Search results for ‘Subject term:"phobias"’ Sort:
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Pharmacotherapy for social anxiety disorder: a systematic review
- Authors:
- IPSER Jonathan C., KARIUKI Catherine M., STEIN Dan J.
- Journal article citation:
- Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 8(2), February 2008, pp.235-257.
- Publisher:
- Expert Reviews Ltd
- Place of publication:
- London
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 51 randomised controlled trials (RCT) revealed that pharmacotherapy for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is both effective and well tolerated. The efficacy and tolerability of venlafaxine suggest that it should be considered as a first-line agent along with the SSRIs. The results are discussed in terms of the current consensus on the treatment of SAD by different drug classes. An expert commentary on diagnosis and treatment and a five-year view, which looks at research in progress, are also included.
Prevalence of anxiety disorders among elderly people
- Authors:
- KIRMIZIOGLU Yalcin, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(9), September 2009, pp.1026-1033.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The objectives of this study are to determine current and lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders and also to explore the relationship, if any, between possible risk factors and anxiety disorders, amongst elderly people living in the Sivas province of Turkey. The research sample consisted of 462 persons. A Socio-demographic Data Form was given to the participants and the Anxiety Module of SCID-I was applied. Chi-square and Fischer's exact tests were used to evaluate the data obtained. The current prevalence for all types of anxiety disorder was found to be 17.1% overall and the lifetime prevalence was found to be 18.6%. The current prevalence rates for particular disorders were found to be 0.4% for panic disorder, 3.2% for obsessive-compulsive disorder, 1.9% for post-traumatic stress disorder, 2.8% for social phobia, 11.5% for specific phobia, 6.9% for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Lifetime prevalence rates for these disorders (except GAD) were 1.1%, 3.2%, 3.0%, 2.85%, 11.5% respectively. Anxiety disorders are more common among elderly people than was previously thought. The lifetime prevalence of specific phobia amongst the elderly is higher than that of general population; the lifetime prevalence ratios of obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia are similar to that of the general population in Sivas. In order to improve the delivery of health services, it is recommended that further studies should be conducted among elderly people, both by applying standardized diagnostic tools, but also taking into account socio-economic factors and using convenient therapy methods developed specifically for this group.
Influence of alcohol on the processing of emotional facial expressions in individuals with social phobia
- Authors:
- STEVENS Stephan, RIST Fred, GERLACH Alexander L.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48(2), June 2009, pp.125-140.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Individuals with social phobia are at an increased risk to develop alcohol problems. However, the mechanism responsible for this association is unclear. It has been suggested that alcohol reduces anxiety by impairing initial appraisal of threatening stimuli. Information that is especially threatening, however, may be resistant to such an effect of alcohol. The influence of alcohol on the appraisal of five emotional facial expressions was tested. Forty social phobia patients and 40 controls performed a dot probe task, after drinking either alcohol or orange juice. Stimuli were faces with happy, angry, neutral and also two ambiguous expressions that were formed by blending angry or happy faces and neutral faces. Sober patients showed an attentional bias towards angry faces, indicating preferential processing of threat stimuli. Alcohol significantly reduced this bias. Only in sober participants, this attentional bias correlated with measures of social anxiety. In controls, no biases were observed. Alcohol seems to attenuate the impact of threatening social stimuli on social phobia patients, which may negatively reinforce the consumption of alcohol and at least partially explain the heightened comorbidity with alcohol related problems known from epidemiological studies.
Understanding school refusal: a handbook for professionals in education, health and social care
- Authors:
- THAMBIRAJAH M.S., GRANDISON Karen J., DE-HAYES Louise
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 160p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
School absenteeism is a huge problem in education and this book focuses in particular on children who experience 'school phobia' or 'school refusal' as opposed to those who choose to truant. School refusal is a crippling condition in which children experience extreme anxiety or panic attacks when faced with everyday school life and this handbook aims to explore and raise awareness of the problem of school refusal in children and young people, and provide plans and strategies for education, health and social care professionals for identifying and addressing this problem. Combining educational and clinical perspectives, and with extensive use of case studies, the authors present recent research into the mental health problems associated with school refusal, such as anxiety and panic attacks, as well as the role that parental support plays in their children's school life. They also discuss the role of home tuition services and pupil referral units in extreme cases of school refusal, and provides concrete strategies for planning and organising services to manage the problem effectively.
Specificity of autobiographical memory in social phobia and major depression
- Authors:
- HEIDENREICH Thomas, JUNGHANNS-ROYACK Katrin, STANGIER Ulrich
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46(1), March 2007, pp.19-33.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Several studies have found evidence for over general autobiographical memory in patients with major depression and other disorders. Individuals with social phobia have been found to report early memories relating to specific experiences of being depreciated or rejected. However, there are no clear results regarding specificity of autobiographical memory in social phobia to date. In this study three groups were compared with regard to specificity of autobiographical memory. Emphasis was laid on matching the groups for age, gender and educational level. Following the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and another recent study, 10 emotional cue words of positive or negative valence were presented to 18 outpatients with social phobia without current comorbid depression, 18 outpatients with major depression without current anxiety disorder and 18 healthy control subjects in a think-aloud task. Participants were asked to report a specific autobiographical event and received sufficient training to ensure that the method had been understood. Results indicated no significant differences between groups for specificity and latency of first specific response. In contrast with earlier studies, an over general response style was not observed in depressed patients. However, significant differences in educational level emerged. Social phobics demonstrated a high ability to recall detailed specific autobiographical memories. Possible explanations for the discrepancy between our results and previous findings regarding depressed patients are discussed in terms of sample characteristics, specific modifications of the AMT-protocol and level of education.
Structure of internalising symptoms in early adulthood
- Authors:
- FERGUSSON David M., HORWOOD L. John, BODEN Joseph M.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 189(6), December 2006, pp.540-546.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Debate surrounds the underlying structure of internalising disorders including major depression, generalised anxiety disorder, phobias and panic disorders. The aim was to model the within-time and across-time relationships of internalising symptoms, incorporating effects from generalised internalising and disorder-specific components of continuity. Data were gathered from a 25-year longitudinal
Experiences with implosive therapy
- Author:
- TROESTER James D.
- Journal article citation:
- Clinical Social Work Journal, 34(3), September 2006, pp.349-360.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Implosive Therapy (IT), which was originated by Thomas Stampfl in the 1950s, is an imagery technique built on psychoanalytic theory and learning theory. IT can be an effective means of helping people who have phobias and aversions. Examples illustrate the rationale, application, and outcome of the procedure.
Social anxiety disorder in first-episode psychosis: incidence, phenomenology and relationship with paranoia
- Authors:
- MICHAIL Maria, BIRCHWOOD Max
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 195(3), September 2009, pp.234-241.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study aimed to compare the phenomenology of social anxiety disorder in first-episode psychosis with that in a group without psychosis. The relationship between social anxiety and psychosis symptoms was investigated. A sample of people with first-episode psychosis (FEP group) was compared with a sample with social anxiety disorder without psychosis (SaD group). Of the individuals in the FEP group (n = 80) 25% were diagnosed with an ICD–10 social anxiety disorder (FEP/SaD group); a further 11.6% reported severe difficulties in social encounters. The FEP/SaD and SaD groups reported comparable levels of social anxiety, autonomic symptoms, avoidance and depression. Social anxiety in psychosis was not related to the positive symptoms of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) including suspiciousness/persecution. However, a significantly greater percentage of socially anxious v. non-socially anxious individuals with psychosis expressed perceived threat from persecutors, although this did not affect the severity of social anxiety within the FEP/SaD group. The majority of those in the FEP/SaD group did not have concurrent persecutory delusions. It is concluded that social anxiety is a significant comorbidity in first-episode psychosis. It is not simply an epiphenomenon of psychotic symptoms and clinical paranoia, and it has more than one causal pathway. For a subgroup of socially anxious people with psychosis, anticipated harm is present and the processes that underlie its relationship with social anxiety warrant further investigation.
Something to worry about
- Author:
- MICKEL Andrew
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 26.3.09, 2009, pp.18-19.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Highlights the need to treat all childhood phobias seriously, and methods of treatment that can be effective.
The relationship between behavioural inhibition, anxiety disorders, depression and CD4 counts in HIV-positive adults: a cross-sectional controlled study
- Authors:
- FINCHAM D., et al
- Journal article citation:
- AIDS Care, 20(10), November 2008, pp.1279-1283.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study examined the relationships between behavioural inhibition (BI), anxiety disorders, depression and CD4 counts in 456 HIV-infected adults attending primary healthcare HIV clinics in South Africa. The first hypothesis was that BI would be positively correlated with anxiety disorders and with depression. The second hypothesis was that BI, anxiety disorders and depression would be negatively correlated with CD4 counts. Participants completed the Retrospective Self-Report of Childhood Inhibition scale (RSRCI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). It was found that BI was positively correlated with depression, agoraphobia, social phobia (social anxiety disorder) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, BI, anxiety disorders and depression were not associated with CD4 counts. No gender effects were found for BI, depression, CD4 counts or any anxiety disorder diagnosis. While BI was linked to certain anxiety disorders, no evidence was found to suggest that BI, a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, and/or depressive symptoms were associated with CD4 counts among HIV-positive adults.