The impact of culture on anxiety related cognitions: an exploration with Saudi-Arabian individuals

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to improve our understanding of the experience of anxiety and panic related cognitions among Saudi-Arabian individuals and to examine the potential role that culture might have in influencing their symptom expression. Given the lack of previous research, this study adopted an exploratory, qualitative approach using Thematic Analysis. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 14 participants with an ICD diagnosis of panic and anxiety from Saudi Arabia. The results uncovered two unique cognitions associated with Saudi-Arabian participants: separation & loss from loved ones, and Jinn possession. In addition, Saudi-Arabian participants placed more emphasis on negative social evaluation compared to a Western sample. The results also demonstrated that Saudi-Arabian participants misinterpret their symptoms in the way predicted by CBT, and that the majority of the cognitions and their content was similar to a Western sample. This supports the notion of delivering culturally sensitive CBT for panic disorder to Saudi-Arabian clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Saudi Arabia
• panic
• anxiety
• catastrophic cognitions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.