Posted by SLS on December 7, 2000, at 7:06:21
In reply to Re: Social avoidance - grrrr, posted by Noa on December 6, 2000, at 19:14:41
Hi guys.
I'm confused here. Which abstract are you referring to?Do you feel that "social avoidance" is the result of psychogenic pathology or of biogenic pathology". I am not sure which of these notions you are disagreeing with.
Are you saying that "social avoidance" is a behavioral adaptation to "stress avoidance"? What are some examples of these stressors and what are their origins?
I don't understand why you have interpreted any reference to a specific behavior described in the abstract as being of psychological origin or a "behavioral problem" without a biological counterpart or dependence.
I am not making an effort to defend the conclusions or inferences of the authors of these abstracts. I am just looking to learn something. I am having trouble seeing what you see.
When I read the abstracts, I understood the behaviors described as being an observed association found to be indicative of dysthymia, but without an explanation as to its origins. Nowhere did I see any reference to a psychological explanation to avoidant temperament or harm-avoidance behaviors. On the contrary,
"...suggesting that a high degree of harm avoidance may be associated with poor social functioning."
I don't see that "social" was ever used in the description of the "avoidance" they were describing and measuring. At best (at worst), they merely described another association. People can have a pathological need to avoid escalators and stairs, but without the need to avoid the people on them. I think this is the type of "harm avoidance" they speak of. Their contention is that when the dysthymia is successfully treated medically, these avoidant tendencies resolve as well. Certainly, avoidance of stairs and escalators would decrease social functioning.
Is the word "temperament" a problem? The word "temperament" is often used to describe a psychological or emotional substrate that contributes to phenotypic behaviors. Temperaments can be determined biologically or associated with biological illnesses. There is such a thing as a "bipolar" temperament associated with bipolar affective disorder. This temperament is often in place years before the first affective episode.
"CONCLUSIONS: Before treatment, chronically depressed patients demonstrate an abnormality in temperament, as measured by elevated degrees of harm avoidance. Remission of dysthymia is associated with improvement in this aspect of temperament"
That's all they were saying.
From context, I would say that it was a given that dysthymia was considered to be a biogenic condition. They were just curious to see what associated psychological, behavioral, and personality variables change when the dysthymia was brought into remission with antidepressants. It seems that dysthymia evolves some common psychosocial themes.
What am I missing? How does a cortisol reaction to stress or a stress reaction to cortisol fit in here?
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:49856
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/50116.html