Nonclinical panic in college students: an investigation of prevalence and symptomatology.
This article presents data on the prevalence and symptomatology of panic attacks and panic disorder (PD) in a large nonclinical sample (n = 2,375) of college students. Results showed that approximately 12% of the sample had experienced at least one unexpected panic attack and that 2.36% met DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder. Although there were no sex differences in overall panic attack prevalence, men reported significantly more panic-related worry than women, and women reported a higher panic frequency than men. Compared to subjects who met DSM-III-R criteria for PD, infrequent panickers presented with fewer panic symptoms, fewer panic episodes, less panic-related worry, lower anxiety sensitivity, and less panic-related avoidance. Moreover, compared with PD subjects, the infrequent panickers were much less likely to report fears of dying, going insane, and derealization during a panic attack. The findings provide preliminary support for the role of anxious apprehension as a psychological vulnerability factor in the pathogenesis of panic disorder.
Telch
M J
MJ
Lucas
J A
JA
Nelson
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010200:Panic; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics