attractiveness devaluation, since a heightened perception of threat is a shared feature among these constructs. Additional theoretical rationale for these hypotheses is derived from modern evolutionary theories of attachment, particularly as they pertain to the function of attachment security within mating contexts. Additionally, I hypothesized that these same five variables would predict both relationship quality and relationship break-up six months after initial data collection. Results generally supported all six hypotheses with some important qualifications. Relationship commitment and social anxiety each predicted attractiveness devaluation in female participants only, and attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted devaluation in male participants only. Generalized anxiety also predicted attractiveness ratings for certain targets but only when the two facets of stress and anxiety were used as separate predictors. Moreover, evidence of devaluation was also found for traits other than attractiveness (i.e., interestingness and intelligence) as well as for same-sex targets. Finally, regarding relationship outcomes, participants who scored higher on measures of anxiety also reported being less committed to their relationships on average and had higher rates of break-up at follow-up. Clinical, social, and research implication of these findings are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1998. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Jeffrey B. Hecht, Paul Baker (co-chairs), Patricia H. Klass, Graham Jones. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-154) and abstract. Also available in print.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Dissociation may be broadly described as a subjective experience in which information from the individual's internal or external environment is not appropriately integrated into conscious awareness, memory or identity. A number of studies have found an association between dissociative experience and anxious arousal, and in particular, between dissociation and trauma. Recent reviews suggest the existence of an unspecified mediating variable that accounts for these associations. The present study compared dissociative experiences reported by a community sample (N = 74) and a sample of individuals with a range of anxiety disorders (N = 20). The potential influence of anxiety sensitivity was a particular focus. Participants completed a battery of measures assessing dissociative experience, anxious arousal, social anxiety, generalised anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, traumatic experience and posttraumatic stress in addition to measures of anxiety sensitivity and substance use. Participants in the anxiety group reported a greater variety and frequency of dissociative experiences, particularly of experiences considered to be pathological in nature. Elevated dissociation scores were associated with somatic symptoms of anxiety, social anxiety, generalised anxiety, agoraphobia and posttraumatic stress. No association between trauma exposure and dissociation was evident; however, trauma intensity was associated with dissociation in the anxiety group. Symptoms of depersonalisation / derealisation and absorption were most strongly associated with increased anxiety. Anxiety Sensitivity accounted for more of the variance in dissociation scores than did measures of expressed anxiety. These results suggest that anxiety sensitivity may account for the relationship between trauma anxiety and dissociation. Therapeutic intervention directed at anxiety sensitivity, particularly fear of cognitive discontrol, may prove helpful in treating dissociative detachment.

The purposes of the study were to: 1. Determine the level of test anxiety present, as measured by the Test Anxiety Questionnaire (TAQ), prior to treatment. 2. Develop an implosive therapy procedure to reduce test anxiety. 3. Administer implosive therapy to subjects in the experimental treatment group. 4. Determine the post-treatment level of test anxiety in the implosive therapy group, placebo-attention control group, and the no-treatment control group. 5. Determine if there were any significant differences in the test anxiety levels in the three groups on the post-treatment TAQ. 6. Investigate the results of a one month follow-up administration of the TAQ to determine the relative stability of test scores.