title: Neck-focused panic attacks among Cambodian refugees; a logistic and linear regression analysis.
abstract: Consecutive Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic were assessed for the presence and severity of current--i.e., at least one episode in the last month--neck-focused panic. Among the whole sample (N=130), in a logistic regression analysis, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; odds ratio=3.70) and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; odds ratio=2.61) significantly predicted the presence of current neck panic (NP). Among the neck panic patients (N=60), in the linear regression analysis, NP severity was significantly predicted by NP-associated flashbacks (beta=.42), NP-associated catastrophic cognitions (beta=.22), and CAPS score (beta=.28). Further analysis revealed the effect of the CAPS score to be significantly mediated (Sobel test [Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182]) by both NP-associated flashbacks and catastrophic cognitions. In the care of traumatized Cambodian refugees, NP severity, as well as NP-associated flashbacks and catastrophic cognitions, should be specifically assessed and treated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, WACC 812, Boston, MA 02114, USA. devon_hinton@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Devon E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Hinton
authors.forename: Dara
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chhean
authors.forename: Vuth
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pich
authors.forename: Khin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Um
authors.forename: Jeanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fama
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pollack
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002160:Cambodia / Q000208:ethnology; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States