Journal of consulting and clinical psychology
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J Consult Clin Psychol · Apr 1994
Acute and chronic low back pain: cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions.
Despite strong suppositions concerning differences between patients suffering acute and chronic low back pain, relatively few data-based comparisons have been made. In this study, affective, cognitive, behavioral, and demographic contrasts were conducted. ⋯ A relatively stereotyped, spontaneous facial expression of pain was observed in all groups when responding to painful movements during a physical examination. The similarities between acute and chronic incongruent patients have implications for the assessment and treatment of low back pain.
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J Consult Clin Psychol · Dec 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialStrengthening behavioral interventions for weight loss: a randomized trial of food provision and monetary incentives.
Behavioral treatments for obesity seek to modify eating and exercise behaviors by a change in their antecedents and consequences. More direct modification of antecedents and consequences by (a) the provision of food to patients and (b) the provision of financial rewards for weight loss was hypothesized to improve treatment outcomes. Two hundred two men and women were randomly assigned to no treatment, standard behavioral treatment (SBT), SBT plus food provision, SBT plus incentives, or SBT plus food provision and incentives. ⋯ Weight losses with SBT averaged 7.7, 4.5, and 4.1 kg at 6, 12, and 18 months, respectively, compared with 10.1, 9.1, and 6.4 kg, respectively, at the same intervals with the addition of food. Food provision also enhanced attendance, completion of food records, quality of diet, and nutrition knowledge. We conclude that the provision of food to weight-loss patients is a promising methodology that deserves further exploration.
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J Consult Clin Psychol · Aug 1993
ReviewPsychological health-sickness (PHS) as a predictor of outcomes in dynamic and other psychotherapies.
This is the first dedicated review of quantitative studies on Sigmund Freud's proposition that the poorer the psychological health, the more limited are the benefits from treatment. Since observer-rated scales for psychological health-sickness were developed in 1949, many studies have applied them, and the majority show significant prediction of outcomes of psychotherapy, with correlations between .2 and .35. This article reviews (a) the main methods of measurement, (b) the record of predictive success, (c) validity studies, (d) the relation to psychiatric diagnosis, (e) prediction in forms of treatment other than psychotherapy, and (e) theories of why psychological health predicts outcomes of psychotherapy.
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J Consult Clin Psychol · Feb 1993
Power and violence: the relation between communication patterns, power discrepancies, and domestic violence.
This study hypothesized that power discrepancies in the marital relationship, where the husband is subordinate, serve as risk factors for husband-to-wife violence. The construct of marital power was assessed from 3 power domains operationalized by discrepancies in economic status, decision-making power, communication patterns, and communication skill. Three groups of married couples (N = 95) were compared: domestically violent (DV), maritally distressed/nonviolent (DNV), and maritally happy/nonviolent (HNV). ⋯ Within the DV group, husbands who had less power were more physically abusive toward their wives. Thus, violence may be compensatory behavior to make up for husbands' lack of power in other arenas of marriage. Difficulties in assessing marital power and future direction for the study of power and violence are discussed.
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J Consult Clin Psychol · Feb 1993
African-American adolescents' knowledge, health-related attitudes, sexual behavior, and contraceptive decisions: implications for the prevention of adolescent HIV infection.
African-American adolescents (N = 195) completed measures of knowledge related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), attitudes toward condoms, health locus of control, vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, peer sexual norms, personal sexual behavior for the past 6 months, and contraceptive preferences. Hotelling's T2 tests revealed that girls were more knowledgeable about AIDS, reported fewer sexual partners, held more positive attitudes toward precautionary sexual behavior, and perceived themselves to have greater self-control than boys. Five variables accounted for 44% of the variance in condom use: condom use from the 1st intercourse occasion, earlier grade in school, lower belief in an external locus of control, and higher scores on the Effect on Sexual Experience and Self-Control subscales of the Condom Attitude Scale. Implications for the content, format, and timing of HIV prevention with African-American adolescents are discussed.