The purpose of the present study was to objectively verify psychological and behavioral changes in a group of identifiably susceptible patients who were treated for environmental sensitivities in a highly controlled environment. The subjects were 71 Environmental Control Unit (ECU) patient volunteers and 16 nonpatient volunteers for a total of 87. The patients were divided into a short-treatment (fasting 3-4 days) group (n = 35) and a long-treatment (fasting 5-7 days) group (n = 36). A third group, consisting of the 16 nonpatients, formed a nonpatient/no-treatment control group. All subjects were administered tests for assessment of intellectual/cognitive functioning, neurological/cerebral functioning, perceptual-motor skills, mood states, and general psychopathology.

The incidence of bulimia has been increasingly documented in recent years. Treatments have focused on one behavior in the Binge-Purge chain or have combined several treatment components. This study was designed to assess the effect of teaching bulimics alternative responses for dealing with stressful events.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of managerial experience on the relationships between assertiveness, trait anxiety, and internality, and on each of these constructs individually. Hypotheses were as follows: a) managers would be more assertive, internal, and less trait anxious than business students; b) males would be more assertive than females when students, not managers; and c) assertiveness and internality would relate positively to each other and negatively to trait anxiety. Subjects consisted of 30 managers and 53 business students. The first and third hypotheses were confirmed, although the assertiveness differences were not significant. Reasons for the observed outcome are discussed as well as implications for these constructs' ability to predict management potential.

The incidence of bulimia seems to be increasing dramatically as actors, models, dancers, and college populations are seeking help for this eating disorder. In this study, the Adjective Checklist was administered to 21 bulimic women and 17 normal women to compare personality characteristics on the following scales: abasement, affiliation, autonomy, achievement, aggression, personal adjustment, succorance, and self-control. Results showed bulimic women scored higher on abasement and succorance. A multiple regression was performed which elucidated the scales responsible for the greatest amount of variance. These were aggression, autonomy, and self-control. Further studies of personality measures may aid in describing this population more fully.

Previous research with college students had supported that light and heavy smokers differentially imitate smoking models. Light smokers' smoking rates seemed to vary with the rates presented by a model, while heavy smokers' rates tended to remain relatively consistent. This study examined the effects of a smoking and nonsmoking physician model on 54 older, more chronic, in-patient smokers and extended the scope of research in this area by attempting to evaluate whether immediate modeling influences generalize behaviorally and/or attitudinally. A second part of the experiment investigated the effects of the smoking patients' exposure to a nonsmoking physician model who advised quitting, a smoking physician model who advised quitting, and a smoking physician model who did not comment on smoking relative to patient behavior and attitudes.

The present research investigated the relationship between separation-individuation issues and the motoric activity of running in adult female development. Literature on sex roles and sociocultural factors was presented. Previous research on physical activity and mental health was reviewed. Psychodynamic formulations provided the framework for exploring and understanding a woman's involvement in running. Measuring instruments tapped concepts related to independence and separateness.

This study evaluated the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia among inpatients who met the diagnostic criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The cognitive behavioral treatment consisted of progressive relaxation, stimulus control, and thought stopping with cognitive restructuring.

Cue-controlled relaxation is looked at to determine whether a component is efficacious as the entire procedure. Subjects were 40 male and 40 female undergraduates. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: cue-controlled relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercises with a paired. cue word, on a presentation of the cue word without being paired. It was hypothesized that cue-controlled relaxation would be superior to a component of cue-controlled relaxation. It was determined that cue-controlled relaxation is not more efficacious than a particular component. Data suggests the majority of anxiety reduction takes place when the treatment focuses on the same modality from which the subject receives the most information about their anxiety. Implications and suggestions for further research are presented.

The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children, the Florida Key: A Scale to Inter Learner Self-Concept, and the Walker Problem Behavior Identification Checklist were used to assess the self-concepts of 18 ambulatory physically handicapped children between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Data were analysed via one-sample t-tests. The hypothesis that mainstreamed handicapped children would exhibit somewhat lower self-concept than their nonhandicapped peers was not supported. In fact, some mainstreamed physically handicapped children may indeed exhibit higher frequencies of relating to peers and teachers, less acting-out behavior (among males), and better overall self-concept than the nonhandicapped populations from which the normative data were obtained (p < .05). These results were discussed in terms of the children's experiences within the hospital environment from which they were selected.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and treatment knowledge of medical student professionals regarding rape victims. In addition to generating normative data for a population which, as a function of their vocation may come in contact with victims, comparisons were made between a sample of those beginning their medical education process and those at the end of training in order to measure change in treatment knowledge and attitudes towards rape victims which occur during medical school. Also investigated were differences which exist in the attitude and treatment knowledge measures for rape victims compared to other emergency room patient populations, and the effect of gender of the physician upon those measures. A final element investigated the physicians' perceptions of a "real" rape as it relates to those measures.

The comparability of PPVT and PPVT-R scores among retarded adults were examined. The sample consisted of 96 clients, who had been previously diagnosed as mildly, moderately, or severely retarded. The PPVT (Form A) and PPVT-R (Form L) were administered to all participants in counter balanced order. Significant correlations were found between the two tests for the total sample as well as for females and males. Additionally, the PPVT-R was found to be capable of discriminating differing levels or retardation. However, with the exception of the severely retarded group, mean PPVT-R Standard Score Equivalent (SSE) scores tended to be approximately 20 points lower than PPVT IQ scores. Some clinical implications of these results were discussed.

This study investigated the emotionally disruptive effects of double binding communication, as compared with overtly punitive, and warm, accepting interactions. Forty-two college undergraduates scoring above the mean on the Neuroticism Subscale of Eysenck's Personality Questionaire were each directed to play the part of a small child in a spontaneous role-played family interaction. A pre-post mood test (Multiple Adjective Affect Check List), sensitive to changes in depression, hostility, and anxiety was administered. It was found that subjects in the double-bind and punitive conditions evidenced significant mood disturbance while subjects in the control group did not (all ps < .05). Implications for Double Bind Theory were discussed.

Vaginal photoplethysmography was utilized in combination with standardized sleep-recording procedures to investigate changes in vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) during both waking and sleeping conditions in low- and high-arousability females (n = 10 per group), as classified by the Sexual Arousability Inventory. Based upon previous research, it was predicted that both groups would exhibit similar mean levels of VPA during waking exposure to erotic stimuli and during various stages of sleep. Despite hypothesized physiological similarities between groups, the low-arousability group was expected to subjectively report less arousal during the waking erotic conditions.