Effects of Behavioral Psychophysiological Treatment on Schoolchildren with Migraine in a Nonclinical Setting: Predictors and Process Variables1

Evaluated the outcome of a combined behavioral therapy, comprising relaxation training, temperature biofeedback, and cognitive training, administered in a school setting, at posttreatment, and 7-month follow-up, on a group of school-children with migraine. Comparison between the experimental group (n = 32) and the waiting-list control group (n = 9) showed a treatment effect on headache frequency and duration but not on intensity. Using a 50 % reduction in the headache activity as a criterion for clinical improvement, 45 % of the children in the experimental group were clinically improved at the end of the treatment. The treated subjects were found to have maintained significant improvement at follow-up. Sex, headache history, age, and psychosomatic complaints before the training emerged as predictors of outcome. A decrease in state anxiety and an increase in the ability to relax during the sessions contributed to headache improvement. Finally, the acquired capacity to raise one's finger temperature The study w u supported financially by the Dutch Fund for Mental Health (NFGV) under Project Number 3191