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Cognitive Mechanisms in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Second Generation of Theoretical Perspectives

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Abstract

A second generation of cognitive-behavioral models of GAD have extended Beck’s model in several critical directions. These directions involve placing greater emphasis on understanding the role of compensatory self-protective processes such as worry, and more recently, of affective avoidance, as well as the role of emotion dysregulation. They also include trying to better understand the threat appraisals and fears of uncertainty that may be implicated in the disorder. The present Special Issue presents several papers that illustrate these new approaches. This Introduction to the Special Issue briefly considers the interrelation of these models in a broader theoretical context and suggests in outline several future research directions for developing a better and more articulated understanding of the disorder.

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Riskind, J.H. Cognitive Mechanisms in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Second Generation of Theoretical Perspectives. Cogn Ther Res 29, 1–5 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-005-1644-0

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