Panic Disorder - Research Paper Example

Panic Disorder Introduction The increasing prevalence of panic disorder among the African Americans has led to research on the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. This research paper gives a critical analysis of the precious studies on panic disorder among the African American community with the statement of the problem, design of the study, hypothesis and the analysis of data being used to give inferences on the finding of the research. Statement of the problem A lot of research has been done in etiology, assessment and management of panic disorder but there is a significant gap in the application of these studies within the African American community. The diagnosis of panic disorder in addition to its treatment needs more exploration. This is to enable medical practitioners and more especially psychologists to be able to offer efficient and more effective management of patients with panic disorder from the African American population. This study group was selected by the study owing to the increased significance and contribution of the African American in to the social, economic and political dimensions of the American society. This research paper reviews the previous studies on the panic disorder among the African American population as compared to the white Americans who are affected by the same condition. The research is on the causes, evaluation, diagnosis and the treatment of panic disorder. There is lack of cultural sensitivity in the diagnosis of panic disorders by practitioners despite the fact that the ethnic background of the patient has an implication in the cause of the disorder (Karen & Robert, 2010). For example the diagnostic statistical manuals used in the study of panic disorders have no validity for the ethnic or cultural element which would help the researchers to diagnose the disorder based on the cultural basis of the disorder. It is notable that despite the shortcomings of these manuals, they have wide application in the study of panic disorder. This demonstrates that there is a need for innovative study techniques which will provide statistical data that is specific to various ethnic backgrounds of the affected individuals (Beamish, Granello, Granello, & McSteen, 2006). Innovative study methods would therefore act as a basis for facilitating the growth of knowledge on psychopathology hence help in the successful treatment of panic disorder within the population. Panic disorder is characterized by periods of discomfort or fright with abrupt development of symptoms such as increased heart rhythm, palpitations, chest pain, trembling, sweating and fears of loss of control and feeling that one is going to die (Michael, Abraham, 2007). There are cruel factors which must be considered in the diagnosis of panic attacks and they include the changes in the patient’s behavior as a result of the attack. This requires the expert to have sufficient knowledge and experience which will accurate evaluation or assessment of the patient to pave way for proper management of the condition. Another important consideration in the diagnosis and the management of panic disorder is that different people react different when the attack occurs even if the symptoms may appear to be similar. This will eventually determine the manner in which the attack is experienced by the victim. For this reason the aspect of ethnic or cultural background of panic attack is important. The use of diagnostic statistical manuals in the study of panic attack has no account of other mental disorders which determine the onset and the development of panic attack. Therefore the general medical condition of the patient should never be ruled out in the diagnosis and management of victims of panic attacks. The anxiety and agoraphobia which are associated by the experience of panic attack may lead to the avoidance behavior in the patient which includes staying away from situations or locations which normally lead to the attack (Roberson-Nay & Kendler, 2011). This leads to the assertion that the condition or situations which are likely to lead to the development of panic attack should be integrated into studies which seek to determine the general management of panic attacks in relation to the expected behavior of the victim. The response of the victim such as the avoidance behavior is influenced by the cultural or ethnic values and behavior of the victim. The study of panic disorder contributes to the prevention of misdiagnosis of the disorder especially in the African American population among which it is increasingly becoming common (Rosmarin et al, 2009). Conditions such as hyperthyroidism, Cushing Syndrome, hypoglycemia and caffeine intoxication causes symptoms similar to panic disorder (Michelle, Katharina, 2010). Therefore there is need for objective scientific research on symptomatology of panic disorder to eliminate the chances of misdiagnosis which would easily lead to adverse implications on the victims of the attack. Studies done by the NIMH demonstrate that about 10 million people suffer from panic disorder which would either be characterized with agoraphobia or not (Karen & Robert, 2010). The victims of this disorder are likely to self medicate through drug abuse which shows the negative implication of this disorder in the population. The treatment seeking behavior of African American victims of panic disorder is different from that of the white population. The chances of the African American victim in seeking medical treatment for panic disorder have been demonstrated by previous studies to be lower in comparison to the whites (Roberson-Nay & Kendler, 2011). However the symptoms of the disorder are common among these groups except for minor variations in the reaction of the victims following the attacks which are often abrupt and unexpected. The misdiagnosis of mental disorders is more common among African American patients (Wallace, 2008). This is due to the fact that there disorders are frequently under diagnosed among the African American population. This further justifies the need for a more study of the panic attack disorder among the African American population. The assessment of panic disorders in terms severity uses questionnaires, cognition assessment, structured interviews and self monitoring approaches (Wuyek, Antony & McCabe, 2011). The use of anxiety disorder interview schedules is considered effective in studying the existence of panic disorder. Agoraphobia and fear recognition questionnaires are also used to study panic disorder. These methods of panic disorder are usually rapid and the characteristic which lead to variations in the behavior which develops prior to and during the attack has not been studied extensively. The biological marker for the panic disorder has not been identified because empirical studies on the neurological processes related to the development of the disorder have not been successful (Michelle, Katharina, 2010). The hypothesis that there is a genetic predisposition to panic disorder which makes African Americans vulnerable to the attacks is the motivation of the research on this disorder. Hypothesis Statement Research on the literature on the previous studies on panic disorder demonstrates that there is a gap in the implication of the ethnic predisposition to the panic disorder. This study therefore aimed at doing an analytical investigation of the etiology, diagnosis and management of panic disorder with a purposive focus on the African American community. The study thus studied panic disorder among this community in relation to its prevalence, nature and severity in relation to the whites. The study investigated the disorder among the African Americans who have been diagnosed with the disorder and used the statistical data of the investigation to do a comparative analysis with the white victims with panic attacks. The hypothesis in the study was that the African Americans who were diagnosed with panic disorder presents symptoms similar to those exhibited by whites but differences in irrational reactions to the attacks due the differences in cultural beliefs were demonstrated during the study. Study design African Americans who have been diagnosed with panic disorder comprised of the population of the study. About 50 victims of the disorder were recruited whose ages ranged from 18 to 55 years. The white population was used as the control group in the study. Demographic questionnaires were used to study the target population which comprised of individuals from hospitals and other health centers. Ethical issues were put into consideration which includes the consent of the patient and physicians for conducting the study. In addition, the collected information was exclusively for reasons which are only related to the objectives of the study. Data Collection and Analysis The demographic information was grouped according cultural groups with descriptive frequencies, statistics, standard deviations and means being analyzed so that the variables of the disorder were easy to study. The variables investigated included the irrational behavior and beliefs of the victims of panic disorder in additional to the symptomatic expressions of the disorder. The data was analyzed using statistical packages so the graphical representation of the data was made possible from which inferences were drawn. Conclusions Most of the symptomatic expression of the individuals diagnosed with panic disorder is similar among African Americans and whites but there are differences in the irrational behavior between these groups during the development of the disorder. There are cultural differences between African Americans and whites diagnosed with panic disorder which are to be used in facilitating accurate assessment of the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of the disorder in order to prevent victims from the negative feelings associated with the disorder. References Beamish, P., Granello, P., Granello, D., & McSteen, P., (2006). Outcome studies in the treatment of panic disorder: A review. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 74(5), 460-460 Karen D. L., Robert J., T. (2010). Emotional support, negative interaction and DSM IV lifetime disorders among older African Americans: findings from the national survey of American life (NSAL). Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, John Wiley & Sons, 25, 612–621. Michelle G., Katharina K., Phil M.A., (2010). Panic Disorder: A Review of DSM-IV Panic Disorder and Proposals for DSM-V. Depression and Anxiety. 27: 93–112. Michael R. J., Abraham G., H. (2007). Ethnic Differences in the Reliability and Validity of a Panic Disorder Screen. Ethnicity and Health. 12(3), 28-296. Roberson-Nay, R & Kendler, K. S. (2011). Panic disorder and its subtypes: a comprehensive analysis of panic symptom heterogeneity using epidemiological and treatment seeking samples. Psychological Medicine, 41 (11), 2411-2421 Rosmarin, D., H., Bourque, L., M., Antony, M., M. & McCabe, R., E. (2009). Interpretation Bias in Panic Disorder: Self-Referential or Global? Cognitive Therapy & Research, 33 (6), 624-632. Wallace, J. (2008). Panic disorder treatment and diagnosing the patient. Irish Medical Times, 42(22), 34-34. Wuyek, L., A., Antony M. M. & McCabe, R., E. (2011). Psychometric properties of the panic disorder severity scale: clinician-administered and self-report versions. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. 18 (3), 234-243. Read More