One hundred and ten outpatients with either acute or chronic low‐back pain completed the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Life Experiences Survey. Acutes and chronics did not differ on dimensions of pain, but significant correlations between pain dimensions and depression and state anxiety were found for chronics. Both groups showed elevated state anxiety; chronics also evidenced mild depression. Combined scores on depression, anxiety, and negative life change predicted sensory and affective pain for the pooled sample. These results confirm the role of psychological variables in the experience of clinical pain and underscore the highly affective nature of chronic pain.

We interviewed 48 parkinsonian male patients [mean age, 65.8; age range, 42-84; mean duration of Parkinson's disease (PD), 8 years; range, 1-25 years, Stages 1-3 only] and a matched sample of 32 elderly healthy nonparkinsonian males (mean age, 70.4; age range, 56-79) with regard to presence of sexual dysfunction (SD). We found a significantly higher prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) (60.4% vs. 37.5%) in the parkinsonian patients (p < 0.05). Achieving and maintaining erections was the most frequently affected sexual function. ED preceded the onset of PD in 5 of 29 patients (17.3%). Twenty-nine parkinsonian patients with erectile dysfunction (PD-ED) were compared to 12 patients with normal erectile function (PD-nonED). Although the PD-ED group had a significantly higher Hoehn and Yahr stage [2.3 vs. 1.8 (p = 0.05)], they were not significantly older and did not present with a longer duration of PD or levodopa therapy. Other autonomic symptoms were no more frequent in the PD-ED group. The only historical association with ED in this group was a history of alcohol consumption in 68.9% of PD-ED patients vs. 33.3% of PD-nonED patients (p <0.05). We conclude that ED is more prevalent in men with PD than in elderly nonparkinsonian men. It may precede motor symptomatology. PD may represent a risk factor for ED.

Behavioral telehealth, health informatics, organ and tissue transplantation, and genetics are among the areas that have been affected by advances in technology and medicine. These areas illustrate the opportunities and the challenges that new developments can pose to health psychologists. Each area is discussed with respect to implications for practice, research, public policy, and education and training: recommendations are provided.

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