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The cognitive specificity of associative responses in patients with chronic pain
- Authors:
- McKELLAR John D., CLARK Michael E., SHRINER Jan
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42(1), March 2003, pp.27-39.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Previous studies have found evidence of an associative response bias for patients with chronic pain. This body of research is not clear, however, on whether this bias is specific to patients with chronic pain, or whether the bias is specific to pain stimuli or illness/disability stimuli. This is a cross-sectional study involving the comparison of selected groups (chronic pain, acute pain, and medical-staff controls). This study included 80 male participants with chronic pain, 50 male participants with acute pain, and 49 male participants who served as medical staff controls. All participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a pain intensity VAS, and the single-word associate homographic response task. Evidence was found for the specificity of pain responses to homographic pain stimuli as the chronic pain group produced more of these responses than the two comparison groups. These findings were seen as providing evidence for an associative response bias. This bias appears specific to pain-related stimuli and reflects the cumulative effects of pain over a period of time.
Chemical sensitivity in the workplace
- Authors:
- DECKER James T., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 1(4), 2002, pp.45-61.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The debate continues to rage in the medical community and amongst policy makers. This debate centers on a new disease mechanism commonly known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). Researchers have grouped the theories of etiology of MCS into four broad categories: physical, stress, misdiagnosis, and illness belief. A new name for this illness has recently been advanced as well, toxininduced loss of tolerance (TILT). Problems with chemical sensitivity are especially troubling for workers and their employers. Employees seeking relief under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) are requesting accommodations based on their reactions to chemicals. Employers are beset with claims for accommodations in the workplace, disability claims, and worker's compensation claims. Courts are trying to make sense of chemical sensitivity with respect to accommodations in the workplace. Court decisions regarding MCS issues are varied and of tentimes highly controversial. Primary social problems and mental health issues associated with chemical sensitivities are economic costs and loss of enjoyment of life by MCS sufferers. Economic costs are spread throughout the system; however, their major manifestations are lost worker production, increased demands on services, and the long-term costs associated with supporting a growing disabled subset of the population comprised of chemically injured workers. Social and mental health costs are seen in escalating cases of depression, divorces, behavioural acting out, isolation, anxiety attacks, and chronic medical problems. Social workers are particularly well suited to advocate for accommodations in the workplace and for social policy change on behalf of those suffering from chemical sensitivity. Their training in systems and ecosystems theory makes them well aware of the importance of the environment on the individual. That training includes knowledge of utilizing strengths based approach to problem solving, and clinical training in mental health, which leads to empowerment for the client. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)