Facing Up to Hopelessness: A Dialogal Phenomenological Study

Hopelessness is a fundamental human experience, and yet is often considered evidence either of sin or of illness. This dialogal phenomenological study, based on in-depth interviews, takes a fresh look at despair as experienced by people across a variety of ages and contexts, and at the consequences and outcomes of these feelings. At the heart of despair is a sense of isolation, impotence, and an immutable future, and yet it may give rise to new purpose or a new understanding and acceptance of life with its possibilities and limitations. The therapeutic implications of this understanding of despair are discussed with a focus on how presence can be healing.     

Response patterns to repeated CO2 inhalation in individuals with high anxiety sensitivity.

The present report extends previous work which has documented two distinct response patterns to repeated presentation of interoceptive cues (using CO2 inhalation) in PD patients [Beck, J. G. & Shipherd, J. C. (1997). Repeated exposure to interoceptive cues: does habituation of fear occur in panic disorder patients? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 551-557]. We were interested in determining if these two patterns of fear habituation and sensitization would be noted in panic-naive individuals who reported high levels of Anxiety Sensitivity. A second aspect of this report examined whether attention to bodily sensations versus to neutral material would impact fear habituation and sensitization. Participants included 43 panic-naive individuals who scored at least 1 standard deviation above norms on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Results indicated that 37% of the sample reported habituation of fear, 47% reported fear sensitization and 16% demonstrated relatively stable fear levels across 12 inhalations of CO2 during session 1. The attentional manipulation did not exert a pronounced influence on anxiety, panic symptom severity, skin conductance, or heart rate in either Habituators or Sensitizers during session 2. These results are discussed in light of their relevance in understanding fundamental psychopathological processes underlying Panic Disorder.     

Cognitive-Behavioral Self-Regulation of the Frequency, Duration, and Intensity of Anger

Within a self-regulation format, cognitive, behavioral, and (combined) cognitive-behavioral techniques were evaluated for effects on the frequency, duration, and intensity of anger. Twenty-seven subjects randomly assigned to three groups each received one of the three treatments after a baseline of self-monitoring and then completed another phase of self-monitoring. Results revealed a significant reduction in the frequency and duration of anger (but not anger intensity) under self-intervention, regardless of treatment type. These effects were preserved for a week following treatment. Thus, self-regulation may prevent incidents of anger and even cut short the persistence of anger, but once anger occurs, it tends to register about the same maximum intensity; this peak intensity is typically reached at the onset of the anger which then wanes at a decreasing rate over time. Further research is called for to determine the long-term durability of the treatment gains obtained and the generalizability of these findings in clinical populations.     

The stability of precision grip force in older adults

The exceedingly large grip forces that many older adults employ when lifting objects with a precision pinch grip (Cole, 1991) may compensate for a reduced capability to produce a stable isometric force. That is, their grip force may fluctuate enough from moment to moment to yield grip forces that approach the force at which the object would slip from grasp. We examined the within-trial variability of isometric force in old (68-85 years, n = 13) and young (n = 11) human subjects (a) when they were asked to produce a constant pinch force at three target levels (0.49, 2.25, and 10.5 N) with external support of the arm, hand, and force transducer and (b) when they were asked to grasp, lift, and hold a small test object with a precision grip. Pinch force produced in the first task was equally stable across the two subject groups during analysis intervals that lasted 4 s. The elderly subjects produced grip forces when lifting objects that averaged twice as much as those produced by the young subjects. The force variability during the static (hold) phase of the lift for the old subjects was comparable with that used by the young subjects, after adjusting for the difference in grip force. The failure to observe less stable grip force in older adults contradicts a similar recent study. Differences in task (isometric grip force versus isometric abduction torque of a single digit) may account for this conflict, however. Thumb and finger forces for grip are produced through coactivation of many muscles and thus promote smooth force output through temporal summation of twitches. We conclude that peripheral reorganization of muscle in older adults does not yield increased instability of precision grip force and therefore does not contribute directly to increased grip forces in this population. However, force instability may affect other grip configurations (e.g., lateral pinch) or manipulation involving digit abduction or adduction forces.     

A comparison of children who receive and who do not receive permission to participate in research

In a study examining children's social competence in elementary school settings, the authors had the opportunity to compare children who received parental permission to participate to children who did not receive permission. Results indicated that children who were not involved in the study were more likely to be viewed by teachers as having unsatisfactory relationships with peers than children who were in the study. The present results suggest that investigators begin reporting the number of children who do not participate in a given study and begin examining whether minors who receive parental permission differ on important dimensions from minors who do not receive such permission. Ethical considerations of the present study are discussed.     

The Effects of Health Threat Seriousness and Personal Efficacy upon Intentions and Behavior1

Eighty dental patients were pretested with a scale measuring health locus of control and then exposed to a persuasive communication designed to manipulate their beliefs about the seriousness of periodontal disease and their susceptibility to it. The high seriousness condition increased feelings of fear, concern, and threat as well as intentions and reported compliance with recommended oral hygiene procedures. However, patient's perceived personal efficacy in performing the recommended behavior was the most important predictor of subsequent behavior. The implications of the results for Roger's protection motivation theory are discussed.