This study was designed to investigate the effects of a short-termcognitive-behavioural intervention, as part of a comprehensive medicalproject of withdrawal from hypnotics, on attitudes towardinsomnia. Twenty-four subjects volunteered to participate in a withdrawalproject conducted in a sleep clinic for five weeks. All subjects werechronic users of a long-acting hypnotic, and free from other psychotropicdrugs. Along with the gradual decrease in hypnotics’ dosage, theprogramme consisted of sleep evaluations by polysomnography, actigraphicmonitoring, daily sleep diaries, and periodical medical examinations. Upontermination of the withdrawal stage, all subjects received a short-termcognitive-behavioural treatment consisting of six sessions and directed atattitude change and correction of misconceptions about sleep and insomnia,and on promoting psychological strategies for coping with the sleepdisturbances. Attitudes toward insomnia were measured by the DBAS –Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale, administeredat three points of time: on the first day of the programme (Time 1), at thetermination of the medical withdrawal stage (Time 2), and a week aftercompletion of the short-term cognitive behavioural treatment (Time 3). Amultivariate analysis showed a significant effect of the time of measurementon all five subscales of the DBAS. Subsequent analyses indicated that themajor change in attitudes was specific to the direct cognitive-behaviouralintervention and occurred between Time 2 and Time 3. In follow-ups conductedat 3 and 12 months after completion of the withdrawal project, the majorityof the participants (72%) reported refrain from hypnotic use, and regardedthe psychological intervention as the major cause of their successfulwithdrawal from sleeping pills.
