Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Anxiety Disorders543workers, and observers (Foa & others, 2008; Njenga & others,2004). For example, four years after the bombing of the MurrahBuilding in Oklahoma City, more than a third of the survivors sufferedfrom post-traumatic stress disorder. Almost all the survivorshad some PTSD symptoms, such as flashbacks, nightmares, intrusivethoughts, and anxiety (North & others, 1999). Similarly, fiveyears after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, more than 11 percent of rescueand recovery workers met formal criteria for PTSD—a ratecomparable to that of soldiers returning from active duty in Iraqand Afghanistan (Stellman & others, 2008). Among people whohad directly witnessed the attacks, over 16 percent had PTSDsymptoms four years after the attacks (Farfel & others, 2008;Jayasinghe & others, 2008).However, it’s also important to note that no stressor, no matterhow extreme, produces post-traumatic stress disorder in everyone. Why is it thatsome people develop PTSD while others don’t? Several factors influence the likelihoodof developing post-traumatic stress disorder. First, people with a personal orfamily history of psychological disorders are more likely to develop PTSD when exposedto an extreme trauma (Leonardo & Hen, 2005). Second, the magnitude ofthe trauma plays an important role. More extreme stressors are more likely to producePTSD. Finally, when people undergo multiple traumas, the incidence of PTSDcan be quite high.Obsessive–Compulsive DisorderChecking It Again . . . and AgainWhen you leave your home, you probably check to make sure all the doors arelocked. You may even double-check just to be on the safe side. But once you’re confidentthat the door is locked, you don’t think about it again.Now imagine you’ve checked the door 30 times. Yet you’re still not quite surethat the door is really locked. You know the feeling is irrational, but you feel compelledto check again and again. Imagine you’ve also had to repeatedly check thatthe coffeepot was unplugged, that the stove was turned off, and so forth. Finally,imagine that you got only two blocks away from home before you felt compelled toturn back and check again—because you still were not certain.Sound agonizing? This is the psychological world of the person who suffers fromone form of obsessive–compulsive disorder. Obsessive–compulsive disorder(OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which a person’s life is dominated by repetitivethoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions).Obsessions are repeated, intrusive,uncontrollable thoughts ormental images that cause the persongreat anxiety and distress. Obsessionsare not the same as everyday worries.Normal worries typically have somesort of factual basis, even if they’resomewhat exaggerated. In contrast,obsessions have little or no basis inreality and are often extremely farfetched.One common obsession isan irrational fear of dirt, germs, andother forms of contamination. Anothercommon theme is pathologicaldoubt about having accomplished asimple task, such as shutting off appliances(Antony & others, 2007).The Ravages of War: Child Soldiers An estimatedquarter-million children serve asunwilling combatants in wars today, mostof them kidnapped from their families andforced to serve as soldiers. Child soldiers notonly suffer torture and violence, they arealso often forced to commit atrocitiesagainst others. Not surprisingly, these childrensuffer from a very high rate of posttraumaticstress disorder (Bayer & others,2007; Kohrt & others, 2008). One survey offormer child soldiers in refugee camps inUganda found that 97 percent of the childrensuffered from PTSD symptoms (seeDawson, 2007; Derluyn & others, 2004). Rehabilitationcenters have been establishedthroughout Uganda and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, where many of thesechildren live, but more assistance is desperatelyneeded (Ursano & Shaw, 2007).post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)An anxiety disorder in which chronic andpersistent symptoms of anxiety develop inresponse to an extreme physical or psychologicaltrauma.obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD)An anxiety disorder in which the symptomsof anxiety are triggered by intrusive, repetitivethoughts and urges to perform certainactions.obsessionsRepeated, intrusive, and uncontrollable irrationalthoughts or mental images that causeextreme anxiety and distress.