Evaluation of the internal structural validity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) anxiety disorders in children and adolescents

The purpose of the present dissertation was to evaluate the internal validity of symptoms of four common anxiety disorders included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (text revision) (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), namely, separation anxiety disorder (SAD), social phobia (SOP), specific phobia (SP), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), in a sample of 625 youth (ages 6 to 17 years) referred to an anxiety disorders clinic and 479 parents. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted on the dichotomous items of the SAD, SOP, SP, and GAD sections of the youth and parent versions of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV (ADIS-IV: C/P; Silverman & Albano, 1996) to test and compare a number of factor models including a factor model based on the DSM. Contrary to predictions, findings from CFAs showed that a correlated model with five factors of SAD, SOP, SP, GAD worry, and GAD somatic distress, provided the best fit of the youth data as well as the parent data. Multiple group CFAs supported the metric invariance of the correlated five factor model across boys and girls. Thus, the present study’s finding supports the internal validity of DSM-IV SAD, SOP, and SP, but raises doubt regarding the internal validity of GAD.^

Boundary maintenance in Qatar: Interpretation of domination, segregation and subordination

This study explores the interaction of expatriates in Qatar and their perception of their subordination. The study design included participant observation in an all female University and University housing as well as interviews with Qatari government agencies and ministries, expatriate embassies and expatriates. Semi-structured interviews were conducted across seven expatriate groups: domestic workers, unskilled laborers, semiskilled, professionals, housewives, second-generation expatriates with host country other than Qatar, second-generation expatriates with host country Qatar, and Gulf Cooperation Council citizens. Forty-two subjects completed the interview schedule while 87 interviews were incomplete. ^ Physical control of expatriates occurs through the Gulf practice of sponsorship (The Kafeel System), and local cultural and Islamic related controls intertwined with the Arab Code of honor. Interviews and observations revealed rankings of Arabs and foreigners which emphasize Qatari superiority such as tribal identity, moral ranking of female groups by dress, legal protection and power, sexual consideration and desexualization and salaries and job opportunities based on nationality and ethnicity. Individuals who desire to transcend boundaries into the Qatari realm through citizenship or marriage view Qataris as possessing the “image of the unlimited good” and have acquired Qatari social and cultural capital. Members from all expatriate groups engaged in various forms of resistance to labor and gender domination which ranged from forms of “exit,” expressing a hidden transcript in the privacy of their own group, disguised resistance in public, and occasionally, direct confrontation with the Qatari. Although the legal arena created the appearance that worker's needs were being addressed, laborers engaged in forms of “exit” to escape their oppression. Omani students in the hostel disguised their resistance by spreading gossip, nick-naming homosexual Qatari students at the University, acting out a skit depicting their exclusion from Qatari privilege, spreading rumors of impending freedom, and singing songs of despair in the courtyard. Other sites of resistance were expatriate embassies, the road, the newspaper and technology. This study emphasizes that blaming oppression of the expatriate worker on globalization is a simplistic view of oppression in the Gulf, and ignores complex issues within Qatari society and other Gulf States. Sponsorship, servitude, and gender segregation intersect in Qatar to create a system of segregation and domination of expatriates. ^

Anxiety disorders and depression and risk for drug use disorders across the life course: Sex and ethnic contrasts

The present study examined the linkage between mental (i.e., anxiety disorders and depression) and drug use disorders in a multi-ethnic (i.e., 25% Euro-American, 38% Hispanic/Latino, 33% African American, 4% other) sample of adults (N = 1638, age 18–93 years old). Risk for drug use disorders was examined, while attending to methodological issues of prior research including (1) psychiatric comorbidity, (2) variations in risk associated with sex, ethnicity, and age, and (3) temporal order between mental and drug use disorders. ^ Participants were assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; World Health Organization, 1990). A life history calendar (Freedman et al., 1988) was used to aid the ordering of onsets of all disorders assessed. ^ Preliminary analysis indicated anxiety disorders and depression were significant predictors of drug use disorders, but after controlling for comorbidity and temporal order, anxiety disorders and depression were no longer predictive of drug use disorders. Findings are discussed in terms of their usefulness for prevention and treatment of drug use disorders. ^

Children's learning of anxiety sensitivity : a preliminary study using a sample of youths referred for anxiety disorders

The purpose of the present study was to examine the origins of anxiety sensitivity (AS) by assessing youths' learning experiences in relation to their AS symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Participants were 33 youths between 7 to 13 years old (M = 9.39 years, SD = 2.01). Youths were assessed using a structured interview and self-report measures. Chi-square analyses revealed no statistically significant differences in the proportions of boys vs. girls, Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic, and married vs. non-married. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that youths' AS learning experiences were significantly related to youths' AS and to youths' anxiety symptoms scores. Partial correlations between youths' learning experiences associated with AS symptoms in relation to AS scores controlling for anxiety symptoms effects were statistically significant. Findings were consistent with theory and suggest that learning mechanisms may be involved in AS acquisition and maintenance. The findings' implications are discussed regarding possible learning experiences' role in the development of AS.