The desire to belong: Social identification as a predictor of treatment outcome in social anxiety disorder

in Behaviour research and therapy (2016), 81

Psychological responses to body shape exposure in patients with bulimia nervosa.

in Behaviour research and therapy (2003), 41

One of the unresolved issues regarding research on bulimia nervosa concerns the question as to how patients diagnosed with bulimia nervosa respond to body image exposure. In addition, it remains unclear ... [more ▼]

One of the unresolved issues regarding research on bulimia nervosa concerns the question as to how patients diagnosed with bulimia nervosa respond to body image exposure. In addition, it remains unclear whether there are differential responses associated with different exposure techniques (e.g. in vivo exposure vs. exposure by visualization). The aim of the present study was to investigate psychological responses to body image exposure. Twenty participants diagnosed with bulimia nervosa (DSM IV) and twenty non-eating disordered individuals were exposed to their body image using a video recording (video confrontation). In addition, they were asked to imagine and describe the appearance of their body (imagery task). Results indicate that self-reported negative emotions increased in response to both, video confrontation and imagery task, in the clinical as well as in the control group. Furthermore, video confrontation led to more pronounced group differences than exposure by visualization (imagery task). Participants diagnosed with bulimia nervosa took less time to describe their waist, hips and bottom compared to non-eating disturbed controls. This last result could be interpreted in terms of avoidance behavior and other mechanisms during body image exposure. [less ▲]

Individual differences in the perception of bodily sensations: The role of trait anxiety and coping style

in Behaviour research and therapy (1992), 30

Thirty young women participated in an experiment in which heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, skin conductance level and palmar sweat index were monitored at rest and during the administration ... [more ▼]

Thirty young women participated in an experiment in which heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, skin conductance level and palmar sweat index were monitored at rest and during the administration of mental arithmetic, mirror drawing and cold pressor tasks. The accuracy of perception of somatic states was estimated by calculating within-subject correlations between four bodily sensations (racing heart, high blood pressure, shortness of breath and sweaty hands) and corresponding physiological parameters, assessed on eight occasions during the experiment. The accuracy of heart rate perception was highest, with a mean correlation between actual heart rate and ratings of racing heart of 0.76 and 66% of participants showing significant within-subject effects. The mean accuracy was 0.55 for systolic blood pressure, 0.48 for respiration rate, 0.47 for skin conductance level, and 0.64 for palmar sweat index. Accurate perception across physiological parameters did not cluster within individuals, and was not dependent on the range either of physiological changes or sensation ratings. Trait anxiety was not significantly associated with accuracy of somatic perception. Subjects with high trait anxiety reported larger increases in shortness of breath during tasks than did low anxious subjects, but this was not reflected in objective physiological measures. Information-seeking coping style, indexed by the monitoring scale of the Miller Behavioral Style Scale, was related to the accuracy of perception of skin conductance level and heart rate. The use of within-subject correlational strategies for assessing individual differences in perception of bodily states is discussed. [less ▲]