The experiment examined whether reliable personality differences exist between (a) women who suffer from spasmodic and congestive dysmenorrhea and (b) women who experience dysmenorrhea and women who do not. A sample of 12 congestive dysmenorrhea sufferers, 12 spasmodic dysmenorrhea suffers, and 24 nonsufferers obtained from a larger sample of university women, completed the Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and Personality Research Form. Results indicated that congestive sufferers differed from spasmodic sufferers only in their level of impulsivity. However, dysmenorrhea sufferers differed significantly from nonsufferers in that dysmenorrhea sufferers were more similar to a neurotic sample, were depressed, anxious and introverted, and less independent, playful, satisfied with themselves, positive about their physical and social selves than nonsufferers. In spite of these differences, standard scores from the personality measures suggested that dysmenorrhea sufferers were not maladjusted.

The effects of relaxation as self-control and a self-control variant of systematic desensitization in reducing targeted (test anxiety) and nontargeted anxieties were compared with those of wait-list and no-treatment expectancy controls. Immediately following counseling and at follow-up, groups given relaxation as self-control and modified desensitization both reported significantly less debilitating test anxiety and significantly more facilitating test anxiety than controls. In a stressful analogue testing condition, self-control groups reported significantly less worry, emotionality, and state test anxiety than controls. While no performance differences were found in the analogue situation, relaxation as self-control and modified desensitization subjects had significantly higher psychology grades than the no-treatment expectancy group. Grades of the wait-list group were not significantly different from those of other groups. The relaxation as self-control group showed reduction and maintenance on both measures of nontargeted anxiety relative to the controls. The modified desensitization group showed posttreatment reduction on both nontargeted anxiety measures but maintenance on only one.

The effects of anxiety management training and self-control desensitization in reducing targeted (test anxiety) and nontargeted anxieties were compared. Comparisons revealed that anxiety management training and self-control desensitization effectively reduced state (worry, emotionality, and state test anxiety) and trait (Debilitating scale of Achievement Anxiety Test and test item from the Pear Inventory) debilitating test anxiety and increased facilitating text anxiety (Facilitating scale of the Achievement Anxiety Test) relative to controls. A 6-week follow-up demonstrated maintenance of debilitating test anxiety reduction. No performance differences were found in analogue testing, but subjects receiving treatment had significantly higher psychology grades than those not receiving treatment. Posttreatment findings revealed some nontargeted anxiety reduction for self-control desensitization; however, by follow-up both treatments evidenced significant nontargeted anxiety reduction on both measures. The results are discussed in terms of remedial and preventive functions met by the self-control interventions; the possibility of treating diverse anxieties within a single anxiety management training group is also considered.

This study attempted to evaluate the efficacy of the Health Locus of Control Questionnaire on predicting success in a behavioral treatment program for obesity. 31 internal subjects lost significantly more weight than did 12 external subjects. Other comparisons of external with internal individuals are also discussed.

This article reports a 15-month follow-up of a study that compared the effectiveness of anxiety management training and self-control desensitization in the reduction of targeted (test) and nontargeted anxieties in college students. At 15-month follow-up, anxiety management training and self-control desensitization groups continued to report significantly less debilitating test anxiety than the control group. Anxiety management training and self-control desensitization groups also reported significantly less nontargeted anxiety than controls on both measures of nontargeted anxiety. No significant differences among groups were found for dismissal for academic reasons or grades.