University of Houston, Department of Psychology, Fred J. Heyne Building, Suite 104, Houston, Texas77204, USA; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Behavioral Science, 1155 Pressler Street, Houston, Texas77030, USA.
University of Houston, Department of Psychology, Fred J. Heyne Building, Suite 104, Houston, Texas77204, USA.
J Anxiety Disord. 2017 May;48:1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.05.004.
Much of the scientific work addressing the enigmas of anxiety and its disorders has been conducted among European Americans. This work has led to great progress into the nature of anxiety psychopathology, including etiologic, maintenance, and relapse processes. Moreover, evidenced-based treatments for anxiety and its disorders have arguably been among the best in the field of psychopathology for well over two decades. Yet, the progress thus far attained on the nature and treatment of anxiety disorders has not benefited all members of society equally. In fact, there are striking gaps of inequalities in anxiety disorder research and practice. The population in the United States (U.S.) and many parts of the industrialized world is rapidly changing in terms of diversity, and gaps between segments of society are growing in many instances (e.g., financial inequity). Health disparities in anxiety disorders are not a generic issue, but rather, reflect a systematic difference disproportionately affecting groups often not afforded a high social status ranking. We developed this Special Issue in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders to call attention to matters of inequality in anxiety disorders. The present special issue is designed to contextualize contemporary health disparity work on anxiety and its disorders. The special issue highlights three domains of study that are starting to guide research and practice in this arena, including sociocultural and contextual influences on anxiety and its disorders; intra-individual transdiagnostic mechanisms underpinning the expression and etiology/maintenance of anxiety psychopathology; and the close interconnection between anxiety processes and health status and health compromising behaviors. By covering a range of issues interconnected by their focus on understanding health disparity issues, it is hoped that this issue will: alert readers to the significance of this work at different levels of analysis; illustrate the many domains currently being explored via innovative approaches; and identify fecund areas for future systematic study.
解决焦虑及其障碍之谜的大部分科学工作都是在欧洲裔美国人中进行的。这项工作极大地推动了焦虑精神病理学的本质的研究，包括病因、维持和复发过程。此外，焦虑及其障碍的循证治疗可以说是精神病理学领域 20 多年来最好的治疗方法之一。然而，迄今为止，在焦虑障碍的性质和治疗方面所取得的进展并没有使社会的所有成员平等受益。事实上，在焦虑障碍的研究和实践中存在着惊人的不平等差距。美国（美国）和许多工业化世界的人口在多样性方面正在迅速变化，社会各阶层之间的差距在许多情况下都在扩大（例如，财务不平等）。焦虑障碍中的健康差异不是一个普遍问题，而是反映了一种系统的差异，不成比例地影响到通常没有获得高社会地位的群体。我们在《焦虑障碍杂志》上发表了这个特刊，以引起人们对焦虑障碍中不平等问题的关注。本期特刊旨在为焦虑及其障碍的当代健康差异工作提供背景。本期特刊重点介绍了三个研究领域，这些领域开始为该领域的研究和实践提供指导，包括焦虑及其障碍的社会文化和背景影响；焦虑精神病理学表现和病因/维持的个体内跨诊断机制；以及焦虑过程与健康状况和损害健康的行为之间的密切相互关系。通过涵盖一系列通过关注理解健康差异问题而相互关联的问题，希望本特刊能够：提醒读者注意这一工作在不同分析层面上的重要性；通过创新方法说明当前正在探索的许多领域；并确定未来系统研究的肥沃领域。
