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Agoraphobia: a Critical Review of the Concept

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

R. S. Hallam
R. S. Hallam*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
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Summary

Phobic avoidance has been widely accepted as the central feature of the agoraphobic syndrome, and the presence of agoraphobia has been used to define groups of subjects for clinical research. A review of the evidence suggests that agoraphobia should not be classified with the phobias; several lines of inquiry point to the conclusion that it is a variable feature of patients suffering from anxiety neurosis. Implications for research and problems with the present classification of neurotic affective disorders are noted.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 133 , Issue 4 , October 1978 , pp. 314 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1978 

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