Abstract
Although physiological measures are not routinely used in the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety disorders, several authorities have emphasized their usefulness in both clinical work and research investigations (Barrios & Hartmann, 1988; Beidel, 1989). However, the notion that physiological data can contribute to the overall picture of the child and help in treatment design is by no means a recent development (see Blake & Andrasik, 1988; King, 1993). As early as the 1920s, Mary Cover Jones recognized the significance of monitoring physiological responses (Jones, 1924). In her now classic case study of a young phobic boy, Jones found that his blood pressure increased when he was exposed to the fear-eliciting stimulus. Thus, Jones concluded that “visceral arousal” are very much part of his fear response. On the basis of these findings, as well as behavioral observations, she developed a “deconditioning” program that was successful in alleviating the child’s phobic condition. Similarly, in a comparative study of “emotionally stable” and “emotionally unstable” children, Jost (1941) used various physiological indices of emotional stability, including the galvanic skin response, blood pressure, and other physiological measures. The unstable group exhibited more physiological lability during rest periods, greater physiological reactivity to laboratory Stressors, and a slow return to prestressor levels. However, the unstable group was too heterogeneous for any conclusions to be drawn about the physiological reactivity of anxious children. Nonetheless, it is clear that the physiological assessment of anxious or phobic children has been of interest to researchers at various stages in the history of clinical child psychology (see also the review by Beidel, 1989).
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King, N.J. (1994). Physiological Assessment. In: Ollendick, T.H., King, N.J., Yule, W. (eds) International Handbook of Phobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Issues in Clinical Child Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1498-9_19
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