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Aerobic conditioning and stress inoculation: A comparison of stress-management interventions

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Abstract

This study compared the efficacy of a jogging program [aerobic conditioning (AC)] with stress-inoculation training (SI) and a waiting list control (WL) in the treatment of chronic intermittent stress. The participants were community residents; 48 were females and 25 were males. Therapy sessions were conducted over a 10-week period with subjects meeting in small groups for 1 1/2 hours per week. Homework assignments and activities were also completed. The State and Trait Anxiety Inventories, Tension Thermometer, Thought-Listing Technique, and Self-Efficacy Scale were administered at pre, post, and 3-month follow-up. An individual difference variable, cognitive/somatic anxiety, was used to assess differential treatment effectiveness. In addition, a submaximal bicycle ergometer test was utilized to predict maximum oxygen uptake (MVO2), a measure of cardiovascular fitness. Repeated-measures multivariate analyses indicated that both the AC and the SI were effective in reducing self-reported anxiety and increasing self-efficacy and that these changes were maintained 3 months after completing the program. Subjects in AC improved their cardiovascular fitness compared to SI and WL groups. It was concluded that participation in AC was a viable alternative to SI as a stress-management treatment. Although the pattern of changes differed between treatment groups and among types of individuals from pre- to posttesting on some measures, at 3-month follow-up few differences were found between treatment groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of British Columbia, 2011 West Mall, V6T 1W5, Vancouver, Canada

    Bonita C. Long

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  1. Bonita C. Long
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The research described in this paper was supported in part by Grant 1216-9-158 from Health and Welfare Canada, Health Promotion Directorate, and was based on a doctoral dissertation submitted by the author to the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of British Columbia. The author gratefully acknowledges the aid of Shauna Kayler, who acted as cotherapist, and of Janet Stogryn, William Hearst, and Heather Higgins in various aspects of the study.

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Long, B.C. Aerobic conditioning and stress inoculation: A comparison of stress-management interventions. Cogn Ther Res 8, 517–541 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173289

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