title: Predicting vasovagal reactions in volunteer blood donors.
abstract: Measures of blood and injury sensitivity, pain sensitivity, and anxiety were examined as potential predictors of syncope and related reactions in 215 volunteer blood donors. The Blood and Injury Fears subscale of the Fear Survey Schedule was the best predictor for first-time donors (r[84] = 0.43, p < 0.001), whereas the Mutilation Questionnaire was the best predictor for experienced donors (r[127] = 0.31, p < 0.01). In contrast with previous studies, few significant predictions were observed for demographic variables (e.g., age, body mass index, or number of previous donations), suggesting that psychological measures may be better suited to the task of identifying high risk donors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens 45701-2979, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Meade
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: France
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017288:Pain Threshold; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D019462:Syncope, Vasovagal / Q000523:psychology*