Humor and Its Effects on Anxiety Disorders
Running head: HUMOR AND ITS EFFECTS ON ANXIETY DISORDERS 1
Humor and Its Effects on Anxiety Disorders
The University of Vermont
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate humor as an alternative treatment for anxiety disorders. The hypothesis was that the continuous showing of a twenty-minute, funny episode of the participant’s choice, showed once a day for one month would continuously lower both SUD measures and systolic blood pressure values when measured directly after treatment. Furthermore, the humorous element of the show was hypothesized to reduce anxiety when the participant was exposed to a stressful situation (stressful virtual puzzle). Sixty participants (35 women, 15 men, Mage = 33 years, age range: 18-60 years) were referred from therapists in the Burlington area and were chosen if they met the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for anxiety tested by a pre-experimental anxiety evaluation test (American Psychological Association [DSM-IV-TR] 2000). The study design was a 2 x 3 experimental design. The treatment group showed a significant change before and after treatment for systolic blood pressure measures, SUD ratings, and puzzle scores, in contrast to the control group that showed no change for each measure. These findings suggest that humor can affect both physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety disorders. Further research should focus on other ways to introduce humor as an independent variable.
Keywords: Anxiety, Humor
Humor and Its Effects on Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health problems in the U.S according to the National Comorbidity Survey- Replication (NCS-R), a nationally representative survey
Humor and Its Effects on Anxiety Disorders
The University of Vermont
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate humor as an alternative treatment for anxiety disorders. The hypothesis was that the continuous showing of a twenty-minute, funny episode of the participant’s choice, showed once a day for one month would continuously lower both SUD measures and systolic blood pressure values when measured directly after treatment. Furthermore, the humorous element of the show was hypothesized to reduce anxiety when the participant was exposed to a stressful situation (stressful virtual puzzle). Sixty participants (35 women, 15 men, Mage = 33 years, age range: 18-60 years) were referred from therapists in the Burlington area and were chosen if they met the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for anxiety tested by a pre-experimental anxiety evaluation test (American Psychological Association [DSM-IV-TR] 2000). The study design was a 2 x 3 experimental design. The treatment group showed a significant change before and after treatment for systolic blood pressure measures, SUD ratings, and puzzle scores, in contrast to the control group that showed no change for each measure. These findings suggest that humor can affect both physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety disorders. Further research should focus on other ways to introduce humor as an independent variable.
Keywords: Anxiety, Humor
Humor and Its Effects on Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health problems in the U.S according to the National Comorbidity Survey- Replication (NCS-R), a nationally representative survey
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