RESPONDERS AND NONRESPONDERS TO AUTOGENIC TRAINING AND COGNITIVE SELF-HYPNOSIS - PREDICTION OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM SUCCESS IN TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE PATIENTS

The present study was conducted to determine whether demographic varia bles, medical status variables, and psychological measures at pretreat ment were related to pain reduction immediately following behavioral t reatment for headache and at a 6-month follow-up. The study sample con sisted of 156 subjects, who were selected for participation in a behav ioral outcome study on the efficacy of autogenic training and cognitiv e self-hypnosis training. A Headache Index based on pain diaries const ituted the main outcome measure. Psychological measures included the S ymptom Checklist-90, Dutch Personality Questionnaire, Coping Strategy Questionnaire, Multidimensional Locus of Pain Control Questionnaire, a nd treatment expectations. Subjects who expected more pain reduction a t pretreatment achieved a lower level of pain at posttreatment, indepe ndent of pretreatment pain levels. None of the other pretreatment vari ables were related with pain reduction at posttreatment or at the foll ow-up. Finally, at the 6-month follow-up, 43 subjects were classified as responders (more than 50% pain reduction) and 113 as nonresponders (less than 50% pain reduction and dropouts). At pretreatment, the resp onders perceived more pain control than the nonresponders. None of the other pretreatment differences between responders and nonresponders p roved to be significant. The main conclusion that could be drawn from this study was that pain reduction. in the short- and long-term, canno t be predicted with any accuracy by demographic and medical status var iables or scores for psychological distress, personality traits, copin g strategy use, and pain appraisals.