Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to treat multiple chemical sensitivities: a randomized pilot trial

Skovbjerg, S., Hauge, C. R., Rasmussen, A., Winkel, P. & Elberling, J. (2012). Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy to treat multiple chemical sensitivities: A randomized pilot trial. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 233–238. Multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) is a medically unexplained and socially disabling disorder characterized by negative health effects attributed to exposure to common airborne chemicals. Currently, there is no evidence‐based treatment. The objectives of the study were to assess the feasibility of an 8‐week mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy program (MBCT) for adults with MCS and to evaluate possible effects on psychological distress and illness perception. The study design was a randomized clinical trial. The MBCT programme comprised 8 weekly sessions of 2½ hours. Forty‐two adults were screened for eligibility and 37 were included. Mean age of the participants was 51.6 years, 35 (94.6%) were female and 21 (56.8%) were unemployed. Measures of psychological distress and illness perceptions were assessed at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and at 3 months follow‐up. No significant differences in effect measures were found between the groups. However, those who completed the MBCT program generally reported benefiting in terms of improved coping strategies and sleep quality. The positive verbal feedback from the participants in the MBCT group suggests that a larger randomized clinical trial on the effect of MBCT for MCS could be considered.     

“A Fire in the Blood”: Metaphors of Bipolar Disorder in Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind

Content analysis of three chapters of Jamison's memoir, An Unquiet Mind, shows that depression, mania, and Bipolar Disorder have a common metaphoric core as a sequential process of suffering and adversity that is a form of malevolence and destruction. Depression was down and in, while mania was up, in and distant, circular and zigzag, a powerful force of quickness and motion, fieriness, strangeness, seduction, expansive extravagance, and acuity. Bipolar Disorder is down and away and a sequential and cyclical process that partakes of the metaphors of its component moods. We conclude that metaphors of mood disorders share a number of structural features and are consistent across different authors.     

Predicting psychological responses to influenza A, H1N1 ("swine flu"): the role of illness perceptions

Previous research on H1N1 ("Swine flu") has demonstrated that although the public reported concern about H1N1, knowledge levels were low, as were reports of behavioural changes aimed at minimising the spread of H1N1. The current study had two main aims; (i) to ascertain levels of state anxiety and knowledge about H1N1, and (ii) to examine if illness perceptions predict anxiety about H1N1, perceived risk of contracting H1N1, and knowledge about H1N1. The study was cross-sectional in design, and involved 235 participants (100 males, 135 females, mean age 22.48 years) completing self-report measures of knowledge, anxiety, and perceived risk about H1N1, and illness perceptions (BIPQ). Analyses revealed low levels of knowledge about H1N1, 37.4% of participants could not identify any of the causes of H1N1. Correlation and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that illness perceptions were associated with responses to H1N1, with negative illness perceptions predicting state anxiety (β?=?0.498, p?相似文献   

Individual differences in preschool object play: The influences of anxiety proneness and peer affiliation

Individual differences in anxiety and peer affiliation were investigated as factors influencing variability of object play among preschoolers. Eighteen three-year-olds were divided into high- and low-anxious groups on the bases of separation anxiety and general anxiety scales. Their mature and immature object play, their peer affiliation, and their peer-watching behaviors were observed in preschools. Low-anxious children played more, showed more mature play, and watched peers less when they were alone; high-anxious children showed no play increases but watched peers more when alone. Separation anxiety scores predicted preschool differences more sensitively than general anxiety scores. It was theorized that separation anxiety related mechanisms hinder children's ability to fully profit from preschool experiences.     

Increasing husbands' involvement in domestic labor: Issues for therapists

As a result of the dramatic increase in women's participation in the work force, more relationship therapists are seeing couples who are dissatisfied with how domestic labor is divided in their homes. Although, this issue may seem therapeutically straightforward, there are many aspects which make its renegotiation surprisingly problematic and complex. This article is an effort to delineate some of these issues such as engaging men in therapy, exploring emotional issues connected with housework, and the mechanism of gatekeeping. Also included is a therapeutic framework for addressing client concerns about domestic responsibilities.     

Violence, Conflict, Trickery, and Other Story Themes in TV Ads for Food for Children

Stories in a sample of 92 television (TV) food ads aimed at children were analyzed for thematic and subtextual content. Violence as a surface theme ranked first in use receiving a nonzero score in 62% of the ads, followed by conflict (41%), achievement (24%), mood alteration (23%), enablement (18%), trickery (20%), and product dependence (8%). Cluster analysis identified six groupings of themes, with 64% of the ads characterized by some combination of violence, conflict, and trickery. Regarding subtexts, the computer-based Minnesota Contextual Content Analysis program evaluated the voiced material in ads in terms of four marker categories named "traditional (normative)", "practical", "emotional", and "analytic". It was found that the texts had a strong emphasis on the emotional subtext or thrust, and a pronounced underemphasis on the analytic context. These analyses identify possibly dubious content in a significant segment of children's TV viewing.     

Assessment of mood states: Biases in single-administration assessments

Rasmussen, Jeffrey, Willingham, and Glover (1994) demonstrated that single-administration values derived from the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were biased estimates oftypical mood state. Like the previous study, the present study investigated whether single-administration POMS scores would be similar to average POMS scores derived from multiple administrations. In addition, in this investigation, single-administration instructions directed respondents to estimatetypical mood over a period of time that coincided with the time and duration of the multiple administrations. Subjects rated mood states during two single-administration settings, one before and one just after a multiple administration period. For both single-administration assessments, subjects rated mood relative to “How you have felt for the past 3 days, including today?” During the multiple-administration assessment, subjects rated mood six times a day for 3 days as prompted by preprogrammed wrist monitors. Results were consistent with earlier findings by identifying the bias in single-administration assessments. Initial single-administration values were significantly higher than both the averaged multiple-administration values and the second single-administration scores. These results support the contention that single-administration values from the POMS may provide biased estimates oftypical mood states.