Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
Fall 12-2018
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5356-3515
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Social Work
Degree Name
Master of Science
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Dr. Alan Lipps
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Dr. Tom Winter
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Amy De Los Santos, LMSW
Abstract
Anxiety disorders as a stand-alone diagnosis are not recognized as a treatable mental health issue within the social services mental health realm. There are mixed results regarding if anxiety disorders are linked to suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The aim of this systematic review was to discover if there is a link between anxiety disorders and suicide ideation and suicide attempts within the current literature. All anxiety disorders were looked at, except for selective mutism and separation anxiety disorder due to these both typically only affecting those in very young childhood. The rest of the anxiety disorders affect those from childhood to adulthood and therefore were included in this meta-analysis.
Meta-analysis was used to analyze empirical research showing the correlation or lack of correlation between anxiety disorders and suicide ideation/suicide attempts All age groups were included, and those articles used for evaluation were all within the past 10 years. Effect sizes were represented with Odds Ratios and Confidence Intervals were represented using p value ≥ 0.05 to show statistical significance.
Of the beginning 81 research articles, only four met criteria for inclusion for the meta-analysis. All anxiety disorders were found to be statistically significant in Odds Ratios and p values with most having p valued of 0.001. The only anxiety disorders that did not have statistical significance were agoraphobia without panic disorder, social phobia (from the DSM-4) and anxiety disorder versus no anxiety disorder.
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Adela, "Anxiety, a Growing Social Problem: A Systematic Review of the Literature" (2018). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 120.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/120