Conrado M. Viña

A reattributional training program as a therapeutic strategy for fear of flying

In this study the results for the validation of a reattributional training program applied to the fear of flying are presented. The program is made up of 13 (+/- 1) sessions and consists of three phases: Information; reattributional training; and the elaboration and application of the treatment designed by the patient with the help of the therapist. The program was applied to 24 patients while 24 other patients made up the waiting control group. The therapeutic success was evaluated by means of self-report scales, and by recording psychophysiological variables in a situation in which subjects viewed a video tape of a flight. Significant differences were obtained from the ANOVAs between experimental and control groups in all of the self-reported variables (p < 0.001) and in some of the psychophysiological variables (p < 0.05). The results support the effectiveness of the program.

The Assessment of Fear of Flying: Elaboration and Validation of a Videotape as an Analogous Situation of a Flight1

The results are presented for the validation of a videotape as an analogous situation for a flight. The video includes the most significant elements of a flight by air: confirmation of the flight, packing, going to the airport, checking-in, going through the metal-detector, departure lounge, boarding the plane, demonstration of the personal safety drills, interiors and exteriors during the flight and landing. Two physiological measures are used for validation (heart rate and temperature) and a subjective measure (situational anxiety, SA). The results (both t-tests and the discriminant analysis) indicate that the videotape is able to discriminate between phobics and non-phobics of flying in the three variables considered. With respect to sensitivity in detecting change produced by various treatments in clients with phobia of flying, the results are also satisfactory. A greater differentiation is produced between the pre-post treatment measures, both in subjective and in the physiological measures.

Eating attitudes and their relation with drug consumption in a university sample

Buckgrouud and Objectives: Some relations between abnormal eating behaviours and attitudes, and other psychiatric disorders have been found in different populations. This study was carried out to examine the relations between eating attitudes and substance use among university students from Spain. Methods: The EAT and a substance use questionnaire were administered to a sample of 1,089 male and female university students in a cross-sectional design. Results: There were significant differences in drug consumption between students that met cut-off score criteria for the 40 and 26-item versions, and those that did not. Significant differences also emerged between extreme groups (25 vs. 75 percentile) in both EAT versions and in all subscales, especially in the Bulimia and Food Preoccupation subscale. A clearly distinct pattern of differences appeared in male and female students. Conclusions: Outcomes are in consonance with the theories proposed by several authors to explain the etiological relation between eating disorders and substance use.

Neuroimaging in cockroach phobia: An experimental study

Background/Objective In this study we explored the neuroimaging characteristics of persons with specific small animal (cockroach) phobia to determine whether there are differences in cerebral activity between persons with and without cockroach phobia under conditions of phobic and non-phobic stimulation. Method: 24 adult persons (12 with phobia) were studied. The diagnosis of phobia was obtained with a structured interview and questionnaires. All participants were exposed to a 3D video presentation during an fMRI session. Results: The phobic group showed significant differential activations that were congruent with a dual route model of fear processing through the thalamus-amygdala (route I) and the thalamus-sensory and association cortex-entorhinal cortex-hippocampus-subiculum-amygdala (route II). Apart from this dual route, we also found differential activations in the globus pallidum, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, pars orbitalis, triangularis and opercularis of the frontal cortex, and cerebellum. Respect to non-phobic group, no activations were found in the insula or the anterior cingulate cortex. Conclusions: There seems to be a dual route depending on how persons with phobia to cockroaches process phobic stimuli. This double processing can have implications for the psychological treatment of specific phobias.