Category: Psychology

Evaluated self-esteem and locus of control in a group of high school students prior to, during, and following a single academic year. Using a randomized, crossover experimental design, 26 Ss were exposed to either a health curriculum based on elicitation of the relaxation response (RLR) and then a follow-up period, while 24 were assigned to a control health curriculum and then the RLR. Psychological testing was conducted using the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale and the Now […]

The majority of individuals with insomnia treated with single behavioral interventions do not achieve normal sleep. In this study, individuals with chronic sleep-onset insomnia (n=12) were treated with a sequentially administered multifactor behavioral intervention consisting of sleep restriction, modified stimulus control, and relaxation training. They were compared to age- and sex-matched normal sleepers (n=14) prior to and following treatment using home-based polysomnography and po […]

Sleep latency changes following behavioral interventions for sleep-onset insomnia are only moderate because the majority of insomniacs do not achieve good sleeper status at posttreatment. This study evaluated the efficacy of a multifactor behavioral intervention consisting of stimulus control and relaxation-response training (n = 10) compared to stimulus control alone (n = 10) for sleep-onset insomnia. Only the multifactor subjects' mean posttest sleep latency fell within the good sle […]

Objective: To replicate previously reported psychological improvements in infertile women attending a group behavioral treatment program. Design: Psychological and demographic data were collected before entering and again upon completion of a behavioral medicine program on a second cohort of patients. Setting: The program was offered in the Division of Behavioral Medicine, an outpatient clinic of the Department of Medicine at New England Deaconess Hospital. All patients were receivi […]

Over the last 20 years, medical researchers from a variety of disciplines, including behavioral medicine, neuro-immunology, neuroendocrinology, social medicine, and psychiatry, have converged in an effort to produce greater understanding and acceptance of the effects of psychological factors on physical health. Many in the medical profession have remained somewhat skeptical, claiming that psychological components of healing are largely "folklore", unsubstantiated by hard evidence. The […]

This article describes the validation of an Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes that has potential relevance to health outcomes and its preliminary testing with chronic pain patients. The inventory taps two attitudinal domains: (1) life purpose and satisfaction and (2) self-confidence during potentially stressful situations. It also provides a total score. The inventory scales, developed using factor analysis, were found to have a strong degree of internal reliability and co […]

A framework for the integration of meditation and psychotherapy is presented through a consideration of the psychobiological nature of meditation (the relaxation response) and discussion of a traditional meditation practice (mindfulness meditation) as an effective cognitive technique for the development of self-awareness. The mechanisms by which the emotional and cognitive changes of meditation can be of therapeutic value are explored and the synergistic advantages of the combination […]

We have investigated prospectively the efficacy of two nonpharmacologic relaxation techniques in the therapy of anxiety. A simple, meditational relaxation technique (MT) that elicits the changes of decreased sympathetic nervous system activity was compared to a self-hypnosis technique (HT) in which relaxation, with or without altered perceptions, was suggested. 32 patients with anxiety neurosis were divided into 2 groups on the basis of their responsivity to hypnosis: moderate-high an […]

A wakeful hypometabolic state accompanies the practice of a relaxational, meditation technique called Transcendental Meditation. The state is characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination, respiratory rate and minute ventilation, with no change in respiratory quotient. Arterial blood pH and base excess decrease slightly while arterial blood lactate markedly decreases. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures remain unchanged. The electroenceph […]

In the Western world today, there is a growing interest in nonpharmacological, self-induced, altered states of consciousness because of their alleged benefits of better mental and physical health and improved ability to deal with tension and stress. During the experience of one of these states, individuals claim to have feelings of increased creativity, of infinity, and of immortality; they have an evangelistic sense of mission, and report that mental physical suffering vanish (Dean). […]