Anxiety disorders in which the essential feature is persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that the individual feels compelled to avoid. The individual recognizes the fear as excessive or unreasonable.

True-false questionnaire made up of items believed to indicate anxiety, in which the subject answers verbally the statement that describes him.

Feeling or emotion of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with ANXIETY DISORDERS.

Abnormal fear or dread of visiting the dentist for preventive care or therapy and unwarranted anxiety over dental procedures.

Persistent and disabling ANXIETY.

Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.

Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness.

Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks.

A self-reporting test consisting of items concerning fear and worry about taking tests and physiological activity, such as heart rate, sweating, etc., before, during, and after tests.

Discomfort and partial inhibition of the usual forms of behavior when in the presence of others.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with major depression present in neurotic and psychotic disorders.

The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of one's associates or social groups.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc.

A direct form of psychotherapy based on the interpretation of situations (cognitive structure of experiences) that determine how an individual feels and behaves. It is based on the premise that cognition, the process of acquiring knowledge and forming beliefs, is a primary determinant of mood and behavior. The therapy uses behavioral and verbal techniques to identify and correct negative thinking that is at the root of the aberrant behavior.

A type of anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected panic attacks that last minutes or, rarely, hours. Panic attacks begin with intense apprehension, fear or terror and, often, a feeling of impending doom. Symptoms experienced during a panic attack include dyspnea or sensations of being smothered; dizziness, loss of balance or faintness; choking sensations; palpitations or accelerated heart rate; shakiness; sweating; nausea or other form of abdominal distress; depersonalization or derealization; paresthesias; hot flashes or chills; chest discomfort or pain; fear of dying and fear of not being in control of oneself or going crazy. Agoraphobia may also develop. Similar to other anxiety disorders, it may be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties.

An affective disorder manifested by either a dysphoric mood or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The mood disturbance is prominent and relatively persistent.

A form of therapy in which two or more patients participate under the guidance of one or more psychotherapists for the purpose of treating emotional disturbances, social maladjustments, and psychotic states.

Behaviors which are at variance with the expected social norm and which affect other individuals.

Adaptation of the person to the social environment. Adjustment may take place by adapting the self to the environment or by changing the environment. (From Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 1996)

A set of statistical methods for analyzing the correlations among several variables in order to estimate the number of fundamental dimensions that underlie the observed data and to describe and measure those dimensions. It is used frequently in the development of scoring systems for rating scales and questionnaires.

A person's view of himself.