Anxiety disorders are a substantial problem for many people – panic disorders are a large part of that, and are closely linked to anxiety as a cause. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been used as a possible solution in the past to treat anxiety disorders in parents and children alike (White et al., 2010; Thienemann et al., 2006). It can occur for a number of reasons – pregnancy (Claesson et al., 2010), stressful situations and lack of proper sensitivity by family and peers (Nebbitt and Lambert, 2009). All of these factors can lead to panic attacks which can emotionally damage even the strongest individual. Those experiencing panic attacks have a better chance of reducing anxiety when participating in anxiety focused Interventions than those who do not participate. In the course of a forthcoming study on anxiety based interventions, a qualitative sample will be created to catalogue individual real life incidents of anxiety based interventions which lowered their risk for panic attack. The qualitative sample is ideal, due to the fact that I am looking at sheer numbers and statistics of those who have encountered panic attacks, and how many were helped by anxiety based interventions.
For the purposes of this study, a simple random sample of 200 people would be found, with equal weight given to age, gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity. This sample would be split in half, with 100 having undergone anxiety based intervention and 100 with no intervention. This sample generalizes to the population, so that the sample will be representative of the entire population. Due to the random nature of the sample, there is no preestablished basis for selection, and therefore no bias. The large sample size is meant to more easily provide a statistically significant result once these findings are recorded.
Inclusion criteria for the sample would include those who were currently seeking treatment for anxiety disorders; this would verify that there is a diagnosis of anxiety disorders from a certified health care professional (psychiatrist or psychologist). Exclusion criteria would include those who are taking antipsychotics or are currently undergoing dramatic treatment for other mental health disorders – members of the sample must only be afflicted by a panic disorder. This ensures that the sample is only dealing with panic disorders and not any other type of mental illness, which could disrupt the study and provide inaccurate information.
There are several ethical issues to keep in mind as I collect information from this sample. For one, confidentiality must be maintained, and the identities of those who have panic disorders must not be revealed to the public or each other in the course of this study. It is also important to not elaborate on the narrative of these instances of panic attacks, particularly in the study. As this is a qualitative study, there is no need to talk about the nature of the attack, just the existence. This is intended to prevent discomfort in the population of the sample and keep the details of likely confidential information secret.
In conclusion, this qualitative random sampling is the best way to conduct this study. It provides a large sample size, no differentiation between age, gender and the like, and it includes those who have had a panic disorder and only that. This is meant to show whether or not anxiety based interventions (which qualify somewhat as a transdiagnostic approach) help in cases of panic disorders (McManus et al., 2010). Due to high rates of premature termination in many anxiety-riddled mental patients, it is necessary to determine whether or not the intervention approach is a viable solution (Buckner et al., 2009).
References
Buckner, J., Cromer, K., Merrill, K., Mallott, M., Lopez, C., Holm-Denoma, J., et al. (2009). Pretreatment Intervention Increases Treatment Outcomes for Patients with Anxiety Disorders. Cognitive Therapy & Research , 33(1), 126-137.
Claesson, I., Josefson, A., & Sydsjo, G. (2010). Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among obese pregnant and postpartum women: an intervention study. BMC Public Health, 10, 766-775.
McManus, F., Shafran, R., & Cooper, Z. (2010). What does a 'transdiagnostic' approach have to offer the treatment of anxie-ty disorders?. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49(4), 491-505.
Nebbitt, V., & Lambert, S. (2009). Correlates of anxiety sensitivity among African American adolescents living in urban public housing. Journal of Community Psychology, 37(2), 268-280.
Thienemann, M., Moore, P., & Tompkins, K. (2006). Parents and children with anxiety: Intervention may help. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 22(2), 3-4.
White, S., Albano, A., Johnson, C., Klin, A., Ollendick, T., Oswald, D., et al. (2010). Development of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Program to Treat Anxiety and Social Deficits in Teens with High-Functioning Autism. Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review, 13(1), 77-90.
