Gayle Beck - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Gayle Beck
Journal of Traumatic Stress, Nov 29, 2018
Relative to advances in the literature that have examined individual treatment approaches for pos... more Relative to advances in the literature that have examined individual treatment approaches for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), scientific knowledge about group treatment approaches has lagged, resulting in no currently available group treatment for PTSD despite the frequency with which this format is used. Our goal was to build upon the existing literature by examining the efficacy of a group cognitive-behavioral treatment (GCBT) for PTSD relative to group presentcentered treatment (GPCT). The sample consisted of 198 male veterans with PTSD who were recruited at two Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers and randomly assigned to either GCBT (n = 98) or GPCT (n = 100); both treatments were 14 sessions. Assessments occurred at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Findings indicated significant reductions in PTSD severity and PTSD diagnostic status following treatment for both GCBT, d = 0.97, and GPCT, d = 0.61. In addition, we observed significant reductions for depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and functional impairment for both group treatments as well as a reduction in the percentage of veteran participants who met diagnostic status for cooccurring major depression disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Notably, these treatment gains were maintained at 12-month follow-up. Contrary to expectations, there were no significant differences between treatment conditions. Veterans diagnosed with PTSD were successfully treated using a group approach. Consistent with a growing body of evidence, the findings also suggest GPCT is as equally efficacious as group trauma-focused treatment. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01544088). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in the general population, with an even higher prevalence in active duty and veteran populations. The prevalence of PTSD in men and women returning from overseas operations in Afghanistan and Iraq is estimated to be at least 10% immediately postdeployment, with an approximate doubling within 5 years Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Denise Sloan, Ph.D., National Center for PTSD (116B-4), 150 S.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Oct 1, 2019
Despite high levels of traffic-related mortality, injury, and impairment among former service mem... more Despite high levels of traffic-related mortality, injury, and impairment among former service members, measures validated to assess problematic driving in this population remain limited. The current study examined characteristics of the Driving Behavior Survey (DBS) in male veterans (76.3% White; age: M = 56.4, SD = 12.3) meeting criteria for PTSD. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated acceptable fit of a 3-factor model specifying dimensions of anxiety-based performance deficits, exaggerated safety/caution, and hostile/aggressive driving behavior. Concurrent associations with indices of anxiety, depression, trauma history, and clinician-rated PTSD were consistent with small (r = .10-.29) to medium (r = .30-.49) effects. Discriminative validity was noted through elevations in performance deficit (d = .26), safety/caution (d = .50), and hostile/ aggressive (d = .39) scales relative to published data from student drivers. Scores comparable to civilian motorists with accident-related PTSD help to qualify the severity of problematic driving behavior in trauma-exposed veterans.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2021
To examine moderators of change during group-based intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder... more To examine moderators of change during group-based intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), multilevel models were used to assess trajectories of symptom clusters in male veterans receiving trauma focused Group Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (gCBT; N = 84) or non-trauma focused Group Present Centered Therapy (gPCT; N = 91; Sloan et al., 2018). Separate models were conducted for symptom clusters in each intervention, examining pre-treatment PTSD symptoms, pre-treatment depression severity, age, index trauma, and outcome expectancies as potential moderators. Unconditioned growth models for both gCBT and gPCT showed reductions in intrusions, avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, and arousal/reactivity (all p < .001). Distinct moderators of recovery emerged for each treatment. Reductions in avoidance during gCBT were strongest at high levels of pre-treatment PTSD symptoms (low PTSD: p = .964, d = .05; high PTSD: p < .001, d = 1.31) whereas positive outcome expectancies enhanced reductions in cognitions/mood (low Expectancy: p = .120, d = .50; high Expectancy: p < .001, d = 1.13). For gPCT, high levels of pre-treatment depression symptoms negatively impacted change in both intrusion (low depression: p < .001, d = .96; high depression: p = .376, d = .22) and arousal/reactivity (low depression: p < .001, d = .95; high depression: p = .092, d = .39) symptoms. Results support the importance of examining trajectories of change and their moderators for specific treatments, particularly when contrasting trauma focused and non-trauma focused treatments.
Child Maltreatment, 2021
Patterns of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse (CA) were explored in 467... more Patterns of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse (CA) were explored in 467 women seeking psychological assistance following IPV. Using latent class analysis, three classes were obtained: women who had experienced physical, sexual, and psychological IPV, along with childhood physical and sexual abuse (IPV + CA; 38.5%); women who had experienced physical, sexual, and psychological IPV only (IPV/no CA; 52.9%); and women who had experienced psychological IPV only (Psych IPV only; 8.6%). Associations of class membership with severity of specific mental health conditions were examined, along with the number of diagnosed conditions. Significant between-class differences were noted on severity of IPV-related posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, alcohol and substance use disorders, and social phobia. Classes also differed significantly on the number of mental health conditions. Understanding patterns of betrayal-based trauma (e.g., IPV and CA) can infor...
Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2020
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2019
ObjectiveThis study examined whether a history of childhood abuse (CA) strengthened the associati... more ObjectiveThis study examined whether a history of childhood abuse (CA) strengthened the association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the aftermath of intimate partner violence (IPV). This hypothesis arises from clinical literature but has not been examined empirically. We predicted that a history of CA would enhance associations between BPD features and PTSD symptoms.MethodDimensional assessment of both PTSD and BPD was made in a sample of 211 women who sought mental health services following IPV. Two analyses were conducted using clinician‐assessed DSM‐IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.) PTSD symptoms: (a) total score and (b) symptom clusters.ResultsUsing path analysis, results indicated significant associations between BPD features and PTSD symptoms, but no significant interaction between BPD and CA in either analysis.ConclusionsResults are discussed given current understanding of comorbiditie...
Behavior Therapy, 2017
There are well-documented associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and ... more There are well-documented associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and intimate relationship impairments, including dysfunctional communication at times of relationship conflict. To date, the extant research on the associations between PTSD symptom severity and conflict communication has been cross-sectional and focused on military and veteran couples. No published work has evaluated the extent to which PTSD symptom severity and communication at times of relationship conflict influence each other over time or in civilian samples. The current study examined the prospective bidirectional associations between PTSD symptom severity and dyadic conflict communication in a sample of 114 severe motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors in a committed intimate relationship at the time of the accident. PTSD symptom severity and dyadic conflict communication were assessed at 4 and 16 weeks post-MVA, and prospective associations were examined using path analysis.
Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, 2015
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 2015
Mobile sensor data-to-knowledge (MD2K) was chosen as one of 11 Big Data Centers of Excellence by ... more Mobile sensor data-to-knowledge (MD2K) was chosen as one of 11 Big Data Centers of Excellence by the National Institutes of Health, as part of its Big Data-to-Knowledge initiative. MD2K is developing innovative tools to streamline the collection, integration, management, visualization, analysis, and interpretation of health data generated by mobile and wearable sensors. The goal of the big data solutions being developed by MD2K is to reliably quantify physical, biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors that contribute to health and disease risk. The research conducted by MD2K is targeted at improving health through early detection of adverse health events and by facilitating prevention. MD2K will make its tools, software, and training materials widely available and will also organize workshops and seminars to encourage their use by researchers and clinicians.
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2015
This report focuses on the co-occurrence of PTSD-GAD and examines a factor that could operate to ... more This report focuses on the co-occurrence of PTSD-GAD and examines a factor that could operate to maintain both conditions, specifically negative post-trauma cognitions about the self, the world, and selfblame. Two separate help-seeking samples were examined: (a) a mixed gender sample of 301 individuals who had experienced a serious motor vehicle accident (MVA), a single incident, non-interpersonal trauma; and (b) a sample of 157 women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), a recurrent, interpersonal trauma. When examined at the diagnostic level, posttraumatic cognitions for one diagnosis did not vary as a function of whether the other diagnosis was present. In the MVA sample, both diagnosed PTSD and GAD were associated with elevations in negative thoughts about the self. Diagnosed GAD was also significantly associated with negative thoughts about the world. In the IPV sample, diagnosed PTSD was associated with elevations in negative thoughts about the self only. When continuously measured PTSD and GAD were examined, results indicated that negative thoughts about the self showed significant simultaneous associations with PTSD and GAD in both samples. In the MVA sample, negative thoughts about the world and self-blame showed significant associations with PTSD but not with GAD. In the IPV sample, negative thoughts about the world and self-blame were not significantly associated with either PTSD or GAD. Results are discussed in light of current treatment models for these conditions, with emphasis on the potential for addressing transdiagnostic processes as a more effective approach to treating comorbid conditions following trauma.
Traditional theories on the anxiety disorders have focused on intrapersonal factors, such as cogn... more Traditional theories on the anxiety disorders have focused on intrapersonal factors, such as cognitive, affective, behavioral, physiological, and genetic processes. Yet, those who treat and conduct research with anxious individuals know that interpersonal processes interact with anxiety symptoms. How can we begin to reconcile research and clinical experiences with current theoretical accounts? In this volume, editor J. Gayle Beck draws together, for the first time, the available knowledge about interpersonal factors in the anxiety disorders. The book begins with an overview of models and measures for conceptualizing and assessing interpersonal processes in the anxiety disorders. It then reviews the available literature on interpersonal processes pertaining to specific disorders, including childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and health anxiety. Throughout the book, clinical descriptions, etiological formulations, and information pertaining to comorbidity and treatment help to bridge the gap between clinical and research work. This groundbreaking book will appeal to everyone interested in anxiety disorders or interpersonal processes in psychopathology. 2010. 288 pages. Hardcover.
Proceedings of the 5th ACM Conference on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Health Informatics, 2014
Stress can lead to headaches and fatigue, precipitate addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol... more Stress can lead to headaches and fatigue, precipitate addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol and drug use), and lead to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Continuous assessment of stress from sensors can be used for timely delivery of a variety of interventions to reduce or avoid stress. We investigate the feasibility of continuous stress measurement via two field studies using wireless physiological sensors-a four-week study with illicit drug users (n = 40), and a one-week study with daily smokers and social drinkers (n = 30). We find that 11+ hours/day of usable data can be obtained in a 4-week study. Significant learning effect is observed after the first week and data yield is seen to be increasing over time even in the fourth week. We propose a framework to analyze sensor data yield and find that losses in wireless channel is negligible; the main hurdle in further improving data yield is the attachment constraint. We show the feasibility of measuring stress minutes preceding events of interest and observe the sensor-derived stress to be rising prior to self-reported stress and smoking events.
Rehabilitation Psychology, 1988
Page 1. Correlates of Daily Impairment in COPD J. Gayle Beck and Susan K. Scott University of Hou... more Page 1. Correlates of Daily Impairment in COPD J. Gayle Beck and Susan K. Scott University of Houston Robert B. Teague Baylor College of Medicine Frank I. Perez and G. Alan Brown Behavioral Medicine Consultants, Houston, Texas ...
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2003
Manualized treatments have become popular, despite concern about their use when comorbid diagnose... more Manualized treatments have become popular, despite concern about their use when comorbid diagnoses are present. In this report, the efficacy of manualized posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment was examined in the presence of chronic pain. Additionally, the effect of PTSD treatment on chronic pain and additional psychiatric diagnoses was explored. Six female patients with both PTSD and chronic pain following motor vehicle accidents were treated for PTSD using a multiple baseline design. The results indicate that manualized treatment for PTSD was effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in these patients. Although there were no changes in subjective pain, there were pain‐related functional improvements and reductions in other psychiatric diagnoses for the majority of patients.
![Research paper thumbnail of Comments concerning Iverach, et al., Screening for personality disorders among adults seeking speech treatment for stuttering [J. Fluency Disorders 34 (2009) 173–186]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/117174293/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Journal of Fluency Disorders, 2011
Iverach, Jones, O'Brian, Block, Lincoln, and Harrison (2009) indicate the high co-occurrence of o... more Iverach, Jones, O'Brian, Block, Lincoln, and Harrison (2009) indicate the high co-occurrence of one or more Personality Disorders (PD) for adults who stutter. The findings of Iverach et al. argue against many years of research and the experiences of skilled clinicians who have considered the relationship between stuttering and anxiety/negative affectivity. The results of Iverach et al. are questioned based on several methodological issues. Educational objectives: 1. To explain why the unusually high occurrence of personality disorders (PD) for individuals who stutter found by Iverach et al. (2009) may be questionable based on methodological approach. 2. To explain the heightened levels of anxiety experienced by many individuals who stutter as a natural and reasonable response to a chronic and serious problem such as stuttering. 3. To debate the potential for the inaccurate diagnosis of Axis II Personality Disorders to unnecessarily stigmatize individuals who stutter.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2001
Interest in documenting ways to predict anxious responding in panic disorder (PD) patients has pr... more Interest in documenting ways to predict anxious responding in panic disorder (PD) patients has proliferated recently in the literature. In the current study, two self-report measures were assessed to determine their relative utility in predicting responses to a panicogenic challenge. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS) were evaluated by correlating scores on these measures with reactions to inhalation of 35% carbon dioxide (CO 2), assessed via anxiety ratings, panic symptom intensity, tidal volume (V T) and respiratory rate (RR). A sample of 14 PD patients and 14 matched control (MC) participants demonstrated that the relationship between ASI scores and responses to 35% CO 2 were stronger than the relationship between SFS scores and responses to CO 2. Specifically, both respiratory responses (V T and RR) and self-reported reactions (anxiety and symptom intensity) were significantly correlated with scores on the ASI. In contrast, scores on the SFS were significantly correlated with only one measure of respiratory change (V T). Although preliminary, these data indicate that the ASI may be a more useful tool than the SFS in predicting self-reported and respiratory responses to CO 2 challenges.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2014
Data suggest anxious drivers may engage in problematic behaviors that place themselves and others... more Data suggest anxious drivers may engage in problematic behaviors that place themselves and others at increased risk of negative traffic events. Three domains of problematic behaviorexaggerated safety/caution, performance deficits, and hostile/aggressive behaviors-previously were identified during development of the Driving Behavior Survey (DBS), a novel measure of anxiety-related behavior. Extending this research, the current study examined the psychometric properties of DBS scores among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subsequent to motor vehicle trauma (N = 40). Internal consistencies and 12-week test-retest reliabilities for DBS scales ranged from good to excellent. Comparison of scores to normative student data indicated dose-response relationships for safety/caution and performance deficit subscales, with increased frequency of anxious behavior occurring within the PTSD sample. Associations with standard clinical measures provide additional evidence for anxiety-related driving behavior as a unique marker of functional impairment, distinct from both avoidance and disorder-specific symptoms.
Journal of Traumatic Stress, Nov 29, 2018
Relative to advances in the literature that have examined individual treatment approaches for pos... more Relative to advances in the literature that have examined individual treatment approaches for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), scientific knowledge about group treatment approaches has lagged, resulting in no currently available group treatment for PTSD despite the frequency with which this format is used. Our goal was to build upon the existing literature by examining the efficacy of a group cognitive-behavioral treatment (GCBT) for PTSD relative to group presentcentered treatment (GPCT). The sample consisted of 198 male veterans with PTSD who were recruited at two Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers and randomly assigned to either GCBT (n = 98) or GPCT (n = 100); both treatments were 14 sessions. Assessments occurred at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Findings indicated significant reductions in PTSD severity and PTSD diagnostic status following treatment for both GCBT, d = 0.97, and GPCT, d = 0.61. In addition, we observed significant reductions for depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and functional impairment for both group treatments as well as a reduction in the percentage of veteran participants who met diagnostic status for cooccurring major depression disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Notably, these treatment gains were maintained at 12-month follow-up. Contrary to expectations, there were no significant differences between treatment conditions. Veterans diagnosed with PTSD were successfully treated using a group approach. Consistent with a growing body of evidence, the findings also suggest GPCT is as equally efficacious as group trauma-focused treatment. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01544088). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in the general population, with an even higher prevalence in active duty and veteran populations. The prevalence of PTSD in men and women returning from overseas operations in Afghanistan and Iraq is estimated to be at least 10% immediately postdeployment, with an approximate doubling within 5 years Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Denise Sloan, Ph.D., National Center for PTSD (116B-4), 150 S.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Oct 1, 2019
Despite high levels of traffic-related mortality, injury, and impairment among former service mem... more Despite high levels of traffic-related mortality, injury, and impairment among former service members, measures validated to assess problematic driving in this population remain limited. The current study examined characteristics of the Driving Behavior Survey (DBS) in male veterans (76.3% White; age: M = 56.4, SD = 12.3) meeting criteria for PTSD. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated acceptable fit of a 3-factor model specifying dimensions of anxiety-based performance deficits, exaggerated safety/caution, and hostile/aggressive driving behavior. Concurrent associations with indices of anxiety, depression, trauma history, and clinician-rated PTSD were consistent with small (r = .10-.29) to medium (r = .30-.49) effects. Discriminative validity was noted through elevations in performance deficit (d = .26), safety/caution (d = .50), and hostile/ aggressive (d = .39) scales relative to published data from student drivers. Scores comparable to civilian motorists with accident-related PTSD help to qualify the severity of problematic driving behavior in trauma-exposed veterans.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2021
To examine moderators of change during group-based intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder... more To examine moderators of change during group-based intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), multilevel models were used to assess trajectories of symptom clusters in male veterans receiving trauma focused Group Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (gCBT; N = 84) or non-trauma focused Group Present Centered Therapy (gPCT; N = 91; Sloan et al., 2018). Separate models were conducted for symptom clusters in each intervention, examining pre-treatment PTSD symptoms, pre-treatment depression severity, age, index trauma, and outcome expectancies as potential moderators. Unconditioned growth models for both gCBT and gPCT showed reductions in intrusions, avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, and arousal/reactivity (all p < .001). Distinct moderators of recovery emerged for each treatment. Reductions in avoidance during gCBT were strongest at high levels of pre-treatment PTSD symptoms (low PTSD: p = .964, d = .05; high PTSD: p < .001, d = 1.31) whereas positive outcome expectancies enhanced reductions in cognitions/mood (low Expectancy: p = .120, d = .50; high Expectancy: p < .001, d = 1.13). For gPCT, high levels of pre-treatment depression symptoms negatively impacted change in both intrusion (low depression: p < .001, d = .96; high depression: p = .376, d = .22) and arousal/reactivity (low depression: p < .001, d = .95; high depression: p = .092, d = .39) symptoms. Results support the importance of examining trajectories of change and their moderators for specific treatments, particularly when contrasting trauma focused and non-trauma focused treatments.
Child Maltreatment, 2021
Patterns of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse (CA) were explored in 467... more Patterns of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse (CA) were explored in 467 women seeking psychological assistance following IPV. Using latent class analysis, three classes were obtained: women who had experienced physical, sexual, and psychological IPV, along with childhood physical and sexual abuse (IPV + CA; 38.5%); women who had experienced physical, sexual, and psychological IPV only (IPV/no CA; 52.9%); and women who had experienced psychological IPV only (Psych IPV only; 8.6%). Associations of class membership with severity of specific mental health conditions were examined, along with the number of diagnosed conditions. Significant between-class differences were noted on severity of IPV-related posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, alcohol and substance use disorders, and social phobia. Classes also differed significantly on the number of mental health conditions. Understanding patterns of betrayal-based trauma (e.g., IPV and CA) can infor...
Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2020
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2019
ObjectiveThis study examined whether a history of childhood abuse (CA) strengthened the associati... more ObjectiveThis study examined whether a history of childhood abuse (CA) strengthened the association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the aftermath of intimate partner violence (IPV). This hypothesis arises from clinical literature but has not been examined empirically. We predicted that a history of CA would enhance associations between BPD features and PTSD symptoms.MethodDimensional assessment of both PTSD and BPD was made in a sample of 211 women who sought mental health services following IPV. Two analyses were conducted using clinician‐assessed DSM‐IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.) PTSD symptoms: (a) total score and (b) symptom clusters.ResultsUsing path analysis, results indicated significant associations between BPD features and PTSD symptoms, but no significant interaction between BPD and CA in either analysis.ConclusionsResults are discussed given current understanding of comorbiditie...
Behavior Therapy, 2017
There are well-documented associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and ... more There are well-documented associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and intimate relationship impairments, including dysfunctional communication at times of relationship conflict. To date, the extant research on the associations between PTSD symptom severity and conflict communication has been cross-sectional and focused on military and veteran couples. No published work has evaluated the extent to which PTSD symptom severity and communication at times of relationship conflict influence each other over time or in civilian samples. The current study examined the prospective bidirectional associations between PTSD symptom severity and dyadic conflict communication in a sample of 114 severe motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors in a committed intimate relationship at the time of the accident. PTSD symptom severity and dyadic conflict communication were assessed at 4 and 16 weeks post-MVA, and prospective associations were examined using path analysis.
Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, 2015
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 2015
Mobile sensor data-to-knowledge (MD2K) was chosen as one of 11 Big Data Centers of Excellence by ... more Mobile sensor data-to-knowledge (MD2K) was chosen as one of 11 Big Data Centers of Excellence by the National Institutes of Health, as part of its Big Data-to-Knowledge initiative. MD2K is developing innovative tools to streamline the collection, integration, management, visualization, analysis, and interpretation of health data generated by mobile and wearable sensors. The goal of the big data solutions being developed by MD2K is to reliably quantify physical, biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors that contribute to health and disease risk. The research conducted by MD2K is targeted at improving health through early detection of adverse health events and by facilitating prevention. MD2K will make its tools, software, and training materials widely available and will also organize workshops and seminars to encourage their use by researchers and clinicians.
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2015
This report focuses on the co-occurrence of PTSD-GAD and examines a factor that could operate to ... more This report focuses on the co-occurrence of PTSD-GAD and examines a factor that could operate to maintain both conditions, specifically negative post-trauma cognitions about the self, the world, and selfblame. Two separate help-seeking samples were examined: (a) a mixed gender sample of 301 individuals who had experienced a serious motor vehicle accident (MVA), a single incident, non-interpersonal trauma; and (b) a sample of 157 women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), a recurrent, interpersonal trauma. When examined at the diagnostic level, posttraumatic cognitions for one diagnosis did not vary as a function of whether the other diagnosis was present. In the MVA sample, both diagnosed PTSD and GAD were associated with elevations in negative thoughts about the self. Diagnosed GAD was also significantly associated with negative thoughts about the world. In the IPV sample, diagnosed PTSD was associated with elevations in negative thoughts about the self only. When continuously measured PTSD and GAD were examined, results indicated that negative thoughts about the self showed significant simultaneous associations with PTSD and GAD in both samples. In the MVA sample, negative thoughts about the world and self-blame showed significant associations with PTSD but not with GAD. In the IPV sample, negative thoughts about the world and self-blame were not significantly associated with either PTSD or GAD. Results are discussed in light of current treatment models for these conditions, with emphasis on the potential for addressing transdiagnostic processes as a more effective approach to treating comorbid conditions following trauma.
Traditional theories on the anxiety disorders have focused on intrapersonal factors, such as cogn... more Traditional theories on the anxiety disorders have focused on intrapersonal factors, such as cognitive, affective, behavioral, physiological, and genetic processes. Yet, those who treat and conduct research with anxious individuals know that interpersonal processes interact with anxiety symptoms. How can we begin to reconcile research and clinical experiences with current theoretical accounts? In this volume, editor J. Gayle Beck draws together, for the first time, the available knowledge about interpersonal factors in the anxiety disorders. The book begins with an overview of models and measures for conceptualizing and assessing interpersonal processes in the anxiety disorders. It then reviews the available literature on interpersonal processes pertaining to specific disorders, including childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and health anxiety. Throughout the book, clinical descriptions, etiological formulations, and information pertaining to comorbidity and treatment help to bridge the gap between clinical and research work. This groundbreaking book will appeal to everyone interested in anxiety disorders or interpersonal processes in psychopathology. 2010. 288 pages. Hardcover.
Proceedings of the 5th ACM Conference on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Health Informatics, 2014
Stress can lead to headaches and fatigue, precipitate addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol... more Stress can lead to headaches and fatigue, precipitate addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol and drug use), and lead to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Continuous assessment of stress from sensors can be used for timely delivery of a variety of interventions to reduce or avoid stress. We investigate the feasibility of continuous stress measurement via two field studies using wireless physiological sensors-a four-week study with illicit drug users (n = 40), and a one-week study with daily smokers and social drinkers (n = 30). We find that 11+ hours/day of usable data can be obtained in a 4-week study. Significant learning effect is observed after the first week and data yield is seen to be increasing over time even in the fourth week. We propose a framework to analyze sensor data yield and find that losses in wireless channel is negligible; the main hurdle in further improving data yield is the attachment constraint. We show the feasibility of measuring stress minutes preceding events of interest and observe the sensor-derived stress to be rising prior to self-reported stress and smoking events.
Rehabilitation Psychology, 1988
Page 1. Correlates of Daily Impairment in COPD J. Gayle Beck and Susan K. Scott University of Hou... more Page 1. Correlates of Daily Impairment in COPD J. Gayle Beck and Susan K. Scott University of Houston Robert B. Teague Baylor College of Medicine Frank I. Perez and G. Alan Brown Behavioral Medicine Consultants, Houston, Texas ...
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2003
Manualized treatments have become popular, despite concern about their use when comorbid diagnose... more Manualized treatments have become popular, despite concern about their use when comorbid diagnoses are present. In this report, the efficacy of manualized posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment was examined in the presence of chronic pain. Additionally, the effect of PTSD treatment on chronic pain and additional psychiatric diagnoses was explored. Six female patients with both PTSD and chronic pain following motor vehicle accidents were treated for PTSD using a multiple baseline design. The results indicate that manualized treatment for PTSD was effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in these patients. Although there were no changes in subjective pain, there were pain‐related functional improvements and reductions in other psychiatric diagnoses for the majority of patients.
Journal of Fluency Disorders, 2011
Iverach, Jones, O'Brian, Block, Lincoln, and Harrison (2009) indicate the high co-occurrence of o... more Iverach, Jones, O'Brian, Block, Lincoln, and Harrison (2009) indicate the high co-occurrence of one or more Personality Disorders (PD) for adults who stutter. The findings of Iverach et al. argue against many years of research and the experiences of skilled clinicians who have considered the relationship between stuttering and anxiety/negative affectivity. The results of Iverach et al. are questioned based on several methodological issues. Educational objectives: 1. To explain why the unusually high occurrence of personality disorders (PD) for individuals who stutter found by Iverach et al. (2009) may be questionable based on methodological approach. 2. To explain the heightened levels of anxiety experienced by many individuals who stutter as a natural and reasonable response to a chronic and serious problem such as stuttering. 3. To debate the potential for the inaccurate diagnosis of Axis II Personality Disorders to unnecessarily stigmatize individuals who stutter.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2001
Interest in documenting ways to predict anxious responding in panic disorder (PD) patients has pr... more Interest in documenting ways to predict anxious responding in panic disorder (PD) patients has proliferated recently in the literature. In the current study, two self-report measures were assessed to determine their relative utility in predicting responses to a panicogenic challenge. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS) were evaluated by correlating scores on these measures with reactions to inhalation of 35% carbon dioxide (CO 2), assessed via anxiety ratings, panic symptom intensity, tidal volume (V T) and respiratory rate (RR). A sample of 14 PD patients and 14 matched control (MC) participants demonstrated that the relationship between ASI scores and responses to 35% CO 2 were stronger than the relationship between SFS scores and responses to CO 2. Specifically, both respiratory responses (V T and RR) and self-reported reactions (anxiety and symptom intensity) were significantly correlated with scores on the ASI. In contrast, scores on the SFS were significantly correlated with only one measure of respiratory change (V T). Although preliminary, these data indicate that the ASI may be a more useful tool than the SFS in predicting self-reported and respiratory responses to CO 2 challenges.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2014
Data suggest anxious drivers may engage in problematic behaviors that place themselves and others... more Data suggest anxious drivers may engage in problematic behaviors that place themselves and others at increased risk of negative traffic events. Three domains of problematic behaviorexaggerated safety/caution, performance deficits, and hostile/aggressive behaviors-previously were identified during development of the Driving Behavior Survey (DBS), a novel measure of anxiety-related behavior. Extending this research, the current study examined the psychometric properties of DBS scores among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subsequent to motor vehicle trauma (N = 40). Internal consistencies and 12-week test-retest reliabilities for DBS scales ranged from good to excellent. Comparison of scores to normative student data indicated dose-response relationships for safety/caution and performance deficit subscales, with increased frequency of anxious behavior occurring within the PTSD sample. Associations with standard clinical measures provide additional evidence for anxiety-related driving behavior as a unique marker of functional impairment, distinct from both avoidance and disorder-specific symptoms.