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Childhood generalized specific phobia as an early marker of internalizing psychopathology across the lifespan: results from the World Mental Health Surveys

Background: Specific phobia (SP) is a relatively common disorder associated with high levels of psychiatric comorbidity. Because of its early onset, SP may be a useful early marker of internalizing psychopathology, especially if generalized to multiple situations. This study aimed to evaluate the as...

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Published: 2019
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LEADER 00000njm a2000000a 4500
001 oai:repository.ui.edu.ng:123456789/12742
042 |a dc 
720 |a de Vries, Y. A.  |e author 
720 |a Al-Hamzawi, A.  |e author 
720 |a Alonso, J.  |e author 
720 |a Borges, G.  |e author 
720 |a Bruffaerts, R.  |e author 
720 |a Bunting, B.  |e author 
720 |a Caldas-de-Almeida, J. M.  |e author 
720 |a Cia, A. H.  |e author 
720 |a De Girolamo, G.  |e author 
720 |a Dinolova, R. V.  |e author 
720 |a Esan, O. B.  |e author 
720 |a Florescu, S.  |e author 
720 |a Gureje, O.  |e author 
720 |a Haro, J. M.  |e author 
720 |a Hu, C.  |e author 
720 |a Karam, E. G.  |e author 
720 |a Karam, A.  |e author 
720 |a Kawakami, N.  |e author 
720 |a Kiejna, A.  |e author 
720 |a Kovess-Masfety, V.  |e author 
720 |a WHO World Mental Health Survey Collaborators  |e author 
260 |c 2019 
520 |a Background: Specific phobia (SP) is a relatively common disorder associated with high levels of psychiatric comorbidity. Because of its early onset, SP may be a useful early marker of internalizing psychopathology, especially if generalized to multiple situations. This study aimed to evaluate the association of childhood generalized SP with comorbid internalizing disorders. Methods: We conducted retrospective analyses of the cross-sectional population-based World Mental Health Surveys using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Outcomes were lifetime prevalence, age of onset, and persistence of internalizing disorders; past-month disability; lifetime suicidality; and 12-month serious mental illness. Logistic and linear regressions were used to assess the association of these outcomes with the number of subtypes of childhood-onset (< 13 years) SP. Results: Among 123,628 respondents from 25 countries, retrospectively reported prevalence of childhood SP was 5.9%, 56% of whom reported one, 25% two, 10% three, and 8% four or more subtypes. Lifetime prevalence of internalizing disorders increased from 18.2% among those without childhood SP to 46.3% among those with one and 75.6% those with 4+ subtypes (OR=2.4, 95% CI 2.3–2.5, p< 0.001). Conclusions: This large international study shows that childhood-onset generalized SP is related to adverse outcomes in the internalizing domain throughout the life course. Comorbidity, persistence, and severity of internalizing disorders all increased with the number of childhood SP subtypes. Although our study cannot establish whether SP is causally associated with these poor outcomes or whether other factors, such as a shared underlying vulnerability, explain the association, our findings clearly show that childhood generalized SP identifies an important target group for early intervention. 
024 8 |a 1741-7015 
024 8 |a ui_art_devries_childhood_2019 
024 8 |a BMC Medicine, 17(1), pp. 101 
024 8 |a https://repository.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/12742 
653 |a Specific phobia 
653 |a Internalizing disorders 
653 |a Early markers 
653 |a Comorbidity 
653 |a Suicidality 
245 0 0 |a Childhood generalized specific phobia as an early marker of internalizing psychopathology across the lifespan: results from the World Mental Health Surveys