Life events and one's ability to adapt to these events has significant effects on immune functioning. Immunosuppression has been related to a high magnitude of life stress and low adaptive ability. While studies have explored immune response in stressed individuals, no study has approached the area of prevention with low-immunity individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether subjects who self-report stressful lives have lower immunity, and whether "low" immunity subjects under "high" stress could enhance phagocytic activity through biofeedback-assisted relaxation.

Thirty outpatients being treated at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center Department of Behavioral Health Psychology were randomly assigned to either a relaxation/imagery training class (R/I), a short-term psychotherapy group (P/G) or a no treatment control group. Subjects had psychological, physiological and immunological data taken before and after treatment. Results indicated that support for the hypothesis that relaxation/imagery training improves the psychological, physiological, and immunological functioning of participants was found.