These results reinforce the importance of developing interventions aimed at behavioural change allowing the empowerment of patients and learning more active coping strategies. Moreover, it is necessary to follow these subjects longitudinally allowing greater and better understanding of its evolution during treatment. Individuals diagnosed with a head and neck cancer (HNC) are at substantial risk of experiencing disfigurements and dysfunctions as a result of the disease process and medical treatments. Consequently, it is not surprising that a substantial number of studies have revealed that HNC patients are susceptible to experiencing clinical levels of anxiety (including PTSD) and depressive disorders. Surprisingly however, there is a paucity of psychological studies targeting the management of stress and depressive disorders in this population. Similarly, there are only a very limited number of studies that have evaluated the efficacy of psychotherapy programs tailored for other types of oncology populations (including breast, prostate, and gastro-intestinal cancers) specifically suffering from clinically elevated anxiety or mood disturbances. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be helpful in managing anxiety and depression in various psychiatric and health populations. Several studies have found the early application of a brief version of CBT, to be a useful treatment in reducing severe acute stress, as well as preventing the development of chronic psychological disorders in survivors following non-cancer traumatic events. Accordingly, the aim of the present RCT study (still in progress) was to test an early, brief (6-session) CBT program in reducing clinically elevated posttraumatic stress and depressive responses in newly diagnosed HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy. The efficacy of the CBT program was compared to a 6-session Supportive Counselling (SC) intervention. Participant inclusion criteria comprised adult individuals (aged 18 -70 years) who met subthreshold or full diagnostic criteria for cancer-related PTSD and/or comorbid anxiety and depression disorders, and who had been prescribed to receive radiotherapy as part of their medical treatment for their HNC. To date, 25 patients have been randomized to receive either the CBT or SC intervention, and 16 patients have completed the therapy program. The results to date indicate that the CBT program is effective in reducing both posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms, as well as enhancing social well-being. Findings will be discussed in context of the utility of this early brief intervention in treating acute stress and preventing chronic psychopathology in traumatized cancer patients. Discussion will also focus on logistical considerations in conducting psychotherapy concurrent with medical treatments in oncology populations. There is increasing recognition of mindfulness and mindfulness training as a way to decrease stress and increase psychological functioning. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of mindfulness stress reduction training on perceived stress, psychological well-being and levels of cortisol, and to examine if changes in mindfulness mediate intervention effects on these outcomes. Seventy women and one man with a previous cancer diagnosis (mean age 51.8 years, SD=9.86) were randomized into an intervention group or a wait-list control group. The intervention consisted of an 8-week mindfulness-training course. A repeated measures MANCOVA showed that compared to participants in the control group, participants in the mindfulness-training group had significantly decreased perceived stress, post-traumatic avoidance symptoms, and increased coping self-efficacy at 6-month followup (F16, 51=1.32, p<0.05). Those who participated in the intervention reported significant increase in mindfulness when compared to controls (F10, 57=2.34, p<0.05). The increase in mindfulness mediated the effects of the intervention on perceived stress, and coping self-efficacy. The results indicated and intervention effect on awakening cortisol. Among those with initial low levels of cortisol, there was an increase from baseline to 3-month follow-up, and among those with initial high levels there was a decreased level of cortisol at 3-month follow-up. There was an association between changes in stress symptoms and cortisol levels. This study indicates that increased levels of mindfulness can potentially explain reduction of stress symptoms resulting from mindfulness stress reduction training. The results indicated a normalization of cortisol levels as a result of the intervention. The importance of these findings for future research in the field of mindfulness is discussed. Objective: To test the effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention (EWI) on subsequent self-reported health of women treated for early stage breast cancer and to examine repressive coping as a moderator. Methods: Breast cancer patients (n=507; mean age 53.6) were recruited following completion of adjuvant treatment randomly assigned to 3 weekly 20 min home-based writing exercises involving either: 1) emotional disclosure (EWI) about one of their most traumatic experiences, or 2) a control topic (CTRL) of how they spend their time. The primary outcome was self-reported physical health (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)). Repressive copers (n =161) were identified at baseline by having high defensiveness (Marlowe Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and low negative affectivity (Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale). Results: A repeated measures ANOVA showed no effect of EWI (time x group interaction) (p=.31) but did reveal a significant time x group x repressive coping interaction (p=.024). Repressive copers in the EWI group had improved PHQ-scores at follow-up (9 mo), while PHQ-scores of repressive copers in CTRL worsened. The results continued to be statistically significant (p=.045) with potential confounders included in the model. Conclusions: An expressive writing intervention may have positive effects on health outcomes among breast cancer patients high in repressive coping, suggesting the potential utility of targeting the intervention to such individuals in future studies. The 'teachable moment' has long being considered a cornerstone of public health intervention planning. The Teachable Moment (TM) model suggests that there are certain times when an individual is especially ready to change behavior and thus, open to receiving messages about behavior change. According to the TM model, experiences that jointly (1) increase risk perceptions, (2) prompt concordant emotional responses, and (3) impact selfconcept may offer a powerful motivational context for promoting behavior change. Further, tailoring smoking cessation interventions on TM components may increase the salience of health messages. In the present study, TM model was used to examine the desire to quit smoking among family members of lung cancer patients. Further, the relationship between desire to quit and engagement with and reactions to self-help smoking cessation materials was examined. Participants were family members of lung cancer patients recruited for a randomized controlled trial testing a counseling intervention for smoking cessation. The main independent variable was lung cancer diagnosis in a family member and the main dependent variable was intention to quit smoking. Study results indicated that components of the TM model were related to desire to quit in family members of lung cancer patients. Specifically, increased perceived risk, negative self image, and high subjective norm for quitting were related to high desire to quit. In a final path analysis model that controlled for age, sex, ethnicity, education and smoking rate, the construct of perceived individual risk of cancer was identified as a mediator of the relationship between having a family member with a diagnosis of lung cancer and quitting intention. Findings on engagement with and reactions to materials were mixed. Engagement with materials was not related to baseline desire to quit, but was related to positive reactions to the materials. Those with a higher desire to quit were more likely to report that the information in the tailored booklet applied to them, and was new to them, interesting, trustworthy, and moving. Finally, family members with a higher desire to quit were more likely to say that the information in the booklet make them want to quit smoking. Evidence from this initial study indicates that the TM model provides a strong conceptual framework for (1) identifying specific determinants of desire to quit among family members of lung cancer patients; and (2) developing effective tailored selfhelp materials for this population. These data suggest that the concept of the teachable moment may be adopted and adapted for the smoking cessation in the oncology context in Indian set up. Purpose: Worldwide, the number of cancer survivors is increasing. In the Danish population of 5.4 million people, more than 300 000 are cancer survivors. Given the range of physical, psychological and social late effects of cancer and its primary treatment many survivors need tailored rehabilitation interventions. This randomized study evaluates the short term effect of a multi-focused, psychosocial 6-day residential rehabilitation course at the Dallund Rehabilitation Centre in Denmark. Methods: Breast, prostate or colorectal cancer survivors were randomly assigned to the rehabilitation course (IG) or a standard care control group (CG). Outcome measures included self-reported quality of life (qol), psychological mood and mental adjustment styles and were assessed at baseline, 1-, 6-and 12-month follow up. Multiple linear regression was used in preliminary analyses to compare differences between IG and CG. Global qol at baseline, cancer diagnosis, age, gender and education were examined as confounders. Results: The preliminary analyses included 352 patients (IG n= 165 and CG n=187). A total of 188 patients had breast cancer, 94 had colorectal cancer and 70 had prostate cancer. Participants were on average 61 years old and 228 were women. No effect of the intervention was found on change in global qol at 1-month follow up (β=0.40; 95% CI -2.95-3.74). Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate a residential rehabilitation course among cancer patients in a randomized design. Preliminary analyses could not confirm an effect of the intervention on qlobal qol. This might be due to methodological limitations of the study. However, the effect of the intervention on the different domains of quality of life and other outcome measures at the 6-and 12-month follow up taking into account clinical variables still needs to be examined. Prenatal stress seem to have a significant impacts on the biological and psychological development in the offspring. In particular, prenatal stress is associated with long-term disturbances in HPA axis function.A sample of 115 10-year old children was examined in a cross-sectional study design. The experimental group (n=43) was characterized by a glucocorticoid treatment of their mothers due to high risk of preterm delivery during the second trimester. Control group A (n=35) consisted of children who were at risk of being born prematurely but did not receive glucocorticoid treatment. In control group B (n=37) children were included born after complication-free pregnancy. A standardized psychosocial stress test for children (TSST-C) was applied. All children were healthy and showed no disparities in their level of development. Salivary cortisol and heart rate were measured during the experiment as well as psychological parameters using self-report questionnaires (EWL-KJ and PASA). The TSST-C induced a marginally significant increase of salivary cortisol (F(4.814,269.601) = 1.939, p=.091). Significant higher cortisol levels were observed in children of the experimental group as compared to children of control group B. Referring to the data for the heart rate in response to the TSST-C a trend towards significance was revealed (F(15.069, 836.313) = 1.505, p=.096). lower heart rates were found in The experimental group showed lower heart rates than the control groups A and B. Furthermore, stress appraisal and mood significantly differed between the three groups.Even though all children were comparable concerning their level of education and mental abilities, we found subtle differences in their psychobiological stress reactivity. The prenatally stressed offspring demonstrated a stronger glucocorticoid response in reaction to challenging situations than controls. In addition, the results revealed long term effects of prenatal glucocorticoids on psychological and on autonomic reactivity to a standardized psychosocial stress test. Background: Previous work suggests that family conflict impacts adversely on child development. But it is not clear to what extent these relationships might hold in a contemporary population setting. Objectives: 1. to examine the extent to which markers of parental conflict are associated with child development 2. to assess the influence of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors in observed relationships. Methods: Data from the UK Millennium cohort study were used (N=9144). Questions on parental conflict -whether they felt they were on the brink of separation and on the experience of physical force/violence in the relationship were answered by both parents when cohort members were age 9 months, 3 and 5 years. Markers of child development at age 5 were height, socioemotional difficulties, and verbal ability. Results: Girls and boys whose mothers felt they were on the brink of separation from their partner were shorter (girls 109.0 vs 110.3, boys 110.9 vs 111.3 cm), more likely to have socioemotional difficulties (girls 9.7 vs 4.1, boys 15.7 vs 6.4%) and lower verbal test scores (girls 55.5 vs 57.1, boys 52.9 vs 56.5) compared with children where this was not the case. For girls height differences remain statistically different on adjustment for socioeconomic and psychosocial factors, whilst differences in socioemotional difficulties and verbal ability were rendered statistically nonsignificant on adjustment for psychosocial factors. For boys differences in the likelihood of socioemotional difficulties and verbal ability were reduced on adjustment for socioeconomic and psychosocial factors but remained statistically significant. Conclusion: Children living in homes in which there was likely family conflict had poorer developmental outcomes compared with children living in more favourable circumstances. Gender differences in factors that explained observed patterns were apparent. Objective: The aim of the study was to ascertain the prevalence of multiple pains (MP) and detect psychosocial risk factors assessed one year prior. Method MP was defined by the number of sites for which pain was reported to occur at least "sometimes" in a sample of 2219 German youths (10-17 years).