EFFECTS OF BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL TREATMENT ON SCHOOLCHILDRENWITH MIGRAINE IN A NONCLINICAL SETTING - PREDICTORS AND PROCESS VARIABLES

Evaluated the outcome of a combined behavioral therapy, comprising red uction training, temperature biofeedback, and cognitive training, admi nistered in a school setting, at posttreatment, and 7-month follow-up, on a group of schoolchildren with migraine. Comparison between the ex perimental group (n = 32) and the waiting-list control group (n = 9) s howed a treatment effect on headache frequency and duration but not on intensity. Using a 50% reduction in the headache activity as a criter ion for clinical improvement, 45% of the children in the experimental group were clinically improved at the end of the treatment. The treate d subjects were found to have maintained significant improvement at fo llow-rep. Sex, headache history, age, and psychosomatic complaints bef ore the training emerged as predictors of outcome. A decrease in state anxiety and an increase in the ability to relax during the sessions c ontributed to headache improvement. Finally, the acquired capacity to raise one's finger temperature during the biofeedback sessions was rel ated to headache reduction after the training.