Abstract
Fifteen studies with behavioral treatment of essential hypertension, which included follow-up Periods of 3 months or more, are summarized in table form and are subjected to a detailed critique. In general, behavioral treatment produces modest blood pressure reductions that could be clinically significant in mild hypertensives. Among the techniques, stress management may be promising. However, other factors rather than the behavioral techniques appears more influencing : age of the client, length of the baseline period, initial blood pressure level and rate of antihypertensive medication at the start of treatment. Relatively recent studies may be contrasted with the older ones because of the different costellations of these behavioral as well as other influencing factors. The implications of these results for the understanding of behavioral treatment of essential hypertension are discussed and some problems which should be taken into account in a future study are pointed out.
