La peur de l’avion peut être source de grande souffrance chez les passagers anxieux qui représentent 10 à 40% de la population. Dans certains cas, elle peut aboutir au développement d’une phobie de l’avion. Peu d’études ont permis de développer des outils de mesure évaluant l’anxiété liée au vol en avion; et encore moins, ont cherché à mettre en évidence les comportements anxieux lors de vol en avion. L’objectif de ce travail était de valider des outils d’évaluation de l’anxiété de vol en français, et d’améliorer la compréhension de la dimension comportementale de ce trouble. Cinq études ont été menées. La première propose la traduction et la validation de deux questionnaires évaluant l’anxiété de vol : le Flight Anxiety Situation questionnaire (FAS) et le Flight Anxiety Modality questionnaire (FAM). Les résultats démontrent de bonnes qualités psychométriques des deux questionnaires dans leur version française. Les quatre autres études visaient à construire un questionnaire d’évaluation des comportements anxieux autour du vol en avion et à mettre en évidence les comportements chez des patients phobiques de l’avion. Les résultats indiquaient une validité partiellement satisfaisante ; des comportements d’hyper-vigilance, d’anticipation, de consommation de substance, de recherche de soutien social, de recherche d’information et de contrôle, et des comportements de gestion pro-active centrée sur soi ont été mis en évidence. Parmi les individus phobiques de l’avion, les individus présentant un trouble agoraphobique ou un trouble d’anxiété généralisé adoptaient des comportements spécifiques. De futures études sont proposées pour poursuivre sa validation. / The literature suggests that fear of flying affects 10-40% of the population and can represent a significant source of anxiety for airline passengers. In some cases flying phobia can develop. Few studies have developed measures that adequately assess anxiety linked to flying; moreover, to our knowledge there is very little research on the behavioral manifestations linked to fear of flying. The research carried out for this thesis seeks to validate French translations of existing flying anxiety measures as well as develop tools for evaluating behavioral manifestations linked to fear of flying. Five studies has been conduct. The main objective of the first study was to translate and validate two existing flying anxiety scales: the Flight Anxiety Situation questionnaire (FAS) and the Flight Anxiety Modality questionnaire (FAM) created by Van Gerwen et al. (1999). The results demonstrated good psychometric validity for the French versions of these two questionnaires. The four other studies were orientated at the creation of a scale (Questionnaire des Comportements anxieux autour du Vol Aérien; QCVA) measuring behaviors associated with anxiety and flying and to evaluate the validity of such a measure. The results demonstrated partial validity; behaviors were clearly delineated into categories of hypervigilance, anticipation, substance consumption, social support seeking, information seeking/situational control, and proactive behaviors centered on the individual. Within the phobic group, those who also suffered from agoraphobia or generalized anxiety disorder furthermore adopted specific behavior. Additional studies are suggested to further explore the revealed factors.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The propensity to blush is typical of many individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is also associated with significant disability or functional impairment. The relationship between SAD, blushing and functional impairment is still not completely understood however. This study has focused on the association between the propensity to blush and reported level of functional impairment due to SAD. Data from thirty-eight (n=38) individuals with SAD, were collected via a larger study conducted at the MRC Anxiety and Stress Disorders Unit. Assessment tools include the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I disorders – Patient Version (SCID -I/P), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) and the Blushing Propensity Scale. Demographic and clinical data were gathered and reported on. Spearman rank order correlations were used to determine relationships between variables, including blushing propensity, disability and symptom severity. Results were reported on and then discussed using the social attention theory. Limitations and recommendations were proposed in the final and concluding chapter. This study, as part of a larger study at the MRC Research Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders, has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch

This PhD investigated the theoretical and clinical applications of a meta-cognitive model of psychological disorders in social anxiety. The main objective was to identify potential associations between meta-cognitive knowledge (i.e. meta-cognitive beliefs) and social anxiety. These associations could be direct or indirect via information-processing mechanisms, such as anticipatory processing (AP), focus of attention, and post-mortem processing (PM). The current thesis reports six studies (N = 686).Study 1 explored cross-sectionally the potential contribution of meta-cognitive beliefs about general worry to social anxiety. The results showed that positive and uncontrollability beliefs along with AP were individual positive predictors of social anxiety. Furthermore, these beliefs had an indirect effect on social anxiety through anticipatory processing and the post-mortem. These results prompted further exploration of the nature of meta-cognitive beliefs in social anxiety. Study 2 employed semi-structured interviews to elicit meta-cognitive beliefs that could be specific to social anxiety. High and low socially anxious individuals reported beliefs about anticipatory processing, focusing on an observer perspective (OP) self-image, and the post-mortem. The high socially anxious group reported greater engagement in both AP and focusing on the OP, and spending greater time trying to control AP, OP, and the post-mortem. Moreover, the two groups differed in beliefs about these mechanisms, in coping strategies, and in stop signals. The beliefs elicited informed two new questionnaires that were investigated in Study 3. Each questionnaire revealed three subscales of positive and negative beliefs about AP and about the OP self-image, respectively. The subscales showed good reliability and stability. In addition, the new beliefs revealed further associations with social anxiety. Study 4 investigated whether meta-cognitive beliefs could affect attentional bias in social anxiety. High and low socially anxious individuals completed a dot-probe task with emotional, social and physical words matched with neutral words. The results indicated a potential moderation effect of social anxiety and positive meta-cognitive beliefs on attentional bias. Moreover, meta-cognitive beliefs predicted attentional bias in both social anxiety groups. The above results implicated meta-cognitive beliefs in the maintenance of social anxiety. Study 5 explored whether these beliefs could affect state anxiety in high socially anxious individuals that engaged in either AP or a distraction task prior to giving a speech. The results replicated previous findings that AP was associated with more anxiety compared with distraction. Additionally, uncontrollability beliefs were associated with increased state anxiety before the speech, while positive beliefs interfered with distraction and were associated with the maintenance of anxiety after the speech was over. Finally, Study 6 explored whether a meta-cognitive intervention could be effective in the treatment of social anxiety. In a cross-over design, high socially anxious individuals practiced detached mindfulness and thought challenging prior to giving a speech. The results showed that detached mindfulness was associated with greater reductions in negative beliefs, worry, and the OP. In conclusion, the results of a series of studies support the application of the meta-cognitive model to social anxiety.

<p>Students need to be in attendance at school in order to learn. One concern for schools is when students refuse to attend school on a regular basis. School refusal behavior encompasses all subsets of problematic absenteeism, such as truancy, school phobia, and anxiety. Students dealing with school refusal is a behavior that is multi-faceted. Often times, these students are experiencing psychological matters that are presenting as the symptom of school refusal. The purpose of this study was to survey general education and special education secondary teachers on their perceptions of student absences and to ascertain how they motivate students to attend their classes. The study was centered on two research questions: (1) ‘What are the perceptions of secondary teachers on student absences?’and (2) ‘Are students who exhibit school refusal behavior more likely to be identified as students with special education needs?’ The sample size for this study was 78 certified teachers at an urban high school in the Midwest. The high school had 1,834 students enrolled for the 2020/2021 school year in 9th through 12th grade, with 238 students designated as having special education services. An online survey was created using Google Forms. The survey was designed to not collect respondents’ email addresses to ensure anonymity and was limited to one response per unique email address. The survey did not ask any identifying information such as number of years teaching, subjects taught, etc. Twenty-six completed surveys were returned, for a return rate of 33%.</p>

No description available.

Transnationalism as a theory has explained the causal nature of migration over time, against the backdrop of an ever-changing globalised world. The movement of people and their motivating factors have been deeply researched within migration literature and other surrounding fields. However, the intricacies of transnationalism among migrants have remained fairly unexplored, with little being written specifically on the topic of intersecting identities and othering experienced by transnational migrants. In South Africa, xenophobia has been a strong issue connected to migrants, whereby those from other African countries face discrimination based on their nationality, ethnicity, and economic disparities. However, there is a dearth in understanding how othering as a concept manifests beyond the overt forms of violence, and how it links to systemic forms of exclusion. The term ‘West-a-phobia' explores a more specific phenomenon of xenophobia, whereby West African migrants living in South Africa face discrimination based on specific national, cultural, and economic characteristics of their identity. By using this concept, and by providing the historical context of othering, this dissertation explores transnational identities through unpacking concepts such as ‘othering', ‘transnationalism', ‘identity', and critiquing the nationstate. A qualitative approach was implemented by interviewing six respondents residing in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, South Africa. Respondents' contributions were collected via online response sheets and face-to-face interviews from August to November 2019. This was followed by critical analysis and concluded with evidence-based nuances surrounding the intersecting tenets of the aforementioned concepts. The key findings from this study conclude that West African migrants that have lived in South Africa over a certain period of time experience a lack of cohesion and integration into society. This takes place through processes of othering through physical differentiation and cultural characteristics. Furthermore, West African migrants maintain a connection to their country of origin through engaging in what Crush and MacDonald (2000) characterises as transnational activities. Finally, this study concludes that there are stratified layers to the conceptualisation of citizenship, and that the qualitative research done corroborates with certain aspects of transnationalism theory.

No description available.

This study investigated the relationship between social phobia, peer attachment, and identity development, within three different countries: China, India, and the USA. It was hypothesized that social phobia interferes with peer attachment, and that poor peer attachment interferes with identity development among late adolescents and emerging adults, thus peer attachment mediates the relationship between social phobia and identity. It was further hypothesized that this relationship between variables is moderated by culture such that in collectivistic cultures, where identity is more dependent upon group affiliation and identification, the interference of social phobia (through peer attachment) on identity would be much greater than in individualistic cultures where identity may be based more on unique characteristics. Participants were 422 undergraduate students from three locations: China (n = 180), India (n = 96), and the USA (n = 146). Results varied by country. For the combined sample collectivism, social phobia, and peer attachment each independently predicted identity. Collectivism also negatively predicted social phobia and positively predicted peer attachment. None of the variables served as a mediator or moderator between the other variables. In the USA sample, collectivism predicted identity but was mediated by peer attachment. Social phobia negatively predicted peer attachment and identity, but was not related to collectivism. In the Chinese sample, peer attachment predicted identity, but was mediated by social phobia. Collectivism predicted identity, but was not related to the other two variables. Among the Indian sample none of the variables predicted identity. A number of possible reasons for these complex results are explored.

The use of attention training protocols for the treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD) is undergoing increased examination. Initial investigations were positive but more recent investigations have been less supportive of the treatment paradigm. One significant limitation of current investigations may be over-reliance on self-report. In this investigation, we expanded on initial investigations by using a multimodal assessment of patient functioning (i.e., including behavioral assessment). Patients with a primary diagnosis of SAD (n = 31) were randomly assigned to eight sessions of attention training (n = 15) or placebo/control (n = 16). Participants were assessed at pre- and post-treatment via self- and clinician-report of social anxiety as well as anxious and behavioral response to two in vivo social interactions. Results revealed no differences between groups at post-treatment for all study outcome variables, suggesting a lack of effect for the attention training condition. The results are concordant with recent investigations finding a lack of support for the use of attention training as an efficacious treatment for patients with SAD.

The purpose of the current study was to clarify the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying social phobia. Previous research has identified some specific group differences in neurocognitive functioning between individuals diagnosed with social phobia and nonpsychiatric controls, but has failed to administer a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to a social phobia patient group, resulting in a piecemeal understanding of the neurocognitive functioning of this population and an incomplete picture of the neuropsychological profile inherent to this group. The present research utilized a broader collection of neuropsychological tests to assess nine cognitive domains: Verbal Learning, Verbal Delayed Memory, Visual Immediate Memory, Visual Delayed Memory, Visual-Spatial Processing, Verbal Working Memory, Visual Working Memory, Executive Functioning, and Attention. A mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) did not reveal a significant group by cognitive domain interaction, nor a significant main effect of group. As this was the first study to examine multiple cognitive domains in a single sample of individuals with generalized social phobia, exploratory univariate analyses were performed to examine group differences for the specific cognitive domains. This revealed significant group differences specific to the Visual Working Memory domain, with the social phobia group scoring significantly lower than the nonpsychiatric control group. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.