Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T19:32:59.565Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Influence of Husbands on the Outcome of their Agoraphobic Wives' Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

K. Oatley*
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
D. Hodgson
Affiliation:
Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex
*
Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Adam Smith Building, Glasgow G12 8RT

Abstract

Of 30 agoraphobic married women undertaking home-based behaviour therapy, 15 each had a female friend as co-therapist and 15 had their own husband as co-therapist. At 12 months follow-up, women spent a mean of approximately 40 minutes a day more outside the home alone than at baseline. Women assisted by female friends made somewhat more behavioural gains than those assisted by husbands. Women in both groups whose husbands had been more depressed 2 months after the beginning of therapy did less well at 6 months. Husbands who become more depressed may retard their wives' progress in therapy, but the effect was small, and was outweighed by other considerations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackerman, N. W. (1958) The Psychodynamics of Family Life. New York: MacmiUan.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 3rd cdn. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Bateson, G. (1935) Culture, contact and schismogenesis. Man, 35, 178183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buglass, D., Clarke, J., Henderson, A. S., Kreitman, N. & Presley, A. S. (1977) A study of agoraphobic housewives. Psychological Medicine 7, 7386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cobb, J. P., Mathews, A. M., Childs-Clarke, A. & Blowers, C. M. (1984) The spouse as co-therapist in the treatment of agoraphobia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 282287.Google Scholar
Hafner, R. J. (1977a) The husbands of agoraphobic women: assortative mating or pathogenic interaction? British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 233239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hafner, R. J. (1977b) The husbands of agoraphobic women and their influence on treatment outcome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 289294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgson, D. L. (1985) Self-help in the Treatment of Agoraphobia . DPhil. thesis, University of Sussex.Google Scholar
Mathews, A. M., Teasdale, J., Munby, M., Johnson, D. & Shaw, P. (1977) A home-based treatment program for agoraphobia. Behavior Therapy, 8, 915924.Google Scholar
Mathews, A. M., Gelder, M. G. & Johnson, D. W. (1981a) Agoraphobia: Nature and Treatment. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Mathews, A. M., Gelder, M. G.,-& Johnson, D. W. (1981b) Programmed Practice for Agoraphobia: Vol. 1 - Clients' Manual; Vol. 2-Partners' Manual. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Milton, F. & Hafner, R. J. (1979) The outcome of behavior therapy for agoraphobia in relation to marital adjustment. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 807811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minuchin, S. & Fishman, H. C. (1981) Family Therapy Techniques. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Oatley, K. & Bolton, W. (1985) A social-cognitive theory of depression in reaction to life events. Psychological Review, 92, 372388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oatley, & Hodgson, D. L. Analysis and scoring of behavioural diaries kept by agoraphobics. (In prep.)Google Scholar
Ryle, A. & Lunghi, M. (1970) The dyad grid: a modification of repertory grid technique. British Journal of Psychiatry, 117, 323327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharpe, R. (1976) A Complete Course in Relaxation. Audiocassette. London: Stress watch.Google Scholar
Snaith, R. P., Bridge, G. W. K. & Hamilton, M. (1976) The Leeds scales for the self-assessment of anxiety and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 156165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webster, B. (1953) The development of phobias in married women. Psychological Monographs, 67, (367), 118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.