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Biomedical subjects

C S Fichten

Publications and source records attributed to C S Fichten.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Evaluation of the sexual consequences of surgery: retrospective and prospective strategies.

To assess the impact of a stressor, it is desirable to evaluate affected individuals' status both prior to and following a stressful event. Because of the difficulties inherent in prospective designs, investigators often ask people who have experienced an aversive event to evaluate their prestressor adjustment retrospectively. Do such retrospective evaluations provide a reasonable alternative to prospective assessment? To answer this question we compared retrospective and prospective data gathering procedures in the evaluation of sexual adjustment after prostate surgery. One hundred fifty-two married males who had undergone prostatectomy for benign prostatic enlargement completed a battery of measures which evaluated pre- and postsurgical sexual adjustment either prospectively (i.e., before and after surgery) or retrospectively (i.e., ratings made after surgery of both pre- and postsurgical adjustment). Retrospective assessment indicated considerable sexual deterioration pre- to postsurgery. In subjects tested prospectively, however, the results showed that surgery had little impact on sexual adjustment. Moreover, direct comparisons of retrospective and prospective methodologies reveal that discrepancies are due to differences in evaluations of presurgery status, with retrospective evaluation yielding more favorable ratings than prospective assessment. The results highlight a variety of biases which may affect self-ratings of pre- and post-stressor adaptation and show that discrepancies associated with the two methodologies have important implications for understanding the impact of a stressor on adjustment.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Prostatectomy and inguinal hernia repair: a comparison of the sexual consequences.

This study investigated whether psychosexual changes found after surgery for benign prostatic enlargement relate specifically to the prostatectomy procedure or to the stresses of surgery in general. The sexual adjustment of 91 married men (ranging in age from 51 to 77) who had undergone either transurethral prostatectomy or inguinal hernia repair was compared using the same measures and experimental design. Results show that both surgeries appeared to result in relatively minor but widespread negative consequences for sexual adjustment and expression. Findings on both individual and couple sexual adjustment suggest that the psychosexual consequences of the two procedures do not differ substantially. As expected, the one exception was retrograde ejaculation, which was more likely to be experienced by men who had undergone prostate surgery. The results illustrate the necessity of conducting comparative studies when evaluating the sexual consequences of surgical procedures and highlight the importance of taking age into consideration when conducting research on the effects of surgery on older men.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Insomnia and its treatment in aged persons: a new approach].

Existing hypotheses regarding psychological mediation of disorders in initiating and maintaining sleep only partially explain the phenomenon of insomnia, particularly in aging individuals. In this article we review existing nonpharmacological treatments of insomnia and propose a new way of conceptualizing and treating disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep. The model, based on cognitive and information processing factors, is then used to propose novel approaches to intervention. Because of the prevalence of sleep disruptions in older adults and the limitations of existing pharmacological and psychological treatments with this population, the assumptions of the model and the proposed intervention are explored with particular reference to aging individuals.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Transurethral prostatectomy: differential effects of age category and presurgery sexual functioning on postprostatectomy sexual adjustment.

Sexual functioning and adjustment of 72 aging married males who had undergone transurethral prostatectomy were examined retrospectively according to their pre- and postsurgery status. Results indicate that although transurethral prostatectomy was generally associated with deterioration in various aspects of sexual expression, grouping subjects according to age and presurgery sexual adjustment qualified these general findings dramatically. For example, more younger than older males retained or attained good sexual adjustment after surgery. Furthermore, while older males with good presurgery sexual adjustment maintained good couple sexual functioning, they manifested greater loss of sexual self-confidence and individual sexual capacity than did their younger counterparts. In addition, the findings suggest that the question "Does transurethral prostatectomy affect sexual function?" must be rephrased to take into account changes in the cognitive, capacity, and affective domains as well as in the couple behavior and adjustment dimensions of sexual expression.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Self-monitoring and self-focus in erectile dysfunction.

Self-focused attention can cause anxiety and poor performance in those with low self-efficacy expectations. Self-monitoring is frequently used in sex therapy assessment. If self-monitoring is conceptualized as a self-focusing manipulation, it would be expected to cause "spectatoring," anxiety and deterioration in individuals with erectile dysfunction. Therefore, this investigation explored the relationship between the dispositional tendency to focus attention on the self (self-consciousness) and sexual behavior in males with erectile dysfunction, and evaluated the effects of self-monitoring on erectile dysfunctional males who differed in dispositional self-consciousness. Results indicate that (a) individuals with erectile dysfunction were less dispositionally self-conscious than nondysfunctional individuals, (b) self-monitoring had no adverse effects on any aspect of sexuality investigated, and (c) manipulated and dispositional self-focus had no interactive effects. Implications of these results for sex therapy and for a better understanding of etiological and maintaining factors in sexual dysfunction are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Client attributions for sexual dysfunction.

This investigation examined attributions for sexual dysfunctions made by 63 individuals and 21 of their partners who presented at a sex therapy service for the following problems: erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and female orgasmic dysfunctions. All participants completed measures of marital adjustment, locus of control, depression and a questionnaire which assessed: attributions of responsibility for the sexual problem, perceived control over sexual functioning, distress, effort made to improve the sexual relationship, and expectations about the efficacy of sex therapy for the problem. Results indicate that both identified patients and their partners, regardless of the dysfunction, blamed the sexual problem on the "dysfunctional individual" rather than on the circumstances or the partner. With respect to the partners, husbands of women with orgasmic dysfunction were more likely to blame themselves than the circumstances, while the opposite was true for wives of males with erectile difficulties. Individuals experiencing the dysfunction perceived themselves and their partners as having little, but equal control over the identified patient's sexuality. Correlational analyses indicate that in identified patients, the better the quality of the marital relationship, the greater the self-blame and the lower the partner blame. Those with happy marriages also made greater efforts to improve their sexual relationship and had higher expectations of success with therapy. The implications of the results for research on the role of attributions in sexual dysfunction and for assessment of cognitive factors in sexually dysfunctional individuals and their partners is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Public awareness of physically disabled persons.

Promoting public awareness that disabled people can function independently within society is seen by many as a necessary precursor to widespread changes in accessibility, housing, and social and economic opportunities for physically disabled people. The goal of the present investigation was to empirically assess the effectiveness of a major Canadian publicity campaign which was designed to sensitize people to the needs and concerns of physically disabled people and to promote favorable attitude change. Results indicate that while the visibility of the publicity campaign can be considered a modest success, the campaign was ineffective in promoting positive attitude change. The implications of the findings for the integration of disabled people into the larger community are discussed.

Adolescent↗