Journal of anxiety disorders
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The current study examined the reliability and validity of the Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) and the Children's Moods Fears and Worries Questionnaire (CMFWQ) in a Dutch community sample of 275 preschool children aged 2-6 years. The acceptability of PAS and CMFWQ items was good. Preliminary exploratory factor analyses yielded a meaningful five-factor model for the PAS and a three-factor model for the CMFWQ. ⋯ Also some age differences were found on the PAS, with older children scoring higher on the social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder subscales than younger children. Finally, CMFWQ and PAS scores discriminated reasonably between children scoring in the normal, subclinical and clinical range of the CBCL subscales. The utility of the PAS and the CMFWQ as a screening instrument for anxiety problems in preschoolers is briefly discussed.
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Comparative Study
A confirmatory factor analysis of specific phobia domains in African American and Caucasian American young adults.
The current study investigated factors related to specific phobia domains and differences in patterns among African American and Caucasian American adults. Subjects were 100 African Americans and 121 Caucasian Americans who completed the Fear Survey Schedule--Second Edition (FSS-II). Fears related to specific phobia domains were first examined, with frequencies differing between African American and Caucasian American samples on three of the six specific phobia domains. ⋯ The natural environment-type specific phobia factor did not have adequate fit for the Caucasian American sample as in the African American sample. Results indicated that different factor loading patterns of fear-related stimuli may exist among African American and Caucasian American young adults. Potential explanations and future directions are discussed.
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Studies of rumination have supported the differentiation of self-focus into distinct modes of self-attention with distinct functional effects. Given that self-focused attention and rumination have been implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety, the present study investigated the effects of these two distinct forms of self-focused attention on mood and cognition in social anxiety. High and low socially anxious individuals (n=29 in each group) either thought analytically about, or focused on their momentary experience of, identical symptom-focused induction items from [Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1993). ⋯ Cognition and Emotion, 7, 561-570] rumination task. As predicted, in high socially anxious individuals, the experiential (low analysis) self-focus condition decreased ratings of anxious mood pre- to post-manipulation and was associated with more positive thoughts on a thought-listing exercise, whereas the analytical (high analysis) self-focus condition resulted in no significant effects on mood and cognition. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
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While cognitive behavior therapy has been found to be effective in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a significant percentage of patients struggle with residual symptoms. There is some conceptual basis for suggesting that cultivation of mindfulness may be helpful for people with GAD. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a group treatment derived from mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and colleagues. MBSR uses training in mindfulness meditation as the core of the program. MBCT incorporates cognitive strategies and has been found effective in reducing relapse in patients with major depression (Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., Ridgeway, V., Soulsby, J., & Lau, M. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 6, 615-623). ⋯ MBCT may be an acceptable and potentially effective treatment for reducing anxiety and mood symptoms and increasing awareness of everyday experiences in patients with GAD. Future directions include development of a randomized clinical trial of MBCT for GAD.
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This study examined the role of experiential avoidance and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when distressed in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and depressive symptom severity. A sample of 391 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Results provided support for a model where experiential avoidance and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior mediate the relationship between the AS dimensions of fear of cognitive dyscontrol and fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions and depressive symptom severity. ⋯ The model was found to reliably distinguish between participants with and without clinical levels of depression. However, only experiential avoidance was a significant mediator. Implications for research on the role of AS in depression vulnerability and treatment are discussed.