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Psychiatria Danubina Dec 2009This article discusses diagnostic features of social phobia, social skills and (anxious) avoidant personality disorder, and gives an overview on principles of cognitive... (Review)
Review
This article discusses diagnostic features of social phobia, social skills and (anxious) avoidant personality disorder, and gives an overview on principles of cognitive behaviour therapy strategies used in social anxiety patients. Motivation to change and the therapeutic relationship are important issues to be worked on at the beginning and throughout therapy. Functional analysis focuses on interactional and systemic features. Three specific programmes dealing with anxiety management, social skills training and relaxation techniques are presented (Gruppentraining sozialer Kompetenzen, Hinsch und Pfingsten (2007); Soziale Phobien, ein kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutisches Behandlungsmanual, Stangier et al. (2003) und Soziales Kompetenztraining, Gruppentherapie bei sozialen Angsten und Defiziten, Alsleben und Hand (2006)).
Topics: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Humans; Motivation; Phobic Disorders; Psychotherapy, Group; Social Behavior
PubMed: 19935491
DOI: No ID Found -
Der Nervenarzt Jan 2007Work is an important aspect of life. Problems at the workplace must therefore have negative consequences on the mental status and mental problems will interfere with the... (Review)
Review
Work is an important aspect of life. Problems at the workplace must therefore have negative consequences on the mental status and mental problems will interfere with the working place. The relation between anxiety and the workplace is especially important because the workplace causes anxiety due to its very nature. A common final pathway of mental disorders in general, and work related anxieties in particular, are workplace phobias, with panic when approaching or even thinking of the workplace. This is a serious complication with negative consequences for the further course of illness. It makes special therapeutic intervention necessary. This paper describes the phenomenon of workplace related anxieties and phobia and provides a conceptual framework for their understanding.
Topics: Anxiety; Humans; Models, Psychological; Occupational Diseases; Phobic Disorders
PubMed: 17106728
DOI: 10.1007/s00115-006-2196-6 -
Turk Psikiyatri Dergisi = Turkish... 2011According to the literature, it is assumed that fear and anxiety are basic emotions in anxiety disorders. Many recent studies report that disgust, as well as fear, has... (Review)
Review
According to the literature, it is assumed that fear and anxiety are basic emotions in anxiety disorders. Many recent studies report that disgust, as well as fear, has an important role in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Evaluation of the role of disgust in anxiety disorders has led the theoretical and empirical literature in a new direction, beyond the traditional emphasis on fear. Most of this basic research has focused on specific phobias, such as blood-injection-injury phobia and spider phobia. Findings obtained from evaluation of physiological and cognitive processes, and subjective and behavioral experiences clearly show that in addition to fear, emotional reactions to phobic stimuli also include disgust; however, empirical studies show that disgust and fear have different relative impacts on specific phobias. To illustrate, individuals experience disgust as the basic emotion in blood-injection-injury phobia, whereas both fear and disgust are experienced in spider phobia. Nevertheless, it is concluded that fear has a more fundamental role in the latter. Yet, research indicates that basic emotions different from those identified from neural structures or physiological responses, such as heart rate, can be identified if facial expressions and cognitive appraisals are taken into account. In the present review the role of fear and disgust in blood-injection-injury phobia vs. spider phobia are discussed, based on the relationship between the phobias and disgust sensitivity, disgust as part of phobic responses, and disgust-motivated avoidance behavior.
Topics: Animals; Autonomic Nervous System; Avoidance Learning; Blood; Emotions; Fear; Humans; Injections; Phobic Disorders; Spiders; Wounds and Injuries
PubMed: 21638233
DOI: No ID Found -
Biological Psychiatry Dec 1998Specific phobia is a common, heterogeneous disorder whose central feature is persistent, unreasonable fear of a circumscribed object or situation. This article reviews... (Review)
Review
Specific phobia is a common, heterogeneous disorder whose central feature is persistent, unreasonable fear of a circumscribed object or situation. This article reviews current etiological theories and empirical data that seem likely to be important in investigating the pathophysiology of this disorder. These include conditioning, modified conditioning, and nonassociative models of phobia development, physiological response to the phobic stimulus, neuroimaging, primate, and biological challenge studies. Pathophysiological hypotheses suggested by recent research on the neurocircuitry of conditioned fear are also discussed. Though specific phobias have been of less public health and clinical interest than other anxiety disorders, their circumscribed nature and possible relationship to conditioned fear may make them a productive subject for research into basic pathophysiology.
Topics: Animals; Conditioning, Psychological; Extinction, Psychological; Fear; Humans; Phobic Disorders
PubMed: 9861472
DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(98)00274-1 -
Psychiatria Polska 2004Epidemiological data indicate that anxiety disorders are the most common childhood disorders. 1% of children and adolescents suffer from social phobia and it may... (Review)
Review
Epidemiological data indicate that anxiety disorders are the most common childhood disorders. 1% of children and adolescents suffer from social phobia and it may influence further adult life. The aim of the article is to show differences of child and adolescent social phobia and its diagnostic criteria. Contrast and distinction of childhood social phobia symptoms are also shown, such as risk factors of appearance of childhood social phobia. The article presents main therapeutic methods--psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy applied to children with phobia and difficulties with estimating efficacy of the particular therapy in this group of patients. Phobic children perceive surroundings more negatively. They have reduced estimations of their own competency to cope with danger. They also show cognitive impairments of ambiguous situations. As much as 60% children with social phobia suffer from a second, concurrent disorder. Widening of information about symptoms and therapeutic methods may reduce the intensity of the disorder during adulthood.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adolescent Development; Child; Child Behavior; Child Development; Depressive Disorder; Female; Humans; Male; Parent-Child Relations; Phobic Disorders; Psychology, Adolescent; Psychology, Child; Risk Factors; Social Environment; Social Support
PubMed: 15518307
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Anxiety Disorders May 2013Evidence from twin studies suggests that genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing a fear or a phobia. The aim of the present study was to review the current... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Evidence from twin studies suggests that genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing a fear or a phobia. The aim of the present study was to review the current literature regarding twin studies describing the genetic basis of specific phobias and their corresponding fears. The analysis included five twin studies on fears and ten twin studies on specific phobias. Heritability estimates of fear subtypes and specific phobia subtypes both varied widely, even within the subtypes. A meta-analysis performed on the twin study results indicated that fears and specific phobias are moderately heritable. The highest mean heritability (±SEM) among fear subtypes was found for animal fear (45%±0.004), and among specific phobias for the blood-injury-injection phobia (33%±0.06). For most phenotypes, variance could be explained solely by additive genetic and unique environmental effects. Given the dearth of independent data on the heritability of specific phobias and fears, additional research is needed.
Topics: Fear; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Phobic Disorders; Twin Studies as Topic
PubMed: 23774007
DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.04.007 -
Australasian Psychiatry : Bulletin of... Aug 2015To outline the problems around overlap between social phobia (SAD) and avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) and provide guidelines that may assist clinicians to... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To outline the problems around overlap between social phobia (SAD) and avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) and provide guidelines that may assist clinicians to differentiate these conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
A constellation of symptoms can be identified that may distinguish AVPD from SAD, with key features being a strong and pervasively negative self-concept, a view of rejection as equating to a global evaluation of the individual as being of little worth and a sense of not fitting in socially that dates from early childhood. It is important to identify the presence of AVPD in order to anticipate potential problems with engagement and retention in therapy, to target treatment interventions and optimise outcome.
Topics: Humans; Personality Disorders; Phobic Disorders; Psychological Distance; Self Concept
PubMed: 26129819
DOI: 10.1177/1039856215592319 -
Biological Psychiatry Dec 1998Social phobia (or "social anxiety disorder") is a prevalent condition that has been the subject of increased scrutiny in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to... (Review)
Review
Social phobia (or "social anxiety disorder") is a prevalent condition that has been the subject of increased scrutiny in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to review the neurobiology of social phobia. It is apparent from the extant literature that this disorder is poorly understood from a neurobiological perspective. There are nonetheless a number of clinical and preclinical observations which, at times, converge to illuminate areas worthy of further study. Included in this category are suggestive findings of central serotonergic dysregulation in social phobia, response to serotonin reuptake inhibitors in social phobia, and the role of serotonergic function in septohippocampal models of anxiety. Abnormalities in central dopaminergic function are also posited, supported to some extent by recent neuroimaging findings. There are in addition a number of animal and human behavioral models in existence that may be relevant to the study of social phobia. Included in this category are models of social dominance in wild baboons, social affiliation in the prairie vole, and behavioral inhibition to the unfamiliar in childhood. Newer technologies that are likely to play a major role in the delineation of the neural circuitry (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging) and heritability (e.g., molecular genetics) of social phobia are discussed. Finally, an interactive role for biology and experience in the expression of social phobia is considered.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Brain Chemistry; Humans; Phobic Disorders; Species Specificity
PubMed: 9861470
DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(98)00265-0 -
Journal of Anxiety Disorders 2004Specific phobia of illness makes its appearance in DSM-IV as a new diagnostic subtype, separate from hypochondriasis. A review of the literature indicates that, while... (Review)
Review
Specific phobia of illness makes its appearance in DSM-IV as a new diagnostic subtype, separate from hypochondriasis. A review of the literature indicates that, while there is some support for this new category, studies have not as yet been done that could provide validation. Illness phobia appears to be a significant problem; it is prevalent in the general population and is associated with distress and impairment, including interference with medical care. It appears to be associated with older age, physical illness, and female gender. Group comparisons are needed showing that persons with this phobia can be distinguished from hypochondriasis on the basis of these and other demographic and illness features. We outline a research agenda for demonstrating this separation.
Topics: Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; Attitude to Health; Humans; Imipramine; Phobic Disorders; Psychotherapy; Risk Factors
PubMed: 15149712
DOI: 10.1016/S0887-6185(03)00041-0 -
Behavior Modification Jul 1994This article provides an empirically derived description of social phobia, including onset, prevalence, comorbidity, and issues of differential diagnosis. Assessment and... (Review)
Review
This article provides an empirically derived description of social phobia, including onset, prevalence, comorbidity, and issues of differential diagnosis. Assessment and behavioral treatment strategies for social phobia are reviewed. It was not until the past few years that structured clinical interviews and self-report inventories have been developed with adequate reliability and validity to specifically assess social phobia. Thus much of the treatment outcome research is confounded with heterogeneous samples that make generalization of results difficult to interpret. Heterogeneity of samples, lack of controlled comparisons with adequate statistical power to detect treatment differences, and inconsistent findings do not permit the drawing of any definitive conclusions concerning the efficacy of behavioral treatment procedures at this time. More treatment comparison studies for social phobia need to be performed using structured clinical interviews and standardized assessment devices specific for use with social phobia. Pre hoc power analyses should be performed to determine the number of subjects deemed adequate to detect differences when performing comparison studies. Assessment and treatment of social phobia with children is conspicuously nonexistent. Assessment and treatment procedures for social phobia need to be developed and standardized with children.
Topics: Anxiety Disorders; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Panic Disorder; Phobic Disorders; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Relaxation Therapy; Role Playing; Socialization
PubMed: 8037649
DOI: 10.1177/01454455940183002