Generalized anxiety disorder: a preliminary test of a conceptual model

• Published in: Behaviour research and therapy Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 215 - 226
• Main Authors: Dugas, Michel J., Gagnon, Fabien, Ladouceur, Robert, Freeston, Mark H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.02.1998; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Avoidance behavior; Avoidance Learning; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Conceptual models; Female; Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Humans; Internal-External Control; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Models, Psychological; Personality Inventory; Problem Solving; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Research subjects; Test anxiety; Treatment; Uncertainty; Worry; Model; Treatment; Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Belief; Human; Generalized anxiety disorder; Attitude; Anxiety disorder; Information processing; Cognition; Models
• ISSN: 0005-7967; 1873-622X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0005-7967(97)00070-3

This study presents a preliminary test of a conceptual model of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) which is theoretically driven and has clear clinical implications. The model's main features are intolerance of uncertainty, beliefs about worry, poor problem orientation and cognitive avoidance. Subjects were 24 GAD patients and 20 non clinical control subjects. The results show that all main components of the model were highly related to the discriminant function and that intolerance of uncertainty was pivotal in distinguishing GAD patients from non clinical subjects. Further, the discriminant function derived from these four process variables was very effective for classifying GAD patients and non clinical subjects into their respective groups. Overall, 82% of subjects were correctly classified as 18 of 24 subjects in the GAD group and 18 of 20 subjects in the non clinical group were properly identified. The results are discussed in terms of the proposed model of GAD and its clinical implications.