The relationship of expectancies to outcome in stress management treatment of essential hypertension: results from the Joint USSR-USA Behavioral Hypertension Project.

Outcome expectancy and efficacy expectancy measures were made during the course of a cross-cultural comparison of thermal biofeedback and autogenic training as treatments for mild essential hypertension. There were no differences between groups at either pre- or posttreatment, and expectancy measures were not related to initial success or failure at the completion of treatment. However, both outcome and efficacy expectations were related to relapse over the three months immediately following the completion of treatment. Treatment failures had lower ratings for both outcome and efficacy expectations at the posttreatment assessment in comparison to treatment successes. Implications of these results are discussed.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes