Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1984.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1984.

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that more intelligent Ss would produce greater increases in peripheral skin temperature using autogenic feedback training. At the completion of training, the Ss were divided into two groups by IQ scores and matched with pretraining (baseline) temperatures. The hypothesis was rejected when results opposite to those predicted occurred. Large group differences, however, prompted a po4t-hoc investigation to determine the statistical significance between group performances. This analysis revealed that the less intelligent Ss experienced greater success (p<.05) in increasing skin temperature. Possible explanations for these results are discussed and considerations for future investigations with biofeedback training and intelligence are suggested.

The present study evaluates the efficacy of self-hypnosis and its components--relaxation instructions and waking analgesia suggestions--for pain reduction in patients recovering from gallbladder surgery. Forty elective surgery patients were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental pain control procedures or to a standard treatment control group--preoperative teaching. The treatments were found to be equally credible and generated equivalent expectancies for success. Pain was assessed using multiple subjective and objective measures sampled across the postoperative period. Multivariate analysis of these data indicated that the experimental treatments were no more effective in diminishing postoperative pain than the control procedure. However, the analysis revealed several significant correlates and predictors of postoperative pain. These included trait anxiety, depression, stress coping style as well as interview and rating scale reports of cognitive coping strategies. Significant predictors of credibility--expectancy, treatment utilization and cognitive coping classifications were also found. Analysis of the pain measurement strategy indicated consistency among the subjective measures--the McGill Pain Questionnaire and visual analogue scales--which were relatively independent from the objective measures, which comprised electronically monitored gross motor activity and analgesic medication requirements. Possible interpretations and implications of these results as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-92). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-92). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

No description available.

Providing care for a frail older adult who is suffering from dementia has been described as a stressful experience that may erode psychological well-being and physical health of caregivers. The burden and stress is increased when the caregivers are themselves elderly. The present study investigated an 8-week stress-reduction program, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and compared it to a similarly structured, alternative behavioral intervention, Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), to determine if MBSR was as effective or more effective than PMR at reducing subjective burden, symptoms of depression, perceived loneliness or perceived stress among middle-aged and older family caregivers of persons with dementia and other neurocognitive disorders. Twenty-eight participants were randomly assigned to either MBSR or PMR. Self-report and biological measures were collected on five occasions: At the beginning and end of intervention training, and at 8 weeks, 6 months and 1 year following the end of intervention training. In addition to a packet of self-report questionnaires and home-collected salivary cortisol, a laboratory controlled emotional stress test was designed to elicit an emotionally stressful response relevant to caregivers’ experience of caregiving, and facilitate the measurement of stress-related changes in systolic blood pressure and cortisol reactivity. At 1 year post-intervention, the PMR group showed a significantly greater reduction in perceived stress and disruptive patient behaviors. A reduction in emotional reactivity to patient problem behaviors approached significance (p = .08) at 1 year post-intervention for the PMR group. The MBSR group showed significantly greater reductions in self-reported symptoms of depression and perceived isolation from pre- to post-intervention, and those changes remained significant at 8 weeks post-intervention. However, by 1 year post-intervention, interaction effects were non-significant as both groups showed similar decreases in symptoms of depression and perceived isolation. Both groups showed similar decreases in diurnal cortisol, cortisol awakening response, and daily average cortisol (but not laboratory cortisol) from pre- to post-intervention and further decreases at 8 weeks post-intervention, and showed similar reductions in magnitude of change by 1 year post-intervention. This pattern was similar for both groups with systolic blood pressure, showing decreases from pre- to post-intervention, additional decreases at 8 weeks post-intervention, and returning towards baseline by 1 year post-intervention. Both groups also reported similar increases in levels of dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion and similar improvement in overall sleep quality that was sustained at 1 year post-intervention. No changes were seen for perceived burden or loneliness. Significant correlations with amount of daily practice of the instructed stress-reduction approaches were observed for several of the dependent measures from pre- to post-intervention and 8 weeks post-intervention. From pre-intervention to 1 year post-intervention, an overall pattern emerged, where both groups showed similar improvements from pre- to post-intervention, and additional improvements at 8 weeks post-intervention, but displayed a curvilinear reduction in improvements—with some exceptions—and a return towards baseline at 6 months and 1 year post-intervention. In general, reductions in the magnitude of changes observed by 1 year post-intervention remained below baseline levels. Results suggest that both MBSR and relaxation-based interventions may be differentially effective in reducing psychological and physiological indices of chronic stress among older caregivers of relatives with neurocognitive disorders. However, further research, employing wait-list control participants, will be necessary for unambiguous interpretation of the present results.

The purpose of this investigation was to separate the effects, and determine the optimal and most feasible methods, of promoting skin temperature increase in a clinical prison population. There were no significant differences among the instructional sets with respect to skin temperature increase. Skin Temperature feedback significantly delayed the time of maximum temperature increase. However, the average delay of 3.5 minutes was not considered to be clinically significant. No other significant effects were evidenced from feedback training. It was suggested that the lack of differential effects among the instructional sets and feedback training may be a characteristic of the early stages of training and that significant differences might emerge if training were continued over a greater number of sessions.The question was raised as to whether skin-temperature training had taken place during the two training sessions. The subjects may have been displaying a nonspecific "relaxation response" or habituation to the experimental situation. It may take more than two sessions before significant conditioning of the skin-temperature response occurs. Recommendations for future research were specified, including an increase in the number of training sessions and the addition of new control procedures.