OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to assess the interaction between alcohol cues and social pressure in the induction of alcohol craving. METHODS Fourteen male patients with alcohol dependence and 14 age-matched social drinkers completed a virtual reality coping skill training program composed of four blocks according to the presence of alcohol cues (x2) and social pressure (x2). Before and ...

OBJECTIVE In 1993-1994, a psychosocial intervention conducted in New York City significantly improved outcomes for parents living with HIV and their adolescent children over six years. We examine if the intervention benefits are similar for adolescents of mothers living with HIV (MLH) in 2004-2005 in Los Angeles when MLH's survival had increased substantially. METHODS Adolescents of MLH in Lo...

BACKGROUND Over 12,000 individuals suffer a spinal cord injury (SCI) annually in the United States, necessitating long-term, complex adjustments and responsibilities for patients and their caregivers. Despite growing evidence that family education and support improves the management of chronic conditions for care recipients as well as caregiver outcomes, few systematic efforts have been made to...

Personal and social resources facilitate the adaptation to critical life events. The present study investigates whether general self-efficacy beliefs and received social support elevate cancer patients' physical, emotional, and social well-being directly, or whether these effects are rather mediated by active or meaning-focused coping. Gastrointestinal, colorectal, and lung cancer patients were...

BACKGROUND Occupational therapists may have an added value in the care of patients with Parkinson's disease whose daily functioning is compromised, as well as for their immediate caregivers. Evidence for this added value is inconclusive due to a lack of rigorous studies. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the (cost) effectiveness of occupational therapy in improving daily functioning of patie...

INTRODUCTION Recent public health objectives emphasize the importance of exercise for reducing disability among people with arthritis. Despite the documented benefits of exercise, people with arthritis are less active than those without arthritis. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence exercise participation among insufficiently active individuals with arthritis and...

AIM To investigate the association between life-style and socioeconomic factors and coping strategies in a community sample in Iran. METHOD As part of a community-based study called Isfahan Healthy Heart Program, we studied 17593 individuals older than 19 living in the central part of Iran. Demographic and socioeconomic factors (age, sex, occupation status, marital status, and educational lev...

The decade long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have placed considerable strain on military families. Given robust data showing high rates of deployment-related psychological health problems in spouses and children, and the near absence of evidence-based psychological health programs for military families in the community, interventions are urgently needed to support and strengthen spouses as...

Children are continuously confronted with everyday stressors in their daily routine, and their ability to deal with these stressors has been found to be significantly related to their psychological adjustment. In fact, numerous studies have indicated that having a repertoire of coping skills at a young age can be a "buffer" or moderator" of the effects of negative life stress on the development...

In light of current conflicting evidence, the status of relaxation training as an effective treatment procedure is unclear. A possible reason for the inconsistent findings may rest with the way in which the training procedure is presented, or at least with the way in which the subject or client may construe it. Using public-speaking anxiety as a target behavior, the present study presented rela...