Cultural Aspects of Social Anxiety Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of Anxiety Experiences and Interpretation

Objective: Anxiety is a complex phenomenon on which culture has a prominent influence. The present study aimed to investigate the cultural aspects of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in an Iranian population. Method: A qualitative content analysis research was done to answer the study question. A total of 16 individuals with social anxiety disorder (six men and 10 women) were selected using purposeful sampling method (M = 24.43, SD = 4.56). The study was conducted in Tehran, Urmia, and Sanandaj- Iran. Participants were from different ethnic backgrounds (LOR, FARS, TURK, and KURD). Data were analyzed by thematic analysis using an inductive method. Results: Analysis of participants’ records yielded five distinct categories with some subcategories, which are as follow: (1) anxiety experiences; (2) core beliefs; (3) reasons of being anxious; (4) effects of SAD on life aspects; and (5) coping strategies. Conclusion: It seems that symptoms of social anxiety and its underlying beliefs, causes and effects and coping strategies are almost experienced and interpreted in a way that could be the same as DSM-5 clinical presentation of social anxiety, with the exception that somatic symptoms are experienced by almost all participants

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06 - INFLUENCE OF ATTACHMENT STYLE AND COPING WITH ANGER ON THE DEGREE OF SOCIAL ANXIETY IN SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER

10.26226/morressier.5d1a038257558b317a140c29 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rupert Conrad ◽

Johannes Schumacher

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Attachment Style ◽

Social Anxiety Disorder ◽

And Coping

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Cultural aspects in social anxiety and social anxiety disorder

Depression and Anxiety ◽

10.1002/da.20759 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 27 (12) ◽

pp. 1117-1127 ◽

Cited By ~ 140

Author(s):

Stefan G. Hofmann ◽

M.A. Anu Asnaani ◽

Devon E. Hinton

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Social Anxiety Disorder ◽

Cultural Aspects

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Trans-cultural aspects of social anxiety disorder and related conditions: a Brazilian case series and a review of international clinical studies

Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/s0047-20852006000300004 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 196-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Gabriela Bezerra de Menezes ◽

Leonardo F. Fontenelle ◽

Márcio Versiani

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Social Anxiety Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Case Series ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Cultural Aspects ◽

High Educational Attainment ◽

High Educational

Cross-cultural studies have much to teach clinicians and researchers alike about psychopathology in general and about social anxiety disorder (SAD) in particular. Unfortunately, little is known about the degree and the mechanisms through which cultural environment may influence clinical manifestations of SAD. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to identify culture-related clinical patterns in SAD and related disorders. METHODS: We described socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of a sample of 62 adult outpatients with SAD seen at a university clinic for anxiety and depressive disorders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and compared them with those reported in clinical samples from North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania identified through a systematic review in Medline, PsychINFO, and LILACS. RESULTS: Our comparison of trans-cultural features of SAD lends partial support to Heimberg's (1997) contention that the majority of socio-demographic features and symptoms of this disorder are relatively independent of geographic and cultural differences. CONCLUSION: Patients with SAD were almost universally characterized by: 1) a predominance of males in clinical samples; 2) early onset of the disorder; 3) high educational attainment; and 4) great frequency of comorbidities.

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