Anxiety Disorders: Marques L

Chosak A, Marques L, Greenberg JL, Jenike E, Dougherty DD, Wilhelm S. · OCD & Related Disorders Program, Simches Research Building, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston MA 02114, USA. · Expert Rev Neurother. · Pubmed #18671665 No free full text.

Abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder have many similarities in clinical presentation. Obsessive-compulsive disorder has historically been considered an anxiety disorder, whereas body dysmorphic disorder has been grouped among the somatoform disorders. Researchers in these areas are currently debating whether the similarities warrant the inclusion of body dysmorphic disorder within a proposed category of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. This article describes the association between obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder as evidenced by the emerging literature, and presents theoretical and clinical implications of this association.

Marques L, Kaufman RE, LeBeau RT, Moshier SJ, Otto MW, Pollack MH, Simon NM. · Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. · CNS Neurosci Ther. · Pubmed #19492991 No free full text.

Abstract: Emotional regulation deficits are described as a core component of anxiety disorders (ADs), yet there remains a paucity of data examining this issue in patients diagnosed with ADs. We hypothesized that help-seeking individuals with ADs would report lower levels of emotional approach coping (EAC), which includes emotional processing (EP) and emotional expression (EE), than nonanxious controls. Diagnostic interviews and a validated self-report scale assessing emotional approaches to coping (emotional approach coping scale [EACS]) were administered to 101 nonanxious controls and 92 patients with a primary AD (29 generalized anxiety disorder, 40 social anxiety disorder, and 23 panic disorder). Patients with each AD demonstrated significantly lower EAC, including both EP and EE, than nonanxious controls. Lower EAC was also associated with higher anxiety sensitivity and higher anxiety symptom severity. Overall, gender did not moderate the anxiety-EAC effect, but the results suggested that women utilize EAC to a greater degree than men. Clinical techniques designed to improve emotional coping may be beneficial to individuals with ADs.

Grant DM, Beck JG, Marques L, Palyo SA, Clapp JD. · Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA. · J Abnorm Psychol. · Pubmed #18729617 No free full text.

Abstract: The current report used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the latent structures of both key features and associated symptoms of three disorders that commonly develop following a traumatic event: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Participants were 228 motor-vehicle accident survivors who sought treatment for emotional difficulties. PTSD, MDD, and GAD were assessed with a combination of self-report and interview-based measures. The results of construct level analyses suggested that PTSD, MDD, and GAD are distinguishable but highly correlated disorders following a traumatic event. Symptom level analyses supported a model where the Reexperiencing, Avoidance, and Hypervigilance factors were subsumed under the PTSD construct. However, in this model the Dysphoria factor was a higher order construct correlated with the PTSD, MDD, and GAD factors, suggesting that the Dysphoria cluster may not be unique to PTSD. Diagnostic and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

Palyo SA, Clapp JD, Beck JG, Grant DM, Marques L. · Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA. · J Trauma Stress. · Pubmed #18404628 No free full text.

Abstract: The current study is a replication and extension of previous research that has found support for a relationship between posttraumatic numbing and hyperarousal. This study examined this association while controlling for depression in 345 motor vehicle accident survivors. Additionally, the relationships among specific hyperarousal symptoms and numbing were explored. Results provided further evidence for an association between hyperarousal and numbing, even while controlling for the influence of depression, and revealed that all hyperarousal symptoms (except hypervigilance) contribute to this association.