Cancer support groups – are they effective?

Cancer causes significatlt emotional distress to a considerable majority of patients. Many of these patients typically receive little formal psychological intervention. Support groups, however, have provided one forum from which patients can attempt to gain help and can use to overcome some psychological trauma that accompanies the cancer hagnosis, subsequent treatment and relapse. This article reviews past studies of professionally run cancer support groups as opposed to psychological intervention groups. These studies are considered in light of the proposed benefits and the methodological limitations frequently inherent in such studies.     

Women's Danger Management Strategies in an Inner‐City Housing Project*

The danger management strategies of low‐income African American women who live in a public housing community characterized by chronic violence are examined. Based on qualitative interviews with 18 single mothers, we explored the violent community dangers with which women contend, the nature of this violence, the strategies used to deal with community violence, and their benefits and costs to family and community life. Findings show that multiple types of violence characterized life in the community and that this violence has specific physical locations, a particular set of actors, and a temporal rhythm. Women's responses to violence were nonconfrontational and family focused in nature. These efforts were effective in keeping women and their children safe, but did not reduce the prevalence of violence.     

Learning to Observe Relationships and Coping

Milieu relationships provide the critical background presence to staff's attempts to motivate, regulate, and teach patients how to cope with stress. Forging a connection with hospitalized children and adolescents demands attention to how they respond to adults and engage with staff around milieu expectations. Assessment guides that deal with these issues are presented. Important aspects of children's relatedness are presented in the context of their working models of adults and the influence of these representations on their response to staff. Coping skills are explained with particular emphasis on behavioral coping strategies. Tied to the assessment process are interventions that emphasize staff's role in helping patients manage strong affects and avoid the use of nonproductive behavior regulation strategies.     

Predictive testing for Huntington's disease: II. Qualitative findings from a study of uptake in South Wales

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cohort of 22 test applicants who requested Huntington's disease (HD) predictive testing in South Wales, and a random sample of 32 non-requesters, drawn from the South Wales HD register. Apart from identifying differences between the groups, the study afforded the opportunity to listen, at length, to at-risk individuals' accounts of living at risk and their thoughts about predictive testing and genetic services. Emergent themes included difficulties in family communication and the uncertainties inherent in being at risk and undergoing testing. Important factors in decision making about testing were: moral imperatives to clarify one's genetic status; views about the controllability of the future; family attitudes and norms; and the impact of a test result on family members. At-risk individuals' perceptions of the genetics service were that contact with the service would result in pressure to be tested and a need for test applicants to present a favourable view of coping capacities to secure testing. In addition, there was an expectation of ongoing contact with HD families at the initiative of the service providers. Implications of the findings for the way in which predictive testing services are structured and introduced to the at-risk population are discussed.     

Development and evaluation of a presurgical preparation program

Three presurgical preparation programs were developed and evaluated in an Australian hospital utilizing an additive component design. The component basic to all three preparation programs was modeling. This technique was compared with the additional components of teaching child coping skills and parent coping skills via videotape. Subjects were 28 children between the ages of 4 and 13 years who were scheduled for elective surgery. Anxiety of both the children and parents was assessed by self-report and behavior observation. Results indicated that there was no further anxiety reduction by the addition of child and parent coping skills. Results are discussed in terms of the viability of teaching coping skills via videotape particularly to parents. Methodological difficulties associated with research in this area are examined.     

Effectiveness of an intensive stress intervention workshop for senior managers

This study investigates the efficacy of an intensive, integrated approach to stress reduction and coping enhancement directed towards an educated, upper level management population. Ninety‐five US governmental senior managers participated in a 35‐h stress management retreat held over a 3.5‐day period. The retreat combined didactic and experiential activities that were designed to increase participants' knowledge of stress liabilities and coping skills. Participants were encouraged to make positive lifestyle changes and to create specific action plans for the year following the workshop. Evaluations of participant satisfaction were completed at the close of the workshop. Eighty‐three participants completed baseline and follow‐up Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI) assessments in order to identify durable changes in these measures. Across 10 months, participants showed significant improvements in their overall Global Balance scores, psychological symptoms, depression symptoms, and all major coping scales, including Health Habits, Social Support, Responses to Stress and Life Satisfactions. Therefore, an intensive, multifaceted approach to stress intervention is a viable option for encouraging sustained behavioural change. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

强迫症患者的防御机制、父母教养方式及个性特征的调查分析

目的　探讨强迫症患者的防御机制、父母教养方式及其个性特征。方法　采用防御方式问卷 (DSQ)、父母养育方式评价量表 (EMBU)及艾森克个性问卷 (EPQ)对 36例强迫症患者进行了问卷调查 ,并与 36例正常受试者加以比较。结果　①强迫症组中间型和不成熟防御机制因子分均明显高于正常对照组 (P <0 0 1) ,而成熟防御机制因子分则明显低于正常对照组 (P <0 0 5 ) ;②强迫症组父母的情感温暖因子分低 ,而父母的惩罚、拒绝因子分和母亲的偏爱被试因子分高 ,同正常对照组比较 ,差别均具有显著性或非常显著性意义 (P <0 0 1或P <0 0 5 ) ;③强迫症组EPQ的N因子分明显高于正常对照组 ,而E因子分则明显低于正常对照组 (P <0 0 1)。结论　强迫症患者的防御机制、父母教养方式及个性特征与正常人有着明显的不同 ,它为今后开展分析性心理治疗 ,实施心理干预措施提供了依据。     

Psychosocial effects of vitiligo

A limited number of studies have paid attention to the psychosocial well-being of patients affected with vitiligo. We review the psychosocial effects of vitiligo, how patients deal with them and the psychiatric morbidity in vitiligo patients. Given the appreciable comorbidity, it is important to consider these observations in the management of patients, for example in patient-physician interaction but also in treatment strategies and evaluation of treatments. The effects of the psychological state on the disease itself together with the potential therapeutic implications are reviewed. Based on these data, we suggest how to further improve patient's management.