Search

Survival analytic models were used to determine the effects of Axis II pathology and dysfunctional cognitions on depressive relapse in a sample of 50 depressed inpatients followed 33 to 84 months (M = 49.9) postdischarge. In analyses based on follow-up interview measures, expected remission duration among patients without personality disorders was approximately 7.4 times longer than among patients with Axis II comorbidity. Attributional style also accounted for unique variance in the relapse model, with adaptive positive event attributions inversely related to relapse probability. Neither dysfunctional attitudes nor negative event attributions were significantly related to relapse. Dimensional Axis II Cluster B and C pathology ratings were associated with decreased survival time, whereas Cluster A pathology was associated with increased survival. Among measures obtained during index hospitalization, only the dimensional rating of Axis II pathology was significantly predictive, with a cumulative 8% decrease in expected survival for each Axis II criterion item met.

Sixty-six tension headache patients were randomly assigned to one of four conditions for 8 weeks: (a) progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) alone; (b) PMR plus cognitive therapy (PMR + Cog); (c) pseudomeditation, a credible attention-placebo control; or (d) continued headache monitoring. A comparison of overall headache activity (headache index), derived from a daily headache diary, for 4 weeks before treatment to 4 weeks after treatment, revealed that active treatment (PMR and PMR + Cog) was superior to either control condition. Moreover, level of headache medication consumption decreased significantly for the active treatment groups. Although headache-index comparisons of the two active treatments showed no advantage for adding cognitive therapy to PMR, a measure of clinically significant change showed a trend for PMR + Cog to be superior to PMR alone.

One-hundred-sixteen patients suffering from vascular headache (migraine or combined migraine and tension) were, after 4 weeks of pretreatment baseline headache monitoring, randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) thermal biofeedback with adjunctive relaxation training (TBF); (b) TBF plus cognitive therapy; (c) pseudomediation as an ostensible attention-placebo control; or (d) headache monitoring. The first three groups received 16 individual sessions over 8 weeks, while the fourth group continued to monitor headaches. All groups then monitored headaches for a 4-week posttreatment baseline. Analyses revealed that all treated groups improved significantly more than the headache monitoring group with no significant differences among the three treated groups. On a measure of clinically significant improvement, the two TBF groups had slightly higher (51%) degree of improvement than the meditation group (37.5%). It is argued that the attention-placebo control became an active relaxation condition.