title: Applied tension and blood donation symptoms: the importance of anxiety reduction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite being a voluntary activity, many blood donors experience anxiety, and fainting (syncope) is not unusual. The muscle-tensing technique applied tension (AT) has been found to be effective in reducing vasovagal symptoms and syncope. A series of studies was developed to investigate the role of AT on anxiety and fainting.
  
  
  METHODS
  The mechanisms of AT were examined in the laboratory and the blood donor clinic. In Study 1, 70 participants were assigned randomly to either a control group or an experimental group who learned AT before watching a video depicting blood draws. In Study 2, 667 volunteer blood donors completed similar questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In Study 1, a significant Condition × Sex × Needle Fear interaction, F(1, 59) = 4.97, p = .03, indicated that AT reduced vasovagal symptoms in higher-fear women. Study 2 also found a significant Condition × Sex × Needle Fear effect on vasovagal symptoms, F(2, 653) = 3.95, p = .02, indicating that AT reduced symptoms but primarily among women with more pronounced fear of needles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Analysis of the physiological data and self-reported anxiety supports the conclusion that the reduction in vasovagal symptoms was due more to decreased anxiety rather than exercise-related cardiovascular change. These results suggest that AT may provide a useful means of coping with invasive medical procedures in part by reducing anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Crystal D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Holly
authors.forename: Saharnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balegh
authors.forename: Blaine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ditto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D008297:Male; D018962:Phlebotomy / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013575:Syncope / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult