Panic Probes and the Identification of Panic: A Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective

摘要

This article reviews the historicaldevelopment of the category of panic disorderin the United States, particularly the shiftingperspectives on both what causes panic and howthe presence of panic should be determined. Thenotion that panic attacks of a panic-disordertype must be ``out of the blue'' and``unexpected,'' except in the case of triggeringby a particular place (i.e., agoraphobia), iscritiqued. The authors illustrate that ameaningful epidemiological determination ofpanic rates in other cultural groups must bepreceded by a detailed ethnography thatascertains the catastrophic cognitions, coresymptoms, and typical cues of panic attacks inthat particular context.