title: Reducing contamination by exposure plus safety behaviour.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It has been proposed that the judicious use of safety behaviour can facilitate improvements in the acceptability of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It was decided to explore the possibility of facilitating CBT by introducing a form of safety behaviour. We sought to assess the degree to which Exposure plus Safety Behaviour (E + SB) is an effective intervention for contamination fears.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparison was made between the effects of a control condition (Exposure and Response Prevention; ERP) and an experimental condition (Exposure plus Safety Behaviour; E + SB) in which each exposure to a contaminant was followed by the use of a hygienic wipe in a sample of (n = 80) undergraduate students. In session one, each participant touched a confirmed contaminant 20 times. After each exposure participants were asked to report their feelings of contamination, fear, disgust, and danger. In the second session, two weeks later, the same procedure was carried out for a further 16 trials.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ERP and the E + SB conditions both produced large, significant and stable reductions in contamination. Significant reductions in fear, danger and disgust were also reported in both conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The treatment was provided to an analogue sample and over two sessions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of hygienic wipes, the safety behaviour used in this experiment, did not preclude significant reductions in contamination, disgust, fear and danger. If it is replicated and extended over a longer time-frame, this finding may enable practitioners to enhance the acceptability of cognitive behavioural treatments and boost their effectiveness.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 Canada. rachman@interchange.ubc.ca
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Rachman
authors: Roz
authors: R
authors: Shafran
authors: Adam S
authors: AS
authors: Radomsky
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Zysk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D012008:Recurrence; D012449:Safety