Psychology Commons^™

Chronic Pain: The Extra Burden On Canadian Women, Marta Meana, Robert Cho, Marie Desmeules

Psychology Faculty Research

Health Issue

Chronic pain is a major health problem associated with significant costs to both afflicted individuals and society as a whole. These costs seem to be disproportionately borne by women, who generally have higher prevalence rates for chronic pain than do men.

Key findings

Data obtained from 125,574 respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey (2000–2001) indicated that 18% of Canadian women suffered from chronic pain, compared to 14% of men. This gender discrepancy, however, seemed to be linked primarily to differences in age, income, and education between adult men and women in this large sample. Age, income, depression …

A Survey Of Psychologists’ Attitudes Towards And Utilization Of Exposure Therapy For Ptsd, Carolyn Becker, Claudia Zayfert, Emily Anderson

Psychology Faculty Research

Although research supports the efficacy of exposure therapy for PTSD, some evidence suggests that exposure is under-utilized in general clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to assess licensed psychologists’ use of imaginal exposure for PTSD and to investigate perceived barriers to its implementation. A total of 852 psychologists from 3 states were randomly selected and surveyed. An additional 50 members of a trauma special interest group of a national behavior therapy organization were also surveyed. The main survey results indicate that a large majority of licensed doctoral level psychologists do not report use of exposure therapy to treat …

Memory For Emotional And Nonemotional Events In Depression: A Question Of Habit?, Paula T. Hertel

Psychology Faculty Research

The truest claim that cognitive science can make might also be the least sophisticated: the mind tends to do what it has done before. In previous centuries philosophers and psychologists invented constructs such as associations, habit strength, and connectivity to formalize the truism, but others have known about it, too. In small towns in the Ozarks, for example, grandmothers have been overheard doling out warnings such as, "Don't think those ugly thoughts; your mind will freeze that way." Depressed persons, like most of us, usually don't heed this advice. The thoughts frozen in their minds might not be "ugly," but …

Chronic Pain: The Extra Burden On Canadian Women, Marta Meana, Robert Cho, Marie Desmeules

Psychology Faculty Research

Health Issue: Chronic pain is a major health problem associated with significant costs to both afflicted individuals and society as a whole. These costs seem to be disproportionately borne by women, who generally have higher prevalence rates for chronic pain than do men.

Key findings: Data obtained from 125,574 respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey (2000–2001) indicated that 18% of Canadian women suffered from chronic pain, compared to 14% of men. This gender discrepancy, however, seemed to be linked primarily to differences in age, income, and education between adult men and women in this large sample. Age, income, depression …