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Using a randomized control group trial the long-term efficacy of a habituation-based treatment as conceived by Jastreboff, and a cognitive-behavioural tinnitus coping training were compared. An educational intervention was administered as a control condition. Both treatments were conducted in a group format (habituation-based treatment, 5 sessions; tinnitus coping training, 11 sessions). Educational intervention was delivered in a single group session. Patients were categorized according to their level of disability due to tinnitus (low, high), age and gender and then randomly allocated to the treatment conditions (habituation-based treatment, n = 30; tinnitus coping training, n = 27; educational intervention, n = 20). Data assessment included follow-ups of up to 21 months. Several outcome variables including disability due to tinnitus were assessed either by questionnaire or diary. Findings reveal highly significant improvements in both tinnitus coping training and habituation-based treatment in comparison with the control group. While tinnitus coping training and habituation-based treatment do not differ significantly in reduction of tinnitus disability, improvement in general well-being and adaptive behaviour is greater in tinnitus coping training than habituation-based treatment. The decrease in disability remains stable throughout the last follow-up in both treatment conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

AbstractBackground and objectives This randomized controlled trial evaluated whether training one of two social skills (“being able to say no” and “being able to demand”) belonging to the domain “asserting one's rights” improves specifically the trained skill or the “asserting one's rights” domain in general. Methods Ten social skills training groups comprising three weekly sessions and four healthy participants each were conducted. In each group, the participants were randomized either to the condition which practiced the social skill of “saying no” or to the condition which practiced the social skill of “demanding”. Results From pre-training to 3-month follow-up, participants of the “demanding” condition improved significantly on the “being able to demand” scale of the “Short Version of the Insecurity Questionnaire” (p = 0.047) but not on the “incapacity in saying no” scale of the “Short Version of the Insecurity Questionnaire” (p = 0.645), whereas participants of the “saying no” condition improved significantly on the “incapacity in saying no” scale of the “Short Version of the Insecurity Questionnaire” (p = 0.015) but not on the “being able to demand” scale of the “Short Version of the Insecurity Questionnaire” (p = 0.484). Limitations Further studies are needed to evaluate whether the results of the present study can be generalized to clinical samples. Conclusions This trial provides very preliminary evidence that training a specific social skill has specific, not generalized, effects.

Tinnitus is always both a medical and a psychological phenomenon, indicating the need for intervention from a psychologist. The primary goal of psychological interventions is to improve the patient's ability to reduce the impact of tinnitus on the quality of life, i.e., to teach and improve coping strategies. This chapter discusses the kinds of services offered for tinnitus patients through psychological intervention. Psychological approaches can offer assessment and management of tinnitus. Tinnitus always has to be regarded as being both a medical and a psychological phenomenon. Even if there is a medical reason for the emergence of tinnitus (e.g., hair cell damage), it is the brain that generates the inner noise when interpreting an altered pattern of nerve signals. This 'abnormal' perception is further processed by the brain, and then psychological factors come in to play an important role regarding how the tinnitus is evaluated and coped with. Nevertheless, when proposing a 'psychological dimension' of tinnitus, it does not mean that tinnitus is a mental disorder. To classify patients with tinnitus on the basis of hypothesized underlying medical conditions as 'organic' or 'nonorganic' (respectively 'psychogenic') is not reasonable either. Likewise, it is not at all advisable to attempt to modify the patient's personality. Instead, the consequences of tinnitus (i.e., behavior and cognition regarding tinnitus) must be made the central issue in psychological assessment and intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

For nine years, the so-called 'therapist rotation' has been a central part of OLITA, the Outpatient Longterm Intensive Therapy for Alcoholics. Thus far, the participation of several equally responsible therapists in the treatment of a patient has rarely been seen as a specific therapeutic approach. The present article analyzes the therapist rotation from a theoretical and clinical perspective. Articles concerned with the therapeutic alliance in the treatment of substance use disorders are reviewed. Furthermore, the literature on multiple psychotherapy is surveyed, which may be seen as the precedent of the therapist rotation. Based on the efficacy of multiple psychotherapy and the importance of the therapeutic alliance in the treatment of substance use disorders, the present work discusses the therapist rotation as an essential factor for the success of OLITA. It considers both potential advantages and disadvantages for patients and therapists and tries to identify conditions under which this approach appears to promote therapeutic interactions. Finally, the implementation of therapist rotation into OLITA is described, including the theoretical background of the program itself and the treatment procedure. New areas of application for the therapist rotation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Purpose: Stigma is a frequent accompaniment of mental illness leading to a number of detrimental consequences. Most research into the stigma connected to mental illness was conducted in the developed world. So far, few data exist on countries in sub-Saharan Africa and no data have been published on population attitudes towards mental illness in Ghana. Even less is known about the stigma actually perceived by the mentally ill persons themselves. Method: A convenience sample of 403 participants (210 men, mean age 32.4 ± 12.3 years) from urban regions in Accra, Cape Coast and Pantang filled in the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) questionnaire. In addition, 105 patients (75 men, mean age 35.9 ± 11.0 years) of Ghanaʼs three psychiatric hospitals (Accra Psychiatry Hospital, Ankaful Hospital, Pantang Hospital) answered the Perceived Stigma and Discrimination Scale. Results: High levels of stigma prevailed in the population as shown by high proportions of assent to items expressing authoritarian and socially restrictive views, coexisting with agreement with more benevolent attitudes. A higher level of education was associated with more positive attitudes on all subscales (Authoritarianism, Social Restrictiveness, Benevolence and Acceptance of Community Based Mental Health Services). The patients reported a high degree of experienced stigma with secrecy concerning the illness as a widespread coping strategy. Perceived stigma was not associated with sex or age. Discussion: The extent of stigmatising attitudes within the urban population of Southern Ghana is in line with the scant research in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and mirrored by the experienced stigma reported by the patients. These results have to be seen in the context of the extreme scarcity of resources within the Ghanaian psychiatric system. Anti-stigma efforts should include interventions for mentally ill persons themselves and not exclusively focus on public attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Objective: The second exteroceptive suppression (ES2) is assumed to be an indicator of central antinociceptive processing, although some conflicting data have been produced. We examined the impact of experimentally induced psychophysiological conditions on the latency and duration of the ES2. Also, the association to the subjective evaluation of the painful electrical stimulation by which the ES2 is elicited was studied. Methods: ES2 was assessed in 46 healthy volunteers running through four experimentally induced psychophysiological conditions: stress, relaxation, depressed mood, and heterotopic pressure pain. Conditions were presented in a repeated measure design in permuted sequences. Ten stimulation-recording sequences per condition were averaged. ES2 parameters were compared to a baseline condition and correlated to subjective pain perception. Results: ES2 duration was found to be prolonged and ES2 latency to be shortened under the impact of relaxation and depressed mood. The subjective perception of the painful electrical stimulation was affected by the experimental conditions. Conclusion: Data lend support to the hypothesis that the repeatedly observed limited stability of ES2 parameters might be caused by the variability of individual psychophysiological states. Against expectation, subjective pain perception is not systematically correlated with ES2 parameters. Thus it can be questioned whether the ES2 is directly associated with pain processing at all. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Objective: Persistent tinnitus affects 10 to 15\% of adults. Little is understood about why only a small percentage of patients become severely affected. Catastrophic thinking has been suggested as one potentially relevant factor that might influence a patientʼs coping behavior, and thus tinnitus habituation. The current study investigates the concept of tinnitus catastrophizing and its relation with distress and medical utilization in recent onset tinnitus. Design: Participants were administered a survey assessing catastrophizing, tinnitus distress, medical utilization, coping, and mood disturbance. Regression analyses investigated the nature of tinnitus catastrophizing and its contributions to distress and health care utilization. Study sample: 278 subjects with tinnitus for less than six months were recruited from Ear-Nose-Throat units, through the internet, and newspaper articles. Results: Controlling for background variables, high subjective tinnitus loudness, low behavioral coping, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with tinnitus catastrophizing. Furthermore, greater tinnitus catastrophizing was related to higher distress and more frequent medical visits. Conclusions: Tinnitus catastrophizing appears to be pivotal already at an early stage of tinnitus experience. Addressing catastrophizing by specific prevention and intervention programs might reduce the development of distress and medical utilization in the long term. Longitudinal studies are required to clarify cause-effect relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

33 migrainous Ss and 32 nonheadache controls were subjected to 40 min of demanding cognitive tasks and 20 min of recovery during which cranial and peripheral vasomotor responses were registered as well as electrodermal and EMG activity. Ss of both groups were randomly assigned to 2 experimental conditions: a so-called spontaneous processing condition and the positive coping treatment. Reliable differences between groups could not be identified, giving no support to assumptions of higher sensitivity to stress in migraineurs. The hypothesis that the predicted cranial vasomotor specificity in migraine Ss would correlate with negative coping was not corroborated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The efficacy of an outpatient cognitive-behavioral Tinnitus Coping Training (TCT) was compared to two minimal-contact (MC) interventions. TCT was conducted in a group format with 11 sessions (total n=43). One MC [MC-E (education), n=16] consisted of two group sessions in which education on tinnitus was presented and self-help strategies were introduced. The second MC [MC-R (relaxation), n=16] comprised four sessions. Besides education, music-supported relaxation was suggested as self-help strategy. Furthermore, a waiting-list control group was installed (WC, n=20). Only TCT was additionally evaluated at a 6- and a 12-mo follow-up. Tinnitus coping and disability due to tinnitus were assessed by questionnaires, subjective ratings of improvement were requested from, and inventories of psychopathology were given to the patients. Findings reveal highly significant improvements in TCT in comparison to the control group (WC). MC interventions do not differ significantly from each other, but are superior to WC in a few domains of outcome. Outcome in TCT is somewhat superior to combined MC interventions in two domains of data, but not regarding disability reduction. Effect sizes, nevertheless, indicate distinct differences in degree of improvement, with TCT achieving the best results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Developed a cognitive-behavioral tinnitus coping training (TCT) and compared it to yoga and a self-monitoring control condition. 43 chronic tinnitus patients were assessed at baseline, directly after therapy, and at 3 mo follow-up. For evaluation, differential psychoacoustic variables were registered, a tinnitus diary as well as the Tinnitus Questionnaire and different measures of general well-being were used. Statistical analyses showed effects favoring the TCT treatment compared with the control and yoga treatments. TCT-treated Ss reported more satisfaction with their training than did the yoga group. Ss in the self-monitoring control group were treated either by TCT or yoga after a waiting period. The outcome in this TCT group was even better than in the TCT experimental groups, while yoga again showed rather poor effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The histaminergic system in the central nervous system is involved in a variety of physiological, pathological and behavioral processes. There is now substantial evidence for an important role of histaminergic neurotransmission in learning and memory related processes. The histamine H1 receptor (H1R) is the most abundant histamine receptor in the mammalian brain. We have recently demonstrated that the genetic inactivation of the H1R in mice impairs episodic-like memory, defined as the ability to remember previous experiences with respect to their content and their temporal and spatial context. The ability to encode and retrieve the temporal order of unique events, that is its temporal context, is a core feature of episodic memory. Here we asked whether episodic-like memory deficits of H1R-KO mice are possibly due to changes in the processing, encoding or maintenance of temporal or sequence information which is critical for episodic-like memory formation. H1R-KO mice were tested in the temporal object memory (TOM) task with different inter-trial intervals (ITIs). H1R-KO mice showed impaired TOM when being tested under both, short and longer ITIs. Another aim of the study was to determine whether temporal order discrimination is based on either familiarity or recollection-based memory processes. The performance of wild type (WT) animals in the TOM task suggests that they used recollection-like discrimination strategies.

Reports about excessive Internet use, possibly amounting to an addiction, have increased. Progress with research and treatment of this phenomenon requires valid standardized assessment instruments. A frequently used questionnaire is the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) by Kimberly Young. The 20-item questionnaire is well established in a number of languages, but a German validation was lacking so far. An online (ON) sample (n = 1,041, age 24.2 ± 7.2 years, 46.7 percent men) completed an Internet version of the IAT and a student sample (offline [OF] sample, n = 841, age: 23.5 ± 3.0 years, 46.8 percent men) filled in a paper/pencil version. The participants also answered questions regarding their Internet use habits. A further sample of 108 students (21.5 ± 2.0 years, 25.7 percent men) completed the questionnaire twice to determine the 14-day retest reliability. The internal consistencies were α = 0.91 (ON) and α = 0.89 (OF). Item-whole correlations ranged from r = 0.23 to r = 0.65 (ON) and from r = 0.30 to r = 0.64 (OF). Two-week retest reliability was rtt = 0.83. Factor analyses with Varimax rotation yielded the same two factors in both samples, which explained 46.7 percent (ON) and 42.0 percent (OF) of the variance. The IAT score correlated with the time spent in the Internet in a typical week (ON: r = 0.44; OF: r = 0.38). The German version of the IAT was shown to have good psychometric properties and a stable two-factorial structure. Correlations with online time were in line with those reported for the IAT in other languages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The Generalized Pathological Internet Use Scale (GPIUS2) assesses cognitive behavioral aspects of problematic Internet use. To date, the 15-item scale has only been available in English, and the aim of this study was to translate and validate a German version. An online sample (ON, n = 1,041, age 24.2 ± 7.2 years, 46.7\% men) completed an Internet version of the translated GPIUS2, and a student sample (OF, n = 841, age 23.5 ± 3.0 years, 46.8\% men) filled in a pencil and paper version. A third sample of 108 students (21.5 ± 2.0 years, 25.7\% men) completed the questionnaire twice to determine the 14-day retest reliability. Participants also answered questions regarding their Internet use habits (OF, ON) and depression, loneliness, and social anxiety (ON). The internal consistencies were α = 0.91 (ON) and α = 0.86 (OF). Item-whole correlations ranged from r = 0.53 to r = 0.69 (ON) and from r = 0.39 to r = 0.63 (OF). The 2 week retest reliability was rtt = 0.85. Confirmatory factor analyses found a satisfactory fit for the factorial model proposed by Caplan for the original version. The GPIUS2 score correlated moderately with time spent on the Internet for private purposes in a typical week (ON: r = 0.40; OF: r = 0.36). Loneliness, depression, and social anxiety explained 46\% of the variance in GPIUS2 scores. The German version of the GPIUS2 has good psychometric properties in a pencil and paper version as well as in a web-based format, and the observations regarding loneliness, depression, and social anxiety support the underlying model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Objective: The Pain Catastrophizing Scale, adapted for children (PCS-C) by Crombez et al. (2003), was translated into German (SKS-D) and evaluated regarding its factorial structure, its reliability and validity. The association of catastrophizing with various pain characteristics and disability measures was examined as well as its association to neighboring constructs. Method: The paper-and-pencil version of the SKS-D was used in two different samples of children and adolescents. Analyses were conducted on a subgroup of participants from an epidemiological sample [n = 898; age: M = 12.9 (SD = 1.4)] who had experienced monthly headaches in the 6-months period before and a clinical sample [n = 60; age: M = 12.6 (SD = 0.8)] seeking treatment for recurrent headaches. Results: Exploratory factor analysis (PCA) suggested a one-factor model in contrast to the 3-factor model suggested by Crombez et al. (2003). The unidimensional scale showed distinct homogeneity and satisfying reliability. The clinical sample showed significantly higher scores than the epidemiological group. Also girls scored higher than boys. The catastrophizing explained a considerable amount of variance in pain and disability parameters in both samples thus underlining its validity. The psychological variables internalising, anxiety sensitivity and somatosensory amplification showed significant small to moderate associations with pain catastrophizing and also with pain and disability. After controlling for the above mentioned psychological variables, catastrophizing still yielded an independent contribution to the explanation of variance in pain and disability parameters. Conclusions: The PCS-C in its German form is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing catastrophizing in children with recurrent pain, in particular headache, in the age of 10–16 years. Pain catastrophizing is suggested to be assessed especially in pediatric pain patients as it is a significant moderator of pain and disability. In children with a distinct tendency to catastrophize cognitive restructuring should become a target of pediatric pain therapy, as a reduction of catastrophizing cognitions may indirectly help to ameliorate pain and disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Acute tinnitus can lead to substantial distress and eventually result in long-lasting impairment. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioural intervention (delivered as Internet self-management, bibliotherapy or group training) to the information-only control condition. Applicants suffered from subjective tinnitus for up to six months, were between 18 and 75 years old and received no other tinnitus-related psychological treatment. A total of 304 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four study arms. Tinnitus distress, depressive symptoms, psychosomatic discomfort and treatment satisfaction were assessed. At the post-assessment tinnitus distress was significantly lower in the Internet and the group training conditions compared to the control condition. Inter-group effect sizes were moderate to large. At follow-up, all active training conditions showed significantly reduced tinnitus distress compared to the control condition (intention-to-treat analysis). An additional completer analysis showed a significant reduction in tinnitus distress only for the group condition. All effect sizes were moderate. There were no differences regarding psychosomatic discomfort, but depressive symptoms were reduced in the group condition at the post-assessment (intention-to-treat analysis). Treatment satisfaction was significantly higher in the training conditions. The dropout rate was 39\%. The present study shows that distress can be reduced as early as the acute stadium and that minimal-contact interventions are a promising way to do this. In particular, the Internet and group conditions led to a large, immediate decrease in distress, and the participants were highly satisfied with the training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Background: Several studies on experimental mechanical pain suggested a strong influence of sex demonstrating females to be more sensitive. We examined the hypothesis that not only sex but also gender role affects pain responsiveness and looked for mediators of this effect. Method: As indicators of pain the threshold the intensity and the un-pleasantness of pressure stimuli were measured, as well as sensory and affective quality of pain. The gender role of 74 students was assessed by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Furthermore several psychological variables assumed to be potential mediators (catastrophising, fear of pain, depressive symptoms, pain coping) were obtained. Results: ANOVA revealed significant main effects of sex in all pain variables except affective quality of pain. Contrary to our hypothesis gender role had no influence on pain responses, neither was there an interaction of sex and gender. Fear of pain just missed the significance level identifying it as mediator of the sex effect on affective pain. Conclusions: In summary, our study corroborated previous findings that women are more responsive to mechanical pain stimuli with effect sizes being medium to large, whereas gender role did not predict any of the assessed pain parameters. No convincing evidence was found that the influence of sex is predominantly mediated by psychological characteristics of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Neuroimaging studies have revealed partially shared neural substrates for both the actual experience of pain and empathy elicited by the pain of others. We examined whether prior pain exposure increased neural activity in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) and bilateral anterior insula (AI) as a correlate of empathy for pain. Participants (N = 64: 32 women, 32 men) viewed pictures displaying exposure to pressure pain (pain pictures) and pictures without any cue of pain (neutral pictures). Prior to the experiment, half of the participants were exposed to the same pain stimulus as the one seen in the pain pictures (pain exposure condition); the other half had no such experience (touch exposure condition). A balanced sex ratio was kept, to investigate possible sex differences. In the region-of-interest analyses, participants of the pain exposure condition showed decreased activity in the right AI and the aMCC relative to participants of the touch exposure condition. While in men, no differences were found in relation to their exposure condition, women with pain exposure showed decreased activity in the aMCC and additionally, in bilateral AI. Based on the entire sample, whole brain analyses revealed stronger activation in the retrosplenial cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex in the pain exposure condition. In conclusion, prior pain exposure did not increase, but decreased activity in regions regularly associated with empathy for pain. However, pain experience increased activity in regions associated with memory retrieval, perspective taking, and top-down emotion regulation, which might facilitate empathizing with others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The present study investigated the effects of two attributes of the experimenter (gender and professional status) on the report and tolerance of pain in male and female subjects. 160 non-psychology students (80 male and 80 female, aged 17-59 years) participated in a cold-pressor task. Subjects were assigned to one of 8 groups: male (M) and female (F) experimenters tested male (m) and female (f) students. In each combination (Mm, Mf, Fm, Ff), the cold-pressor task was conducted by either one of two faculty members (high professional) or one of two students (low professional). Subjects were asked to immerse their non-dominant hand as long as possible in cold water (-1°C). Dependent variables were pain threshold, pain tolerance, and pain intensity. Results indicated a significant main effect for professional status of the experimenter on pain tolerance. Subjects tolerated pain longer when they were tested by a professional experimenter. Further, a significant interaction of experimenter gender and subject gender on pain tolerance indicated that subjects also tolerated pain longer when they were tested by an experimenter of the opposite sex. Additionally, a significant main effect for experimenter gender showed higher pain intensities for subjects tested by female experimenters. The observation that pain responsivity is influenced by the professional status of the experimenter might have implications for the study of pain in general and should be addressed in more detail in future experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Studied 32 adult asthmatics in a 2 × 2-factorial design to examine the effect of physical exercise due to an ergometer capacity test and induced expectations about the consequences of this task on broncho-constriction. Two sets of instructions were used to induce anticipations of harmful and non-harmful consequences. Dependent variables were registered: airways resistance, skin resistance, and visceral perception (rating of physiological changes). Only small effects of the different ergometer loads on physiological responding and no effects of the experimental variables on visceral perception were found using analysis of variance (ANOVA), whereas analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) demonstrated that the induced harmful anticipation significantly intensified the perception of visceral changes and had some influence on asthma-relevant physiological responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)