Anxiety Disorders

Question 1

Similarities between fear and anxiety

Answer 1

anticipation of danger or discomfort
tense apprehension
elevated arousal
negative affect
uneasiness
accompanied by bodily sensations

Question 2

Differences between fear and anxiety

Answer 2

specific focus of threat vs. elusive source of threat
episodic vs. prolonged
tension vs. uneasiness
identifiable vs. objectless threat
rational vs. puzzling

Question 3

Anxiety response may..

Answer 3

be out of proportion to the threat posed by a situation or event
be a state an individual constantly finds themselves in, not easily attributable to a threat
persist chronically, so disabling it causes constant emotional distress

Question 4

Clark and Beck 2010
define fear
define anxiety

Answer 4

fear: a primitive automatic neurophysiological state of alarm involving cognitive appraisal of imminent threat or danger to the safety and secuirty of the individual
anxiety: complex, cogntiive, affective physicological and behavioural response system activated when events seen to be highly aversive because they are percieved to be unpredicatble, uncontrolable and could threaten vital interest of an individual

Question 5

Comorbid

Answer 5

1/3 experience more than one
when comorbid likely to have earlier age of onset, more chronic, associated with depression and greater social disability
mood disorder, substance misuse, disruptive behaviour disorders, personality disorders particularly group c
OCD associated with ED
- may be due to many physiological and cognitive components being found across different disorders

Question 6

Common features across diagnoses

Answer 6

cognitive biases - selective attention to threat, overestimating danger, underestimating personal coping
increased tendancy to avoid potential threat

Question 7

Daledien and Vasey 97

Barrett et al. 96

Answer 7

anxious children more vigilant to threat

anxious children interpret ambiguity as more threatened and predict increased avoidance to ambiguous scenarios