Cognitive group therapy and exercise in the treatment of anxiety and stress. PDF
Preview Cognitive group therapy and exercise in the treatment of anxiety and stress.
UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMaassssaacchhuusseettttss AAmmhheerrsstt SScchhoollaarrWWoorrkkss@@UUMMaassss AAmmhheerrsstt Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1995 CCooggnniittiivvee ggrroouupp tthheerraappyy aanndd eexxeerrcciissee iinn tthhee ttrreeaattmmeenntt ooff aannxxiieettyy aanndd ssttrreessss.. Derek J. McEntee University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn McEntee, Derek J., "Cognitive group therapy and exercise in the treatment of anxiety and stress." (1995). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3254. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/3254 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FiVE COLLEGE EXPOSITORY COGNITIVE GROUP THERAPY AND EXERCISE IN THE TREATMENT OF ANXIETY AND STRESS A Dissertation Presented by DEREK McENTEE J. Submitted to the Graduate School ofthe University ofMassachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements forthe degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 1995 Department ofPsychology ©Copyright by Derek Jones McEntcc 1995 All Rights Reserved COGNITIVE GROUP THERAPY AND EXERCISE IN THE TREATMENT OF ANXIETY AND STRESS A Dissertation Presented by DEREK McENTEE J. Approved as to style and content by: Richard P. Halgin, Ch Susan K. Whitbourne, Member Ronnie Jaribff-Bulman, Member Robert James, Member Charles^ Clifton, Department Chair Department ofPsychology ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As always, 1 must first thank Richard Halgin, my dissertation chairperson and advisor, who provided the tireless hours ofguidance, dedication and advice that made this undertaking successful. Thanks as well to my committee members, Robert James, Ronnie Janoff-Bulman and Susan Whitboumc fortheirtime and helpful suggestions throughout this process. I wish to extend a special thanks to Sean Deardorff, my research assistant who was indispensable for helping to oversee exercise groups, collect data, conduct library research, and score anxiety measures. I also would like to acknowledge Richard Ginsburg, whose further assistance with data collection and scoring was greatly appreciated. Finally, 1 must thank my family fortheir encouragement during the past yearof conducting this investigation, and overthe course of my graduate training in general. Most importantly, I once again thank my wife, whose continued support and faith in me made the completion ofthis projectpossible. IV ABSTRACT COGNITIVE GROUP THERAPY AND EXERCISE IN THE TREATMENT OF ANXIETY AND STRESS MAY 1995 DEREK J. McENTEE, B. S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Richard P. Halgin The purpose ofthis study was to examine the effects ofcognitive group therapy, aerobic exercise, ortheir combination, on anxiety and stress in college students. Sixty subjects were recruited from a large undergraduate abnormal psychology class. Fifty-three volunteered to participate in the study, and were divided into three experimental groups using matched random assignment. Treatment took place over a six-week period, and groups were labelled as follows; (#1) Cognitive group therapy only, (#2) Aerobic exercise only, and (#3) Cognitive group therapy combined with aerobic exercise. There was also a no-treatment control group (#4) of 17 subjects, consisting ofstudents enrolled in a different course option unrelated to the study. All groups were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the SCL-90-R, and measures ofperceived fitness and anxiety before and immediately following the study. The STAI and the perceived measures were also administered after a two-month follow-up. The following hypotheses were presented. (1) Is participation in either aerobic exercise, cognitive group therapy, or the combination of both treatments more effective in reducing anxiety than involvement in a no-treatment control group? (2) Are exercise and cognitive group therapy equally as effective in v reducing anxiety? (3) Is a combination oftreatments more effective in reducing anxiety than one treatment? (4) Can anxiety reduction be maintained overtime? Results indicated that all interventions were equally effective in reducing anxiety, both combined or individually, as compared to no intervention. Combining cognitive group therapy and exercise was not significantly more effective than either individual treatment. Furthermore, although a trend was present, most effects were not maintained aftertwo months. The lack oflonger-term effects may have been due to insufficient sample size and power, orthe possibility thatthese interventions were effective in changing transient states but not established traits. Subjects reported that components from both treatments were effective in attenuating anxiety, and identified a numberofpossible mechanisms responsible for these changes. Further research examining the effects ofcombining exercise with other therapeutic treatments is warranted. vi 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT v LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES x jj Chapter INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Anxiety 2 Definition and Prevalence 2 Anxiety vs. Stress 3 State Anxiety vs. Trait Anxiety 4 Theoretical Conceptualizations ofAnxiety 5 Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Theory 6 Learning Theory 6 Cognitive Theory 8 Exercise and Psychological Functioning 11 Literature Reviews 12 Criticisms and Possible Negative Effects 13 Prevention ofPsychological Disorder 14 Well-being and Mood 14 Personality Traits 15 Treatment ofPsychological Disorder 15 Effecton Depression 15 16 Effect on Anxiety Exercise and Psychotherapy 1 vii Comparing Exercise and Therapy 17 Combining Exercise and Therapy IX The Therapeutic Discussion ofExercise 19 Exercise as a Therapy Component 19 Limitations and Future Directions 21 Proposed Explanations forthe Psychological Benefits ofExercise 22 Major Biological Mechanisms 22 Thermogenic Model 22 Amine Hypothesis 23 Endorphin Hypothesis 23 Major Psychological Mechanisms 23 Mastery Hypothesis 23 Distraction Hypothesis 24 Social Interaction Hypothesis 24 Summary ofMechanisms 25 METHOD 2. 26 Introduction 26 Subjects 26 Ethical Considerations 26 Selection 26 Requirements and Screening 27 28 Instruments State-Trait Anxiety Inventory 29 Development and Applications 29 Description and Administration 30 Reliability and Validity 31 32 SCL-90-R 32 Development and Applications 33 Description and Administration Reliability and Validity 3^ viii
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