title: Disparities in psychosocial functioning in a diverse sample of adults with anxiety disorders.
abstract: Anxiety disorders are associated with psychosocial functional impairments, but no study has compared how these impairments might vary by ethno-racial status. We examined whether minority status was uniquely associated with functional impairments in 431 adults with anxiety disorders. Functioning was measured in the rater-assessed domains of: Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF); global psychosocial functioning; work, relationship, and recreational functioning; and, self-reported: life satisfaction, mental health functioning, physical functioning, and disability status. After controlling for demographic and clinical variables, results revealed evidence of disparities, whereby African Americans (AAs), particularly those with low income, had worse GAF, worse global psychosocial functioning, and were more likely to be disabled compared to non-Latino Whites. Latinos, particularly those with low income, had worse global psychosocial functioning than non-Latino Whites. Results suggest AAs and Latinos are at increased risk for functional impairments not better accounted for by other demographic or clinical variables.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA. Electronic address: ethan_moitra@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moitra
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 69, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: Rlewis@nyspi.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lewis-Fernández
authors.affiliation: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1005 Main Street, Unit 8120, Pawtucket, RI 02860, USA. Electronic address: stout@pire.org.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Stout
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA. Electronic address: erica_angert@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Angert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA; Department of Family Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA. Electronic address: risa_weisberg@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Risa B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Weisberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, USA. Electronic address: martin_keller@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D011203:Poverty; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Anxiety disorders; Minorities; Psychosocial functioning; Risk factors