Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy最新文献

Pathological gambling is recognized as a mental disorder with explicit diagnostic signs and symptoms. It is a condition widely prevalent and one likely to increase in incidence in the future. The literature is reviewed as to diagnostic signs and symptoms, sub-varieties, epidemiology, and psychometric analysis, as well as psychodynamic, behavioral, group, self-help, and programmatic therapy. Specific recommendations for future research are offered.

Studies specifically addressing self-reported fears cross-culturally have been scanty, and the few that have been conducted were seriously flawed methodologically. The present study set out to investigate this matter by comparing convenience samples of Ss from Great Britain, the Netherlands and the U.S.A. on a multi-scale robust measure of fear (the Fear Survey Schedule or FSS). Previously reported cross-national studies of neuroticism for the national groups considered here (Hofstede, 1976, Hofstede, 1980) found a mean score for the Netherlands which was higher than that for either Great Britain or the U.S.A., while the latter two nations had virtually identical scores. On the basis of this finding, and the empirical observation that neuroticism is meaningfully associated with phobic anxiety, it was hypothesised that at least some of the scales of the FSS would parallel the Hofstede pattern of neuroticism findings [(I) Social Fears, (II) Agoraphobic Fears, (III) Bodily Injury, Death and Illness Fears, (IV) Fears of Sexual and Aggressive Scenes, and (V) Fears of Harmless Animals]. However, the Dutch scored significantly lower than both their American and British counterparts on all measures, the most sizeable differences being the British Ss' higher scores on Fears of Sexual and Aggressive Scenes and on Agoraphobic Fears. The American and the British samples were comparable to each other in some respects (especially regarding social fears and fears of bodily injury, death and illness), while differing in other respects, in particular in the more pronounced fears of sexual and aggressive scenes in the British Ss. It was argued that these national differences may have emerged, at least in part, from national differences in higher-order conceptual (cognitive) strategies, a matter which remains to be empirically examined. Among other things, the need for nation-specific descriptive statistics and for specialised norms was emphasised.

This study aims at testing for the various aspects central to the attributional learned helplessness model in an experiment designed to optimize ecological validity. Two-hundred and seventy eight Dutch secondary school pupils participated in a learned helplessness experiment, held in the classroom. At pretest an IQ test, the ASQ and some other materials were filled out. Corresponding to random assignment to a noncontingent negative, a noncontingent positive and a contingent group, subjects received at post-test, six days later, bogus feedback about their IQ test result. At post-test also, a parallel form of the first IQ test and several other tests were presented, interspersed by ratings of expectancy, certainty and momentary mood (repeated measures design). Relating to (non-)contingency, the validity of the learned helplessness model seems to be limited: effects of (non-)contingency on expectancy, achievement and mood on the whole cannot be fully understood without considering interactions between subjects' characteristics, schooltype, and the type of the dependent variables. In relation to the alleged mediating functions of attributions, it is revealed to be of little importance which attribution is made, but it is important whether any attribution is made at all. In respect of the intensity of learned helplessness, results do not show much support for the hypothesized relationships. Discussion of results lead us to conclude, that learned helplessness theory may gain by supplementing it with other theoretical notions, such as those relating to sex differences, fear of success and the relationship between emotion and cognition.

The present paper reviews the available literature on relevant maintaining factors in sexual dysfunction, focusing on definitions of sexual performance anxiety. Empirical studies have defined anxiety as elevated sympathetic arousal or as a cognitive state involving selective attention. These are reviewed, with particular reference to observed differences in patterns of response with sexually functional and dysfunctional men. Overall, investigations which have operationalized anxiety as increased autonomic activity appear to produce inconsistent effects on tumescence, while studies examining various attentional states indicate that cognitive interference may be more salient in diminishing arousal. Important response dimensions in sexual dysfunction may include self-generated distracting thoughts and diminished awareness of affective states, which reduce physiological arousal presumably through distraction. Implications for sex therapy are discussed, including future directions for conceptualizing the influence of sexual desire on treatment outcome.

The physiological assessment of deviant sexual arousal is addressed. Concentration is focused on penile plethysmography because of its simplicity, accuracy, and widespread use. The sexual assessment technology is discussed in terms of measurement, reliability, validity, self-reported arousal, faking, and instructional procedures.

Thirty-six federally incarcerated offenders were assessed in the standard manner for their deviant sexual orientation. Rapists, Pedophiles, and Nonsex Offenders were shown two sets of stimulus slides approximately one week apart. The six slide categories were Neutral (Landscape), Child Male, Adult Male, Child Female, Adult Female, and Couples. During one testing session, subjects were asked to verbally describe each slide during the stimulus presentation. At slide offset, subjects were asked to subjectively rate each slide. Physiological response was the base-to-peak amplitude of penile circumference change during each slide presentation.

The two forms of the test for sexual orientation were considered parallel. Internal consistency, test-retest (one week), and parallel form reliability coefficients were acceptable. A multitrait-multimethod analysis favoured the physiological data set over the self-reports. Pedophiles responded physiologically and subjectively to Child Males in comparison to other groups. Both the physiological and self-report data sets successfully allocated 64% of the subjects to their actual groups. Groups were also differentiated on the basis of their pattern of verbal descriptions to stimulus slides. Rapists were most verbal although they focused on irrelevant and nonsexual aspects of the slides. Pedophiles were least verbal and avoided descriptions of sexual characteristics. Nonsex Offenders were more likely to report appealing features of the stimulus models.

Twenty-five female agoraphobics were treated by means of non-drug assisted group exposure in vivo on an outpatient basis and were, together with their marriage partners, followed up for one year. Improvement in agoraphobic complaints was not related to initial marital or sexual adjustment. However, good initial general life (i.e. work and social) adjustment was predictive of good outcome in the long run. Reduction in patients' agoraphobic complaints was associated with relatively stable marital and sexual adjustment and improved general life adjustment. As a group, the marital partners of the patients who had improved showed no evidence of change in terms of marital, sexual or general life adjustment. Mean marital, sexual and general life adjustment scores of both the patients and their partners were more comparable to those of maritally-non-distressed spouses and couples from the general population than to those of maritally-distressed spouses or unselected female psychiatric outpatients and their marital partners.

Alcohol-related expectancies are associated with drinker status and alcohol-related problems, but their contribution to the maintenance of drinking and their role in behavior change have yet to be determined. Goals of the present research were: (a) to assess the impact that participation in a secondary prevention program might have on drinking-related outcome and efficacy expectancies; and (b) to evaluate whether changes in drinking were associated with changes in expectancies. Despite significant decreases in drinking levels as a result of participation in the prevention program, neither outcome nor efficacy expectancies changed accordingly. Several methodological and theoretical issues are discussed in relation to these findings. The role of expectancy change as a necessary precondition for change in drinking behavior is questioned.

Urges/craving to use drugs may be conceptualized as affective states indexing appetite motivation for drug use. To explore urges/cravings among cigarette smokers, we measured attitudinal/verbal, physiological and behavioral responses of withdrawing, continuing and non-smokers under experimental conditions theoretically or empirically related to enhanced urges/craving to smoke, i.e. drug-associated stimuli, drug-availability and noxious stimulation. Preliminary results suggested that urges/craving to smoke might be subserved by different processes in withdrawing and continuing smokers. They differed in phasic heart rate responses, self-reported mood, arousal and drug craving. Of particular interest, for withdrawing smokers self-reported craving was associated with negative affect, whereas for continuing smokers craving was associated with positive affect or low levels of negative affect. These findings are discussed in the context of current theory.