University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2015 Hypnotic Susceptibility of Inpatient Adolescents Michael B. Quant University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Quant, Michael B., "Hypnotic Susceptibility of Inpatient Adolescents" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1018. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1018 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF INPATIENT ADOLESCENTS BY MICHAEL B. QUANT A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Educational Psychology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2015 ABSTRACT HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF INPATIENT ADOLESCENTS by Michael Quant The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015 Under the Supervision of Professor Dr. Marty Sapp There is a substantial body of literature suggesting hypnosis is an effective therapeutic intervention for adolescents who suffer from a wide variety of psychological troubles (Rhue & Lynn, 1991; Schowalter, 1994; Wester & Sugarman, 2007). As compared to adults, adolescents’ openness to experiences along with their imaginative capacity uniquely primes them to benefit from hypnotherapy (Bowers & LeBaron, 1986). Many studies have shown adolescents to have higher levels of responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions (Morgan & Hilgard, 1973); however, the vast majority of these studies have been conducted with adolescents from either the general population or outpatient settings. Very little research has been conducted to investigate adolescents’ responsiveness to hypnotic interventions while in psychiatric settings, and virtually no studies have investigated hypnosis in inpatient settings. Thus, the central purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate how hypnotherapy could be utilized to improve treatment outcomes in psychiatric inpatient settings. In order to do so, the study investigated whether adolescents from inpatient settings were as responsive to suggestions as adolescents in the general population. Further, it investigated if hypnotic inductions are ii necessary to generate responsiveness to suggestions. Lastly, it investigated the characteristics of adolescents who have high rates of responsiveness to hypnosis. In order to test these hypotheses, 167 adolescents (ages 13-17) were recruited from a major inpatient behavioral health hospital in the Midwest. Subjects were randomly assigned to either one group session of hypnosis (n=84) with a full hypnotic induction from the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale: Form C (WSGC) scale of hypnotic susceptibility (Bowers et al., 1982) or a comparison group (n=83) which did not receive the hypnotic induction, but consisted of eye closure, simple guided relaxation and suggestions. Furthermore, adolescents’ level of absorption and dissociation were also investigated in order to examine their predictive influence on responsiveness to suggestions. A between group comparison showed that the experimental condition had a higher score (M = 6.55, SD = 2.93) than the comparison group (M = 5.19, SD = 2.52) on behavioral measures, t(165) = 3.23, p < .01, d = .50. The participants who received the hypnotic induction also scored significantly higher (M = 36.54, SD = 9.89) than the comparison group (M = 33.1, SD = 8.49) on subjective measures of hypnotizability t(165) = 2.43, p = .02, d = .38. Further, absorption explained a significant proportion of the variance on behavioral hypnotizability scores, R2 = .21, F(1, 165) = 44.95, p < .001. Absorption also explained a significant proportion of variance in subjective hypnotizability scores of hypnotizability, R2 = .14, F(1, 165) = 24.48, p < .001. There were no statistically significant differences in hypnotizability based on comparisons of age, race, diagnosis, or gender. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 Research Goals ................................................................................................................ 3 Definition of Terms ......................................................................................................... 4 Absorption ........................................................................................................... 5 Imaginative Involvement ...................................................................................... 5 Dissociation ......................................................................................................... 6 Hypnosis .............................................................................................................. 6 Hypnotic Induction .............................................................................................. 7 Progressive Muscle Relaxation............................................................................. 7 Hypnotizability .................................................................................................... 8 Hypnotic Suggestibility ........................................................................................ 8 Hypnotic Susceptibility ........................................................................................ 8 Demographics ...................................................................................................... 8 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 8 Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 11 Theories of Hypnosis ..................................................................................................... 11 Dissociation Theories of Hypnosis ..................................................................... 12 Dissociation Theory of Hypnosis ............................................................ 12 Neodissociation Theory .......................................................................... 13 Dissociated Control Theory of Hypnosis ................................................ 13 Dissociated Experience Theory ............................................................... 13 Cognitive-Behavioral Theories of Hypnosis ........................................... 14 Social Cognitive Theories of Hypnosis ................................................... 15 Response Expectancy Theory ................................................................. 15 Attentional Theory ................................................................................. 16 Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales ....................................................................................... 16 Individually Administered Scales ....................................................................... 19 Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales ................................................. 19 Friedlander-Sarbin Scale......................................................................... 21 Children’s Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales .......................................................... 21 Children’s Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale ................................................ 21 Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Children ........................................ 23 Group Scales of Hypnotic Susceptibility ............................................................ 23 Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility ..................................... 23 Critique of HGSHS:A ...................................................................... 24 Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale: Form C ................................................ 25 Subjective Scoring of WSGC ........................................................... 27 Hypnotic Suggestibility ....................................................................................... 28 iv Adolescent Hypnotic Suggestibility ............................................................................... 30 Developmental Components of Hypnotizability ................................................ 31 Imaginative Involvement ........................................................................ 31 Onset of Hypnotizability ......................................................................... 31 Hypnotic Suggestibility Compared to Waking Suggestibility ......................................... 37 Adolescents’ Non-hypnotic Suggestibility .......................................................... 44 Critique .................................................................................................. 47 Physiological Reponses ...................................................................................... 48 Summary ........................................................................................................... 48 Hypnosis as an Intervention for Adolescents ................................................................. 49 Medical Applications of Hypnosis...................................................................... 50 Psychiatric Applications of Hypnosis ................................................................