Biomedical subjects

T P Oei

Publications and source records attributed to T P Oei.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

A psychosocial profile of women with premenstrual dysphoria.

Sixty women from the community were used in this study to identify a profile of women who experience premenstrual dysphoria. Women with prospectively confirmed premenstrual dysphoria (PMD +; N = 24) were compared to women with prospectively unconfirmed premenstrual dysphoria (PMD -; N = 15) and controls (PMD control; N = 21). Over one menstrual cycle daily records of physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms were completed on the Daily Ratings Form. Other self report measures obtained were the Premenstrual Assessment Form, Rotter's Internal External Locus of Control, the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. A psychiatric history was obtained during an interview. Analyses showed that premenstrually, PMD + and PMD - groups could be significantly differentiated from controls on reports of premenstrual dysphoric changes and levels of state and trait anxiety. Postmenstrually, they could be significantly differentiated from controls firstly, by history of affective disorder and locus of control and secondly, by premenstrual dysphoric changes. There were no significant differences between the PMD+ and PMD- women on most of the self report measures either at pre or post menstrual assessments. The present findings suggest that the characteristic profile of PMD+ and PMD- women is one of being symptomatic premenstrually in relation to dysphoric changes and levels of state and trait anxiety. Postmenstrually these symptoms appear to be superimposed on a background of a history of affective disorder and an external locus of control orientation.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The latent structure of anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Research in the psychopathology of panic and anxiety disorders, particularly agoraphobia, suggests that fear of fear may be the basis of these conditions. However, there is little empirical research on the definition and validity of the concept of fear of fear in a clinical study group. The authors' aims are 1) to determine empirically if particular associations between symptoms and beliefs exist in a group of patients with anxiety disorders and what underlying dimensions of perceived threat they represent and 2) to assess the relative importance of these associations in agoraphobia with panic attacks, panic disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. METHOD: In an anxiety disorders treatment unit, 390 outpatients with anxiety disorders diagnosed according to DSM-III criteria completed the Anxiety Symptoms and Beliefs Scale. RESULTS: A principal components analysis of the patients' ratings on the Anxiety Symptoms and Beliefs Scale produced a four-factor solution in which specific sets of anxiety symptoms loaded with specific beliefs. These four factors were interpreted as respiratory symptoms, vestibular symptoms, autonomic arousal, and psychological threat. Respiratory and vestibular symptoms were more associated with panic disorder diagnoses than with social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support a conception of fear of fear in anxiety disorders as fearful beliefs concerning the experience of anxiety symptoms. Associations between symptoms and fear of fear are present across anxiety disorders but are most pronounced in agoraphobia with panic attacks.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Smoking education and prevention: a developmental model.

A developmental approach to smoking education and prevention for children and adolescents is proposed. Literature is reviewed concerning the most appropriate agent, content, and presentation, of anti-smoking education for each of three age groups: children to age ten, pre/early adolescents eleven to fifteen, and adolescents fifteen to eighteen. For children to age ten, it is suggested that parents are the best agents of education, with teachers, peers, and the mass media, also playing some role. For pre/early adolescents, peers are suggested as the best agents of education, building onto the earlier and ongoing work of the agents mentioned above. For adolescents, the role of the media hero-figure is discussed. It is emphasized that sources of influence may function additively in affecting the child or adolescent's decisions about smoking, and that education in each stage must build on the stage before.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Change in children's smoking from age 9 to age 15 years: the Dunedin Study.

Studies have shown that the rate at which children take up smoking is still very high, particularly for female adolescents. While some progress has been made in determining the factors related to the initiation of smoking, an issue that still requires investigation is the relationship between early smoking patterns and later smoking behaviour. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study which examined the continuity between smoking at an early age and later smoking behaviour. The smoking behaviour of a cohort of New Zealand children was followed from age 9 to age 15 years. Results showed that children's smoking pattern at age 9 years was not highly related to their smoking behaviour at age 15. The children most likely to become daily smokers by age 15 were those who had smoked within the last year at ages 11 and 13. It was concluded that the formative period for children's daily smoking at age 15 was from 10 to 13 years of age.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Treatment outcome of a group cognitive therapy program for depression.

A 12-session group program of cognitive therapy, designed by the first author, was evaluated with 35 persons suffering from major or minor depressive disorders. Effect-size scores were generated using the method of Nietzel, Russel, Hemmings, and Gretter (1987) and compared with cut-off points calculated using the method of Jacobson and Revenstorf (1988) and the norms established by Nietzel et al. (1987) in their meta-analysis. The effects of the Group Cognitive Therapy Program were found to be clinically significant according to the criteria of Jacobson and colleagues (Jacobson and Revenstorf, 1988; Jacobson, Follette and Revenstorf, 1984) for 73% of patients. It is concluded that the Group Cognitive Therapy Program is a clinically efficacious and cost-effective treatment for persons suffering from nonpsychotic, primary, unipolar depression.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗

PubMed1991

Cognitive processes and cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of problem drinking.

Cognitive behavior Therapy has been shown to be an effective therapy for a wide range of clinical problems. However, the efficacy of CBT on addictive behavior is still unknown. This paper reviews the evidence for the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy treatment for problem drinkers and examines its relationship with cognitive models of problem drinking. A computer search of the literature showed that only 13 studies met the criteria for inclusion in this review. This review indicated that there is evidence to show that cognitive behavior therapy can be successfully applied to addictive behaviors, in particular, problem drinking. However, there is lack of evidence to show that cognitive behavior therapy supports cognitive models of problem drinking. Future direction for research in this area is suggested.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1991

Long term follow-up of agoraphobics treated by brief intensive group cognitive behavioural therapy.

This study reports the long term efficacy of a brief intensive (2 days) group cognitive behavioural programme for the treatment of agoraphobia with panic attacks. A total of 97 patients was included in the study. Seventy-four patients were in the treated group and 23 were on the waiting list control group. The Fear Questionnaire (FQ), Fear Survey Schedule (FSS), Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ) and a clinical assessment based on structured interview to assess current levels of functioning were used as dependent measures. The results show that patients in the treated group show significant improvement on FSS and FQ when compared with the patients in the control group. Clinical rating shows that 85% of the patients were either symptom free or their symptoms had been reduced and these effects of treatment were shown to be maintained at follow-up which was on average 1 year after the treatment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1991

Behavioral strategies used by long-term successful self-quitters.

Smoking-cessation programs have been shown to produce unreliable long-term results. Thus, efficient methods still need to be identified. One way of getting relevant information on successful smoking cessation is to study the quitting methods of unaided, long-term, successful quitters. A structured questionnaire was designed specifically for this purpose. Results from 70 self-quitters indicated that self-quitters typically had high motivation before attempting to quit and used aversive and operant methods currently stressed in the literature. Graded habituation and nicotine-based methods were used by some self-quitters. The findings suggest a two-stage model of quit-smoking program which gives greater attention initially to the systematic development of motivation to quit. This model, it is postulated, might enhance the long-term efficacy of smoking cessation programs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Neuroticism and age of onset for agoraphobia with panic attacks.

The study of the age of onset of psychiatric conditions can provide some clues to the aetiology of these disorders. A number of studies have examined the age of onset in agoraphobia but results have varied. This may be associated with small sample sizes or differences in populations. There has been very little work examining the factors determining age of onset. The present study examines age of onset in relation to sex and personality. Results indicate no sex differences in age of onset, but an association with age and high levels of neuroticism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Attributional style and panic disorder.

This study investigated the relationship between the development of panic disorder and attribution style by administering the Attribution Style Questionnaire (ASQ) to 28 subjects with panic disorder with agoraphobia and 21 subjects with other anxiety disorders who had experienced a panic attack at some time. No significant differences were found between the groups suggesting that cognitive style as assessed by the ASQ may not predispose to the development of panic disorders. A factor analysis of the results indicated that the ASQ may not be appropriate for the assessment of patients with panic disorder. Alternative hypotheses for the development of panic disorder are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

The tension reduction hypothesis revisited: an alcohol expectancy perspective.

The tension reduction hypothesis has been historically and cross-culturally a predominant explanation of alcohol's effects. However, its validation has been inconsistent. One speculative reason for this inconsistency is a failure to control for preheld alcohol expectancies. Past research may have confounded results due to studying populations mixed regarding their expectations of alcohol's tension reducing effects. Only two studies could be found which have comprehensively attempted to control for tension reduction expectancies, both supporting a modified tension reduction hypothesis which does not offer tension reduction as the only explanation of drinking behaviour. The interaction of pharmacology, expectancy, gender role and situation suggest that tension reduction is of major importance in understanding the drinking of many, but not all, individuals. This is consistent with recent 'metatheories' of alcohol use which emphasize the complexity and multiplicity of alcohol's effects. Future theoretical and clinical implications of the revised tension reduction hypothesis and expectancies are briefly discussed.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1990

Utility and validity of the STAI with anxiety disorder patients.

Factor analytic studies of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) have provided support for the concepts of state and trait anxiety. This article reports the factor structure of the STAI (Form X) using 205 panic-disordered patients with and without agoraphobia. Results show that a two-factor oblique solution is the most appropriate, accounting for 41.1 per cent of the variance. Eighteen of the A-State items had salient loadings on factor 1 (state anxiety) and all 20 of the A-Trait items had salient loadings on factor 2 (trait anxiety). This study demonstrates the utility of the STAI in measuring anxiety in clinical populations and further supports the theoretical distinction between state and trait anxiety.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

The in vivo manipulation of alcohol-related beliefs in male social drinkers in a naturalistic setting.

Earlier research shows that alcohol expectancies are related to alcohol consumption. However, how the alcohol expectancies are related to drinking in a public bar is still unknown. This paper examines this relationship in 10 moderate-heavy male social drinkers attending alternatively to both alcohol dependent and non-dependent cognitive sets of alcohol use. When discussing the alcohol dependent expectancies, these drinkers consumed significantly less alcohol compared with their consumption when discussing non-alcohol dependent expectancies. This group effect was also corroborated by a within-subject analysis of the data. The implications of the relationship between beliefs and drinking behaviour in terms of a cognitive behaviour model of alcohol use are briefly discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Depression and loneliness in overseas students.

This paper compared the effect of life change in adjustment of overseas students with those of Australian students. 342 students were divided into 4 experimental groups. There were: Overseas students with residence of less than one year (OV1 group, N = 44), overseas students with residence of more than one year (OV2 group, N = 81), Australian students raised in Brisbane (A3, N = 105) and Australian students raised outside Brisbane (A4, N = 112). The result of discriminate analysis showed that overseas students (OV2) were significantly more likely to experience moderate to severe clinical depression and loneliness than the Australian students. Age and expectation of difficulty in study were the best predictors for depression in overseas students.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Smoking behavior in nine year old children: a replication and extension study.

This study replicates and extends the results of our earlier findings which showed that 35% of children at age 9 had experimented with cigarettes for various reasons. Seven hundred eighty-seven children from the earlier sample and 361 children from the current sample participated in this study. Forty-one percent of the current sample had puffed a cigarette, 18% had tried it in the last year, 6% in the last 4 weeks and 3.5% in the last week. The study also showed that children who had puffed a cigarette had a significantly positive attitude towards smoking when compared with children who had not experimented with cigarettes. The puffers believed smoking is good, wise and fun.

Attitude↗

PubMed1990

Men's perception of premenstrual changes on the premenstrual assessment form.

Outcome research has shown that partner-spouse support can enhance the therapeutic outcome in a number of clinical problems. In the area of premenstrual tension, studies of treatment have apparently overlooked this issue of partners' support. This study was designed to address how men perceive premenstrual changes. 99 undergraduate men were asked whether they believed that women had premenstrual changes reflected on the 18 unipolar scales of the Premenstrual Assessment Form. Responses suggest that young men acknowledge that some women experience dysphoric features like hostility, mood swings, and low self-esteem as well as physical discomfort and behavioural changes. Clinical implications are outlined.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Hyperventilation and panic attacks.

The role of hyperventilation in the aetiology of panic attacks is still unclear. This paper briefly reviews the role of hyperventilation and abnormal respiration to panic attacks and examines the experimental evidence. Evidence has been found that physiological variables such as paCO2 and pH are involved in the aetiology of panic attacks and panic disorder but the extent and the nature of the involvement of cognitive variables is undetermined. Based on current evidence, there is a need to integrate cognitive variables with the physiological framework proposed by the hyperventilation theory. Until clear experimental evidence is produced about the relationships between cognitive and physiological factors, the applicability of hyperventilation in the aetiology and treatment of panic attacks remains in question.

Agoraphobia↗

PubMed1990

Peer attitudes, sex, and the effects of alcohol on simulated driving performance.

This study presents an investigation of the effects of peer attitude, gender, and blood alcohol level on driving performance using a driving simulator. The subjects were 18 male and 18 female social drinkers from the general population, aged 18-25, and holding a current drivers' licence. Subjects were randomly assigned to pro or against drinking driving conditions and tested at different blood alcohol levels. The results revealed that subjects in the for drinking driving condition perceived themselves to be more capable than they actually were and drove increasingly faster and made more mistakes than subjects in the against drinking driving condition when under the influence of alcohol. Significant sex differences were observed only for performance on the driving simulator. Males, in the main, engaged in more dangerous driving and risk taking in simulated driving conditions than females.

Adolescent↗