Depression Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Depression, including details on clinical depression, medication, symptoms, treatment, counselling, therapy.

A prospective evaluation of agoraphobia and depression symptoms following panic attacks in a community sample of adolescents.

Wilson KA, Hayward C

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University Medical Center, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5722, USA. kawilson@stanford.edu

In a community sample of high schoolers who experienced their first panic attack, we examined the prospective relationships among pre-panic vulnerabilities, panic attack severity, and post-panic agoraphobia and depression symptoms. Students were evaluated yearly over 4 years to test the following four hypotheses: (1) pre-panic anxiety sensitivity, negative affect, and childhood behavioral inhibition will serve as vulnerabilities that predict agoraphobia and depression symptoms following a panic attack; (2) these vulnerabilities will lead to more severe panic attacks; (3) severe and spontaneous panic attacks will predict subsequent agoraphobia and depressive symptoms; and (4) the interaction between panic severity and vulnerabilities will be associated with worse outcomes following a panic attack. Results supported the first three hypotheses, but no evidence emerged for an interactive effect. Findings are discussed in light of recent modernized classical conditioning models that address factors contributing to development of more severe panic related psychopathology after panic attacks.

Published 18 October 2004 in J Anxiety Disord, 19(1): 87-103.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Depression Research Today. All Rights Reserved.