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This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of art therapy for Japanese patients with cancer of the blood and bone marrow, to determine the efficacy on mood and spiritual well-being, and to record comments on the art. The subjects were 7 patients with stable disease who were recruited by a primary physician. In the first session of art therapy, the patients talked about their diseases and then made art to express their emotions. In the second session, they also made art. Drawing, colored pencils, collage, and pastels were used in both sessions and the patients commented on their art. The POMS (Profile of Mood Scale) and FACIT-Sp (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual) were used to measure mood and spiritual well-being, respectively. POMS Depression and Fatigue scores tended to decrease after art therapy, while FACIT-Sp scores did not change and were standard for cancer patients. The explanations of the art reflected expressions of desire in the first session and hopes for the future in the second session. These results suggest that art therapy can decrease depression and fatigue in Japanese cancer patients, and promote expression of emotions, desires, and hopes with understanding of the seriousness of the disease.

This study examined the impact of threatening information on coping and pain tolerance in a healthy adult sample. Prior to engaging in a Cold Pressor Test (CPT), 121 college students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a threat condition in which they read an orienting passage warning them about symptoms and consequences of frostbite (pain as a signal for nociception), a reassurance condition in which they read an orienting passage about the safety of the CPT (pain independent of nociception), or a control condition in which no orienting passage was read before the experimental task. Only 15.6% of participants in the threat group completed the CPT to its 4-minute duration, compared with 55.6% in the reassurance group and 45.2% of those in the control group. Even though groups did not differ on level of reported pain, threatened participants catastrophized more about the pain and reported less use of cognitive coping strategies (reinterpreting pain sensations, ignoring pain, diverting attention away from pain to other experiences, and using coping self-statements) than other respondents. A path analysis indicated that the relation between threat and pain tolerance was fully mediated by catastrophizing and cognitive coping. Together, findings suggest that pain appraised as threatening contributes to a specific pattern of coping responses associated with a reduced capacity to bear pain.

This study assessed the extent to which the mere presence of over-the-counter analgesics affected the perception of experimentally-induced pain in healthy adult samples. In Study 1, 68 college undergraduates participating in a cold pressor test (CPT) were randomly assigned to stimulus displays featuring either pain medication cues (i.e. bottles of aspirin and Tylenol) or cues with no obvious relation to pain (i.e. small elephant statue, soda can) and provided ratings of pain severity every 30 seconds for up to four minutes. Contrary to expectations, participants exposed to pain medication cues reported a significantly lower average rating of pain intensity after 30 seconds of exposure to ice water compared to those exposed to pain-irrelevant cues. This effect was relatively short term, as there were no differences between the two conditions on subsequent ratings of pain intensity or overall pain tolerance. These findings were replicated in a second sample ( n = 48) with slightly altered stimulus displays....

Numerous studies have observed a robust correlation between shyness and loneliness but few have attempted to explain why this relationship exists. This study assessed the extent to which variables associated with self-presentation approaches to shyness and social support mediated the association between shyness and loneliness. Two hundred and fifty-five American college students completed self-report measures of shyness, loneliness, expectations of rejection, interpersonal competence and close social support. A path analysis indicated that high levels of shyness were related to features of a protective style of self-presentation (perceived deficits in interpersonal competence, heightened expectations of rejection). In turn, low levels of interpersonal competence predicted reductions in social support. Together, measures indicative of a protective self-presentation style and reductions in social support predicted increases in loneliness. However, shyness and loneliness had a significant association, even after controlling for the influence of self-presentation and social support. Findings suggest that although features of protective self-presentation and social support may partially explain the association between shyness and loneliness, shyness and loneliness are also directly related.

FRITCH, AND JENNIFER GUNDERSON Deparfmetzt of Psychologv U~ziuersify of Wisconsin-Superior Strmnzary.-To test the hypothesis chat higher scores on alexithyrnia are associ- ated with reduced tolerance for cold pressor pain, 116 college undergradu~res corn- pleced the Toronto Alexithyrnia Scale-20 of Bagby, Parker and Taylor and eng.lgsd in the cold pressor test. Their alexithymia scores were not associated with toler3nce for cold pressor pain, suggesting chat individuals scoring high on alexithyrnia do not show a general hypersensitivity to a cold stimulus.