Ambulatory assessment in panic disorder and specific phobia

Psychological Assessment
Georg W Alpers

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders. In panic disorder, panic attacks often occur at unpredictable times, making it difficult to study these episodes in the laboratory. In specific phobias, symptoms occur in very circumscribed situations and specific triggers are sometimes difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. Ambulatory assessment, or ecological momentary assessment, can further the understanding of the natural course and scope of symptoms under ecologically valid circumstances. Because bodily symptoms are integral to the diagnosis of anxiety disorders, the objective assessment of physiological responses in the patients' natural environment is particularly important. On the one hand, research has highlighted intriguing discrepancies between the experience of symptoms and physiology during panic attacks. On the other hand, it has validated symptom reporting during therapeutic exposure to phobic situations. Therefore, ambulatory assessment can yield useful information about the psychopathology of anxiety disorders, and it can be used to monitor change during clinical interventions.

Citations

Nov 20, 2012·Annual Review of Clinical Psychology·Timothy J Trull, Ulrich Ebner-Priemer
Jun 1, 2012·Behavior Research Methods·Kate Ellis-DaviesMerideth Gattis
Dec 15, 2012·Behavior Research Methods·Katya C FernandezThomas L Rodebaugh
May 23, 2015·Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA·Brendan Loo GeeAmelia Gulliver
Oct 27, 2015·Women & Health·Annett WelzChristine Kuehner
Sep 25, 2015·Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation·Franc PaulGeorg W Alpers
Jun 25, 2019·Depression and Anxiety·Wicher A BokmaAnton L J M van Balkom
Feb 14, 2021·Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation·Talar R MoukhtarianPhilip Asherson
Mar 5, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Lara EbenfeldMatthias Berking

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