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Impairment and quality of life in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder
Author(s) -
Henning Eric R.,
Turk Cynthia L.,
Mennin Douglas S.,
Fresco David M.,
Heimberg Richard G.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.20249
Subject(s) - generalized anxiety disorder , worry , psychology , comorbidity , clinical psychology , quality of life (healthcare) , anxiety , functional impairment , trait , psychiatry , psychotherapist , computer science , programming language
Once considered to be a disorder associated with minimal impairment, the link between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and impairment across a broad constellation of domains is now well established. However, less is known about how comorbidity affects these relationships or how GAD impacts one's perceived life satisfaction or quality of life. To investigate these questions, data from 52 treatment‐seeking individuals with GAD (33 with comorbid Axis I diagnoses) were compared to data from 55 nonanxious controls. Individuals with GAD reported more impairment at work and in their social functioning than they did with home and family responsibilities. They also reported lower quality of life than nonanxious controls, particularly in regard to self‐esteem, goals and values, money, work, play, learning, creativity, friends, and relatives. Trait worry was positively correlated with impairment and inversely related to life satisfaction within the clinical sample. Individuals with GAD, with and without comorbid Axis I diagnoses, showed few differences on measures of impairment (differing only on impairment in social functioning). However, individuals with GAD and comorbid disorders perceived their lives as less satisfying than did individuals with GAD without comorbid diagnoses. Depression and Anxiety 24:342–349, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.