The present study translated the major theories of obesity into physiological terms, then tested for the ways these theories might find physiological expression. Theoretical positions included the psychoanalytic perspective, emphasizing intrapsychic processes; psychosomatic perspective, emphasizing food as an anxiolytic agent; and Schachterian perspective, emphasizing heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. Additionally, two classificatory distinctions, age at onset of obesity and extent of dietary restraint, were examined. The later distinction suggested that Schachterian findings on obese behavior were due not to obesity, but to a dieting life style.

This study compared the social cognition and object relations of 39 physically abused children to a clinical group of 39 children with no recorded history of abuse.

The present study was concerned with comparing the relative effectiveness of behavior rehearsal and systematic desensitization in the treatment of social anxiety.

To assess psychologically unhealthy Protestant beliefs a Religious Sentence Completion Inventory (RSCI), and scoring Manual, were developed from a pilot study. In the main study 103 undergraduate students were subjects. Interscorer reliability for the RSCI was .83. Results revealed significant positive correlations between the RSCI, and maladjustment validity criteria: a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) total weighted score; and MPI clinical scales 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8; but not validity scale F; for females. Only MMPI scale 6 correlated with the RSCI for males. These data appear to partially support the proposition that whether Protestant beliefs hinder or do not hinder mental health depends upon the particular kind of beliefs a Protestant holds.

Assertive training was investigated to determine its usefulness in teaching mildly retarded women to become more assertive. The 10 subjects (ages 18-35, WAIS VIQ 50-75) were randomly assigned to either the assertive training or the control group. Experimental subjects received 5 weeks of daily assertive training sessions which employed modeling, behavior rehearsal, and focused instructions in a group setting. Specific components of assertive behavior were taught in the following order: (a) assertive refusals, (b) assertive requests, (c) posture, (d) eye contact, and (e) loudness, Results of a behavioral role-playing task administered to both groups before and after treatment revealed that assertaive training subjects made significantly greater improvement than controls in their assertive content, Additionally, these subjects manifested significantly more improvement than control subjects on a global assertiveness measure.

A double-blind comparison was conducted using typical doses of soporific agents from three drug classes and a placebo. Drugs which were used in the study included secobarbital, flurazepam hydrochloride, and thioridazine. Subjects were 40 outpatient volunteers whose primary complaint was difficulty in falling to sleep. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three drug groups or the placebo group. One of the drugs or the placebo was administered to each subject for 3 nights. Half of the subjects in each of the four groups were told the drug had caused any observed changes in their sleep behavior and were in this way led to attribute any changed sleep behavior externally to the drug. The other half were told the drugs were not typically used to treat insomnia and changes in their sleep were due to changes made in their own behavior, thus attributing any changes in sleep behavior internally. The implication for clinicians was that a short course of drug therapy using a placebo or one of several soporific drugs might be used equally effectively to treat primary latency insomnia. Additionally, the results demonstrated that clinicians might expect the effectiveness of treatment to be maintained following treatment. Recommendations included …

This investigation is an attempt to apply the principles of the experimental analysis of behavior to the stuttering behavior of two clinical subjects. The experimental manipulations were performed in order to bring about a decrement in the stuttering rate of the two subjects.

Health Locus of Control (HLOC) and other predictors of Quality of Life (QL) were examined for women with an initial versus recurrent breast cancer diagnosis. Twenty-eight women with an initial breast cancer (IBC) diagnoses and twenty-eight women with recurrent breast cancer (RBC) diagnoses were recruited from doctors' offices and cancer support groups. Correlational analyses were used to assess the relationships between variables. No significant differences were found between women with IBC and RBC on Psychological QL. Doctor HLOC and Psychological QL were related for women with RBC (r = .481, p = .01) and marginally so for women with IBC (r = .329, p = .09). A positive correlation was also found between Doctor HLOC and Functional QL for both women with IBC (r = .464, p = .01) and women with RBC (r = .390, p = .04). After controlling for stage of cancer, women with RBC reported higher Functional QL than did women with IBC. Advanced (stages III or IV) versus early (stages I or II) cancer stage related to lower Functional QL, controlling for initial versus recurrent diagnosis (r = -.283, p = .01). A marginally significant relationship was also found for cancer stage, regardless of initial …

The relationships between muscle-tension level, motoric-activity level, and academic performance in the laboratory setting are investigated. Three participants were reinforced for reducing and increasing their tension levels, alternately, while engaged in a simulated academic task, and the effects of each on the rate of activity and academic performance were measured. Measures were also obtained on the rate of activity and occurrence of problem behavior in the subject's homes. Significant treatment differences were found which support a direct relationship between tension and activity level so that a decrease in EMG level was associated with a decrease in motoric activity, and an increase in EMG level was associated with an increase in motoric activity. The efficacy of using EMG biofeedback to train relaxation in children with activity-level problems to control their symptoms is supported, especially where such a technique can be used in a specific task-oriented situation.

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, this study compared the performance of children on the WPPSI-R with their performance on the Slosson Intelligence Test. Secondly, this study explored the comparability of minority and non-minority students' scores on the WPPSI-R. Seventy five children between 3 and 7 years of age were administered the WPPSI-R and Slosson. Of this sample, 25 children were White, 25 children were Black, and 25 children were Mexican American. Low, but significant correlations were found between WPPSI-R and Slosson scores. The Vocabulary subscale of the WPPSI-R correlated highest, while the Geometric Design subscale correlated the lowest with the Slosson test scores. Further analyses indicated that White children obtained significantly higher scores on the WPPSI-R than both Black and Mexican American children.

Individual differences of cognitive organization and content were investigated as they relate to adaptation to remote, recent, and immediate life stress. Outside the field of stress, prior researchers have implicated cognitive organization with adjustment and cognitive content with specific psychopathology. As for behavioral adaptation to life stress, cognitive organization was viewed as a major factor in emotional vulnerability and adjustment, and cognitive content as a major factor in the mood disturbance of depression. Behavioral adaptation was defined in terms of current emotional vulnerability, adjustment and negative changes in the immediate (last six months), recent (over six months), and remote (over one year) past.

The study was designed to find a response on the behavioral level that would be an effective index across subjects for determining when conditioned aversive suppression of a response had been achieved. Ten male volunteers received shock during trials in which they had to smoke. Half of the subjects received a brief but more intense shock when they stopped smoking during a trial. A comparison of these subjects to the others showed their average amount of smoking suppression in pre- and post-treatment rates to be significantly (P < .025) greater. In addition, these subjects showed conditioned emotional responding. It was concluded that this behavioral level response was an effective index for determining when suppression of smoking would occur.

An avoidance response was conditioned to three stimuli presented in serial order. Following conditioning, each group of subjects received a different treatment procedure. The group I procedure involved distributed CS trials, contingent, non-anxious CS terminations, and individualized treatment durations. Group 2 subjects received massed CS trials, non-contingent CS terminations, and non-individualized treatment durations. Group 3 subjects experienced distributed CS trials, contingent non-anxious CS terminations, and non-individualized treatment durations. Individual izing treatment duration (termination contingent upon operational ized measure of anxiety dissipation) was found to significantly hasten the extinction of avoidance responses. Implications for the effective practice of implosive therapy were discussed. Yoked control methods were criticized for confounding the variable of individualization of the yoked variable.

To meet the need of making clinical evaluations in the most efficient way, many scales and short forms of the MMPI have been developed. A review of the literature indicated that the Mini-Mult devised by Kincannon (1967) and the Short Form by Hugo (1971a) were the best short forms of the MMPI which have been constructed. The purpose of this study was to determine which of these short forms would most accurately predict the standard MMPI in a clinical population.

Fifty-one male and 57 female college undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course responded to the Roe-Siegelman PCR Questionnaire, a modified form of Tharp's (1963b) Marital Role Expectation Form (MRE), and a Family Integration Scale as fulfillment of research participation requirements. Previous research had indicated that generally children who experienced love and warmth in their childhood home had marital role expectations of friendliness, spontaneity, adaptability, trust, responsibility, and leadership, while those who experienced rejecting and neglecting parental behaviors were more likely to have expectations of being seclusive, guilty, hostile, rigid, mistrustful, and irresponsible.

The present study attempted to predict the serious side effects of akathisia and parkinsonism on the basis of individualized measurement of changes in visuomotor functioning. The following were the hypotheses for this investigation. 1. A deterioration of visuomotor ability as measured by a modification of Haase and Janssen' s (1965) Handwriting Test will predict which patients undergoing neuroleptic therapy will experience the extrapyramidal symptoms of akathisia and parkinsonism (symptom group) and which will not (no-symptom group). 2. A deterioration of visuomotor ability as measured by the Bender-Gestalt will predict which patients undergoing neuroleptic therapy will experience the extrapyramidal symptoms of akathisia and parkinsonism (symptom group) and which will not (no-symptom group). It was not possible to predict the symptom group as a whole on the basis of the Handwriting Test scores since a t test of the difference was not significant between group means. However, inspection of these scores showed clear deterioration of performance among the patients who experienced parkinsonian reactions as opposed to those who experienced akathisia or who did not experience extrapyramidal symptoms at all. The symptom group was separated into akathisic and parkinsonian groups and compared to the subjects who did not experience extrapyramidal side effects (no-symptom …

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the retrospective perception of parent-child relationships as measured by the Roe-Slegelman Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire (PCR) and (2) the individual's level of academic achievement.

Two interviews were conducted with 20 participants from a Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) crisis house. Subjects were classified as good or poor premorbid level of functioning using a case history form and information from their social history charts. The study employed a self-narrative method to direct self disclosure. In the first interview, participants were asked to describe themselves. In the second interview they were asked to identify what they would change about their histories and to describe how this would make a difference in how their lives turned out. Support was not found for the hypothesis that those with the higher premorbid functioning would be better able to shift perspectives and use more positive self constructs. Methodological, theoretical and future research areas are discussed.

The incidence of both childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders is rising. A study of 422 undergraduate college females was undertaken using self report format to determine the incidence of childhood sexual abuse and eating disorders in a college population, and to determine the relationship between the two. In all, 57% of the women surveyed reported experiencing some form of sexual contact before the age of 14. Using the EDI-2 to assess risk of eating disorder development, 42% of these formerly abused women were found to be at risk for the development of an eating disorder. This was not found to be statistically different from the risk of eating disorder development experienced by the nonabused females in this population. However, there were differences found on the dimensions of Interpersonal Distrust, Interoceptive Awareness and Ineffectiveness, indicating that two of the major issues in eating disorder development for the abused women are trust both of themselves and of others, and self-esteem.

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.

The problem with which this study is concerned is whether pathogenic parental patterns which precipitate and maintain children's maladjustment can be ameliorated through family therapy. Specifically, this investigation focused on how parental attitudes and sons' perceptions of parental attitudes are altered by therapy.

The present study was designed to determine if a subject pool, in which all students enrolled in a course must participate, would reveal the same differences as had been found between volunteers and nonvolunteers, as well as the differences found in subjects participating in different types of studies,

Little empirical research has been done to examine the effects that working with traumatized individuals has had on their therapists. It is known that mental health professionals often do suffer ill effects, especially symptoms of secondary traumatic stress disorder. The present investigation tested predictors of secondary traumatic stress disorder in the therapists who provided services for the Oklahoma City bombing. Predictors were therapist social network involvement, years of counseling experience, and amount of self-reported empathy experienced from others. Indicators of secondary traumatic stress were the Frederick Reaction Index-A, the Compassion Fatigue Self-test for Helpers, and the SCL-90R. Hypotheses were tested using a series of hierarchical multiple regressions. Results demonstrated no significance for years of experience or social network, but perceived empathy accounted for 11% of the variance on the SCL-90 and the Compassion Fatigue Self-test for Psychotherapists with social network and years of experience controlled.

The assertive training literature has documented the effectiveness of both behavioral and cognitive methods to increase individual's assertiveness. However, the ability for such methods to enhance the generalization of treatment effects to untrained assertive response classes and the natural environment has been poor. In addition, little notice has been paid to the durability of these changes. Although the past several years have witnessed more intensive efforts by investigators to program generalization as part of their interventions, results have continued to be disappointing. A specific generalization-enhancing treatment strategy, self-directed practice, has been utilized with much success in phobic populations. This strategy, and the theoretical orientation it reflects, has been proposed for use in assertive training. The present study sought to examine the effectiveness of this method as compared to the traditional assertive training procedures and investigate the role of self-efficacy expectations in mediating initial behavior change and its subsequent generalization.