Disorders - Anxiety Disorders
Khalsa, S. B., Hickey-Schultz, L., Cohen, D., Steiner, N., Cope, S.
The goal of this study was to evaluate potential mental health benefits of yoga for
adolescents in secondary school. Students were randomly assigned to either regular physical education classes or to 11 weeks of yoga sessions based
upon the Yoga Ed program over a single semester. Students completed baseline and end-program self-report measures of mood, anxiety, perceived stress,
resilience, and other mental health variables. Independent evaluation of individual outcome measures revealed that yoga participants showed
statistically significant differences over time relative to controls on measures of anger control and fatigue/inertia. Most outcome measures
exhibited a pattern of worsening in the control group over time, whereas changes in the yoga group over time were either minimal or showed slight
improvements. These preliminary results suggest that implementation of yoga is acceptable and feasible in a secondary school setting and has the
potential of playing a protective or preventive role in maintaining mental health.
Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 39(1) : 80-
90
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Mind-body exercises (e.g. yoga, tai chi, qigong), Physical activity, exercise
Khorvash, M., Askari, A., Rafiemanzelat,
F., Botshekan, M., Khorvash, F.
Introduction: This study is performed to investigate the effect of strength and
endurance training on the levels of depression, anxiety, and C-reactive proteins inflammatory biomarker changes. Materials and Methods: The research
method was experimental, and the statistical population is formed of 300 volunteer male students. After the pre-test, 120 subjects with notable
depression and anxiety levels obtained from Beacke and Ketel's questionnaires were selected and randomly divided into two groups of strength and
endurance, each containing 60 subjects, and then, again into two groups of experimental and control, each with 30 subjects. All 120 subjects were
blood-sampled in the first stage to determine CRP concentration. After 20 sessions of strength and endurance exercises again depression, anxiety, and
C-reactive proteins testes were used for both control and experimental groups. Ultimately, the obtained data were analyzed by using t-test in
dependent and independent groups and covariance analysis in P 0.05 level. Results: The results showed that the average of age is 25.1(plus or
minus)3.2, average of weight is 70.4(plus or minus)8.4 and average of height is 169.8(plus or minus)12.1, in the subjects. Also, the strength and
endurance training had reduced the anxiety by 27% (P =.0001), depression by 37% (P =.0001) and C-reactive proteins by 20% (P =.0001), in the
subjects. Discussion: Regarding the different effects of training types on research variables, the results showed that the endurance training has a
greater effect in reducing the depression, and strength training, in blood C-reactive proteins reduction, Although, no significant difference was
observed between anxiety-reducing effects of strength and endurance training.
Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 17(11) : 1072-
1076
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Physical activity, exercise
McFadden, K. L., Healy, K. M., Hoversten, K. P., Ito, T. A., Hernandez, T. D.
Objectives: Identifying a non-pharmacological intervention to reduce the stress response could be particularly
beneficial to college students, a group prone to considerable stress. Acupressure has shown some efficacy in reducing stress in adults following
stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI), but multiple treatments were required. Results from single treatments in healthy populations have been mixed.
Design: The current study used a randomised, placebo-controlled, single-blind design to investigate the use of a single acupressure treatment for
stress reduction in healthy college students (. n=. 109) during a stressor. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three
single, 40-min interventions: active acupressure, placebo acupressure, or a relaxation CD control. A math task stressor administered before and after
the intervention assessed intervention effects on stressor responsivity. Main outcome measures: Stress responses were measured by physiological
(heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), skin conductance response (SCR)) and subjective measures (State Anxiety Inventory, nine-item
Psychological Stress Measure) of anxiety and stress. Results: All interventions were associated with the following changes during the post-
intervention stressor compared to the pre-intervention stressor: reduced HR (. p<. 0.001), increased HRV (. p<. 0.024), reduced SCR (. p<. 0.001),
reduced subjective stress scores (. p<. 0.001), and increased correct answers (. p<. 0.001). Although all groups demonstrated stress reduction, there
were no significant group differences after a single treatment. Conclusions: All interventions significantly reduced the stress response, although
not differently. The lack of active acupressure-associated treatment effects appears to be due to insufficient dosing. (copyright) 2012 Elsevier
Ltd.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 20(4) : 175-182
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Acupuncture, acupressure
Kidger, J., Araya, R., Donovan, J., Gunnell, D.
BACKGROUND AND
OBJECTIVES: The evidence base for the importance of the school environment for adolescent emotional health has never been systematically reviewed. We
aimed to synthesize the evidence for the effect on adolescent emotional health of (1) interventions targeting the school environment and (2) the
school environment in cohort studies. METHODS: Searches of Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, the Social Citation Index, and the gray
literature were conducted. Criteria for inclusion were (1) cohort or controlled trial designs, (2) participants aged 11 to 18 years, (3) emotional
health outcomes, and (4) school environment exposure or intervention. Relevant studies were retrieved and data extracted by 2 independent reviewers.
RESULTS: Nine papers reporting 5 controlled trials were reviewed, along with 30 cohort papers reporting 23 studies. Two nonrandomized trials found
some evidence that a supportive school environment improved student emotional health, but 3 randomized controlled trials did not. Six (20%) cohort
papers examined school-level factors but found no effect. There was some evidence that individual perceptions of school connectedness and teacher
support predict future emotional health. Multilevel studies showed school effects were smaller than individual-level effects. Methodological
shortcomings were common. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited evidence that the school environment has a major influence on adolescent mental health,
although student perceptions of teacher support and school connectedness are associated with better emotional health. More studies measuring
schoollevel factors are needed. Randomized controlled trials evaluating 1 or 2 environmental components may have more success in establishing
effective and feasible interventions compared with complex whole-school programs. Copyright (copyright) 2012 by the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
Pediatrics, 129(5) : 925-949
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders, Suicide or self-harm behaviours (excluding non-suicidal self-harm)
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Other Psychological Interventions
Macdonald, G., Higgins, J. P., Ramchandani, P., Valentine, J. C., Bronger, L. P., Klein, P., O'Daniel, R., Pickering, M., Rademaker, B., Richardson,
G., Taylor, M.
Despite
differences in how it is defined, there is a general consensus amongst clinicians and researchers that the sexual abuse of children and adolescents
('child sexual abuse') is a substantial social problem worldwide. The effects of sexual abuse manifest in a wide range of symptoms, including fear,
anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and various externalising and internalising behaviour problems, such as inappropriate sexual behaviours.
Child sexual abuse is associated with increased risk of psychological problems in adulthood. Cognitive-behavioural approaches are used to help
children and their non-offending or 'safe' parent to manage the sequelae of childhood sexual abuse. This review updates the first Cochrane review
of cognitive-behavioural approaches interventions for children who have been sexually abused, which was first published in 2006. To assess the
efficacy of cognitive-behavioural approaches (CBT) in addressing the immediate and longer-term sequelae of sexual abuse on children and young people
up to 18 years of age. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2011 Issue 4); MEDLINE (1950 to November Week 3
2011); EMBASE (1980 to Week 47 2011); CINAHL (1937 to 2 December 2011); PsycINFO (1887 to November Week 5 2011); LILACS (1982 to 2 December 2011) and
OpenGrey, previously OpenSIGLE (1980 to 2 December 2011). For this update we also searched ClinicalTrials.gov and the International Clinical Trials
Registry Platform (ICTRP). We included randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials of CBT used with children and adolescents up to age 18 years
who had experienced being sexually abused, compared with treatment as usual, with or without placebo control. At least two review authors
independently assessed the eligibility of titles and abstracts identified in the search. Two review authors independently extracted data from
included studies and entered these into Review Manager 5 software. We synthesised and presented data in both written and graphical form (forest
plots). We included 10 trials, involving 847 participants. All studies examined CBT programmes provided to children or children and a non-offending
parent. Control groups included wait list controls (n = 1) or treatment as usual (n = 9). Treatment as usual was, for the most part, supportive,
unstructured psychotherapy. Generally the reporting of studies was poor. Only four studies were judged 'low risk of bias' with regards to sequence
generation and only one study was judged 'low risk of bias' in relation to allocation concealment. All studies were judged 'high risk of bias' in
relation to the blinding of outcome assessors or personnel; most studies did not report on these, or other issues of bias. Most studies reported
results for study completers rather than for those recruited.Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and child behaviour problems
were the primary outcomes. Data suggest that CBT may have a positive impact on the sequelae of child sexual abuse, but most results were not
statistically significant. Strongest evidence for positive effects of CBT appears to be in reducing PTSD and anxiety symptoms, but even in these
areas effects tend to be 'moderate' at best. Meta-analysis of data from five studies suggested an average decrease of 1.9 points on the Child
Depression Inventory immediately after intervention (95% confidence interval (CI) decrease of 4.0 to increase of 0.4; I(2) = 53%; P value for
heterogeneity = 0.08), representing a small to moderate effect size. Data from six studies yielded an average decrease of 0.44 standard deviations on
a variety of child post-traumatic stress disorder scales (95% CI 0.16 to 0.73; I(2) = 46%; P value for heterogeneity = 0.10). Combined data from five
studies yielded an average decrease of 0.23 standard deviations on various child anxiety scales (95% CI 0.3 to 0.4; I(2) = 0%; P value for
heterogeneity = 0.84). No study reported adverse effects. The conclusions of this updated review remain the same as those when it was first
published. The eview confirms the potential of CBT to address the adverse consequences of child sexual abuse, but highlights the limitations of the
evidence base and the need for more carefully conducted and better reported trials.
Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, 5 : CD001930
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depressive Disorders
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
Richards, J., Foster,
C.
Introduction: It is estimated that, in any given year,
at least 20% of adolescents experience mental health (MH) disorders that are consistent across cultures. High levels of psychological distress are
common in post-conflict settings andMHdisorder rates tend to double. The sport-for-development (SfD) sector is rapidly emerging and claims to
positively influenceMHin this context. This study examined the impact of a SfD programme on the MH of young adolescents in Gulu, Uganda. Methods:
Voluntary male registrants for a SfD programme in Gulu aged 11-14 years were randomly allocated into an intervention (T, n = 73) or wait-list (W, n =
71) group. All voluntary female registrants aged 11-14 years were allocated into group T (n = 79). A non-registered control (O) group was also formed
for both boys (n = 450) and girls (n = 727). The intervention comprised a 9-week competitive sport league (1x40 minute football match and at least
1x1.5 hour training per week). All groups undertook MH measurements before and after the intervention. The Acholi Psychosocial Assessment Instrument
(APAI) was used to assess local depressionlike (DL) and anxiety-like (AL) syndromes. Within-group changes ((Delta)) were assessed using paired t-
tests. The between-group comparisons of (Delta) were analysed using a repeat measures ANOVA adjusted for differences at baseline. Results: The
deterioration in MHof the boys in Twas not statistically significant for DL [0.076] or AL [0.344]. This contrasted with the boys inWand O who
experienced significant improvements in DL and AL [p<0.01]. There was a significant between-group difference in the adjusted data for boys (Delta)T
vs. (Delta)W [p<0.01] and (Delta)T vs. (Delta)O [DL: p<0.05]. There was no significant change for the girls in T for DL [p = 0.155] or AL [p =
0.223]. Although the girls in O experi-enced significant improvements for DL and AL [p<0.01], there were no significant between-group differences in
the (Delta)T vs. (Delta)O after adjusting the data [DL: p = 0.836, AL: p = 0.819]. Discussion: The SfD intervention appeared to negatively affect
theMHof boys in T. This may have been caused by exposure to new emotional pressures and stress associated with competition. Girls in T did not
experience the same deterioration in MH. This may be explained by an apparently less intense focus on winning by the girls and their coaches. The MH
benefits experienced by the waitlisted boys may have been because they were exposed to improved local capacity for sport without the negative effects
of a competitive league.
Journal of Science & Medicine in
Sport, 15 : S345
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Other Psychological Interventions
McGrady, A., Brennan, J., Lynch, D., Whearty, K.
Entering medical students experience distress symptoms due to the demands
of the intensive curriculum, adjustment to new environments and increased responsibilities. The purpose of this controlled, randomized study was to
determine the effects of a structured wellness program on measures of anxiety, depression and frequency of acute illness in 449 first year medical
students. The effects of eight sessions of stress management were compared to a wait list control group. High risk students were identified based on
scores on psychological inventories and number of recent life events (WLE). Results showed that depression, anxiety scores and frequency of acute
illness were higher in women than in men, and were higher in students with multiple life events. Significant decreases were observed in depression in
the intervention group students when WLE was the covariate (p = .045). Further, the high risk group showed consistently lower depression scores after
the intervention compared to high risk wait list controls (p = .003), and these changes were maintained at the end of school year. There were no
significant changes in anxiety or frequency of acute illness. Wellness programs can be implemented in medical school and may be particularly useful
for entering students with elevated psychological distress. (copyright) Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.
Applied Psychophysiology
Biofeedback, 37(4) : 253-260
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Other Psychological Interventions
McManus, F., Van-Doorn, K., Yiend, J.
Objective:
While the efficacy and effectiveness of CBT protocols are well established, much less is known about the comparative contribution of the various
techniques within CBT. The present study examined the relative efficacy, in comparison to a control condition, of two central techniques in CBT:
thought records (TRs) and behavioral experiments (BEs). Method: A mixed within and between participants design was used to compare the efficacy of a
single session TR and a single session BE intervention with a control intervention, in a non-clinical sample. Ninety one participants were randomly
allocated to one of the three conditions. Results: The overall pattern of results suggests that both TR and BE had a beneficial therapeutic impact in
comparison to the control condition on beliefs, anxiety, behavior and a standardized measure of symptoms. There was evidence of a small advantage of
the BE over the TR intervention in that the target belief changed earlier and change generalized to beliefs about others as well as the self.
Conclusions: The findings confirm the utility of both TR and BE interventions and point to BEs as more useful in effecting belief change in that the
change in the BE condition occurred sooner and generalized further. (copyright) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 43(1) : 540-547
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT), Other Psychological Interventions
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J. J., Sawyer, A. T., Fang, A.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) refers to a
popular therapeutic approach that has been applied to a variety of problems. The goal of this review was to provide a comprehensive survey of meta-
analyses examining the efficacy of CBT. We identified 269 meta-analytic studies and reviewed of those a representative sample of 106 metaanalyses
examining CBT for the following problems: substance use disorder, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, depression and dysthymia, bipolar
disorder, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, eating disorders, insomnia, personality disorders, anger and aggression, criminal behaviors,
general stress, distress due to general medical conditions, chronic pain and fatigue, distress related to pregnancy complications and female hormonal
conditions. Additional meta-analytic reviews examined the efficacy of CBT for various problems in children and elderly adults. The strongest support
exists for CBT of anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, bulimia, anger control problems, and general stress. Eleven studies compared response
rates between CBT and other treatments or control conditions. CBT showed higher response rates than the comparison conditions in seven of these
reviews and only one review reported that CBT had lower response rates than comparison treatments. In general, the evidencebase of CBT is very
strong. However, additional research is needed to examine the efficacy of CBT for randomizedcontrolled studies. Moreover, except for children and
elderly populations, no meta-analytic studies of CBT have been reported on specific subgroups, such as ethnic minorities and low income samples.
(copyright) Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.
Cognitive Therapy &
Research, 36(5) : 427-440
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
Kaslow, Nadine J., Broth, Michelle Robbins, Smith, Chaundrissa Oyeshiku, Collins, Marietta
H.
Emotional and behavioral symptoms and disorders are prevalent in children and adolescents. There
has been a burgeoning literature supporting evidence-based treatments for these disorders. Increasingly, family-based interventions have been gaining
prominence and demonstrating effectiveness for myriad childhood and adolescent disorders. This article presents the current evidence in support of
family-based interventions for mood, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity, disruptive behavior, pervasive developmental particularly autism
spectrum, and eating disorders. This review details recent data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and promising interventions not yet examined
using a randomized controlled methodology. It highlights the evidence base supporting various specific family-based interventions, some of which are
disorder dependent. A practitioner perspective is then offered with regard to recommendations for future practice and training. The article closes
with a summary and directions for future research.; © 2012 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 38(1) : 82-
100
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any), Depressive Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions
(any), Family therapy
Li, X., Lu, Y. M., Zhang, Z., Wang, J., Pan, H. T., Zhang, Q. X.
Studies on people-plant interaction indicated that visual exposure to nature or plants had positive influences on human
health. The objective of this study was to explore the visual effects of red, pink, yellow and white flowers of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii),
carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) and modern rose (Rosa hybrida) on human psycho-physiological responses as compared to a blank white picture as the
control. The physiological measurements of 30 university students (15 males and 15 females) included blood pressure (BP), including systolic blood
pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), galvanic skin response (GSR) and fingertip pulse (FP). The State-Trait Anxiety
Inventory (STAI) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were used to record subjects' psychological reactions during the test. The participants
showed physiological benefits as evidenced by decreased SBP, DBP, HR and FP, and increased GSR after receiving flower color stimuli. The results also
suggested that exposure to flower colors had psychological improvements, including reduced levels of anxiety, irritability and fatigue. Significant
color differences were found in SBP, DBP, STAI, irritability, vigor and fatigue responses. However, there were no significant differences among the
three ornamental species tested in any of the physiological or psychological reactions. In conclusion, findings of this research indicated that pink
and white flowers were effective in reducing negative feelings, such as anxiety, anger and fatigue; while red and yellow flowers were effective in
promoting vigor level.
Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, 10(3-
4) : 1294-1300
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Other complementary & alternative
interventions
Iglesias, S. L., Azzara,
S., Argibay, J. C., Arnaiz, M. L., deValle Carpineta, M., Granchetti, H., Lagomarsino, E.
To design, implement, and examine the psychoneuroendocrine responses of three different types of stress management programs.
Randomly assigned. A pre/post experimental design comparing variables between three different programs and a control group. The first program
included training in deep breathing, relaxation response, meditation, and guided imagery techniques (RRGI). The second program included training in
cognitive behavioral techniques (CB). The third program included both RRGI and CB (RRGICB). The study was conducted at Buenos Aires University.
Participants (N = 52) were undergraduate students. Anxiety, anger, hopelessness, neuroticism, respiration rate, and salivary cortisol levels were
assessed. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to investigate differences in pre and post variables. Subjects in the RRGI group showed significantly
lower levels of anxiety (p < .011), anger (p < .012), neuroticism (p < .01), respiratory rate (p < .002), hopelessness (p < .01), and salivary
cortisol (p < .002) after the treatment. Subjects in the CB group showed significantly lower levels of anxiety (p < .018), anger (p < .037), and
neuroticism (p < .03) after the treatment. Subjects in the RRGICB group showed significantly lower levels of anxiety (p < .001), anger (p < .001),
neuroticism (p < .008), hopelessness (p < .01), respiratory rate (p < .001), and salivary cortisol (p < .002) after the treatment. Subjects in the
control group showed only one variable modification, a significant increase in cortisol levels (p < .004). The combination of deep breathing,
relaxation response, meditation, and guided imagery techniques with CB seems to be effective at helping people to deal with stress.
American Journal
of Health Promotion, 26(6) : e149-158
- Year: 2012
- Problem: Anxiety Disorders (any)
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative
Interventions (CAM), Psychological Interventions
(any), Other Psychological Interventions, Meditation, Relaxation