Ataques de nervios: culturally bound and distinct from panic attacks?

Background: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM‐IV‐TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000) has emphasized the importance of understanding psychopathology within a cultural framework by including culture‐bound syndromes within its appendices. These syndromes are proposed to be bound to certain cultures and distinct from other psychological disorders. Included among the syndromes are ataques de nervios (ADN), which are reported to be bound to the Hispanic culture and closely resemble panic attacks. However, the cultural distinctiveness and phenomenology of ADN has not been adequately investigated. Method: The current study employed an ethnically diverse study sample (N=342) of undergraduates. Participants completed a number of measures that assessed acculturation, syndrome and anxiety risk factors. Results: In contrast to the DSM‐IV's conceptualization of ADN, the rate of ADN did not significantly vary across the three main groups (African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic participants) nor did it vary based on acculturation. More consistent with the DSM‐IV, the symptom comparisons indicated some differentiation between ADN and panic attacks. Conclusions: The present report provides data indicating that ADNs, as described by the DSM‐IV, are not unique to the Hispanic culture and are experienced by non‐Hispanic individuals at similar rates to Hispanic‐endorsement. The findings are consistent with the DSM‐IV assertion that ADNs and PAs are distinct syndromes. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

The Association between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the Anxiety Vulnerability Factors Body Vigilance and Discomfort Intolerance

Individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) endorse greater negative affect, including anxiety psychopathology. To examine the role anxiety plays in the maintenance and exacerbation of IBS the links between IBS and two anxiety related constructs, body vigilance and discomfort intolerance, were examined. A non-treatment seeking college sample (N = 476) completed measures that assessed IBS symptomatology, vigilance to bodily sensations and ability to tolerate physical discomfort. A total of 4.2 percent of the sample met Rome II criteria for IBS. Consistent with the hypotheses, IBS symptoms were associated with increased vigilance to bodily sensations and increased desire to avoid these sensations

Suppressing the white bears interacts with anxiety sensitivity in the prediction of mood and anxiety symptoms

Suppression is a commonly used strategy to manage unwanted thoughts by attempting to actively remove them from awareness. However, research has shown that this cognitive strategy often results in the paradoxical effect of increasing the frequency of unwanted thoughts. While the association between thought suppression and mood and anxiety symptoms has been repeatedly demonstrated, relations between this cognitive strategy and other anxiety risk factors such as anxiety sensitivity (AS) are unexplored. Using a nonclinical sample of young adults ( N = 414), the current investigation sought to more thoroughly investigate the association between AS and thought suppression as well as explore their synergistic effect on anxiety symptomatology. As hypothesized, thought suppression and AS were positively associated. Moreover, AS and thought suppression interacted to predict elevated levels of panic and obsessive compulsive symptomatology

Anxiety sensitivity profile : Predictive and incremental validity

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a well-researched risk factor for the development of anxiety psychopathology. AS is typically measured using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) but limitations have led to the creation of second generation measures of AS including the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile (ASP). The ASP has not been used very extensively, however, and we believe this may be due to two important issues: (1) the ASP is lengthy, and (2) the predictive validity of the ASP is unexplored in relation to critical outcomes such as anxiety psychopathology. The purpose of the present report was to address these two issues. We evaluated whether an abbreviated form of the ASP was viable and also conducted tests of the scale’s predictive validity. Findings suggest that a 22-item version of the ASP (i.e., ASP-22) is comparable to the original 60-item ASP. Moreover, the ASP-22 was predictive of anxious responding to a CO(2) challenge. In fact, the ASP-22 outperformed the ASI as a predictor of CO(2) reactivity. Also, the ASP-22 was a significant longitudinal predictor of incidence of Axis I diagnoses. In regard to predictive validity, the ASP-22 was comparable to the original ASP. In summary, the ASP-22 appears to represent a viable measure of AS that may complement the ASI

Ethnoracial differences in anxiety sensitivity: Examining the validity of competing anxiety sensitivity index subscales

Despite the increasing number of Americans who are considered to be a part of an ethnoracial minority group, there have been few investigations of the cross-cultural validity of measures of psychopathology. The limited existing literature suggests potential differences between African American (AA) and European American (EA) individuals with respect to the utility of self-report measures, including anxiety sensitivity. Physical, mental, and social domains of anxiety sensitivity are measured using subscales derived from a 3-factor model reported in EA samples despite evidence suggesting that anxiety sensitivity in AA samples is characterized by more distinct physical concerns. The current study compared the concurrent and predictive validity of the traditional anxiety sensitivity subscales representing 3 domains and a 4-subscale formulation based on predictions about the construct in AA samples. Comparisons of both AA (N=41) and EA (N=298) samples are included. Findings suggest some ethnoracial group differences in the concurrent and predictive validity of anxiety sensitivity subscales, specifically supporting the appropriateness and specificity of the 4-factor model of anxiety sensitivity in AA samples. Implications are discussed, including identification of sociocultural mechanisms that might influence psychometric properties of measures of anxiety

Parenting and Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms: Implications of Authoritarian Parenting

Cognitive behavioral theories of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have hypothesized a central role of social learning in the development of OCD. Research indicates that learning via key developmental relationships, such as parent-child interactions, may account for the emergence and maintenance of OC symptoms in adulthood. Baumrind identified three parental authority prototypes or styles, including permissive, authoritative, and authoritarian, that differ on the two dimensions of nurture and behavioral control. Permissive parents allow their children to do as they wish with little discipline, whereas authoritative parents implement reasonable guidelines while still providing a warm and nurturing environment. The third style, authoritarian, represents parenting that is rigid and values strict adherence to rules with lower levels of nurturing. To date, there has been no study examining these parenting styles and OCD symptomatology. The current investigation examined the relationships between parenting styles, obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, and OC-related dysfunctional beliefs (i.e., "obsessive beliefs") in a nonclinical sample (N = 227). Participants completed measures of these constructs, as well as a measure of general mood and anxiety symptoms. Results indicated that the authoritarian parenting style was significantly associated with both OC symptoms and OC beliefs (e.g., beliefs about the importance of thoughts and personal responsibility), even after controlling for general distress. Analyses also revealed that OC beliefs act as a partial mediator of the relationship between parenting style and OC symptoms. Findings are discussed in light of the implications for future research, particularly that pertaining to risk for OCD and the development of vulnerability factors

Anxiety Sensitivity: An Examination of the Relationship With Authoritarian, Authoritative, and Permissive Parental Styles

A substantial literature has investigated the role of parenting on a child's development. Several classifications of parenting styles (i.e., permissive, authoritarian, authoritative) have been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes such as mood and anxiety problems; however, their respective associations to anxiety sensitivity (AS) remain unclear. Using a nonclinical sample of young adults (N = 227), this study is the first to empirically investigate whether parenting styles were differentially associated with AS, controlling for general depression and anxiety symptoms. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that authoritarian and permissive styles were associated with elevated AS. Permissive parenting was associated with the AS physical subfactor, whereas authoritarian parenting was associated with the AS social subfactor. Moreover, AS was found to mediate the relationship between specific parental styles and anxiety symptoms as well as depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that AS may mediate the relationship between parenting styles and negative psychological outcomes

Anxiety symptomatology: the association with distress tolerance and anxiety sensitivity

Research focused on psychological risk factors for anxiety psychopathology has led to better conceptualization of these conditions as well as pointed toward preventative interventions. Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been well-established as an anxiety risk factor, while distress tolerance (DT) is a related construct that has received little empirical exploration within the anxiety psychopathology literature. The current investigation sought to extend the existing literature by examining both DT and the relationship between DT and AS across a number of anxiety symptom dimensions, including panic, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive anxiety. Participants (N=418) completed a number of measures that assessed DT, AS, anxiety symptomatology, and negative affect. Findings indicated that DT was uniquely associated with panic, obsessive compulsive, general worry, and social anxiety symptoms, but that DT and AS were not synergistically associated with each of these symptom dimensions. These findings indicate that an inability to tolerate emotional distress is associated with an increased vulnerability to experience certain anxiety symptoms