The social ecology of anxiety. Theoretical and quantitative perspectives

Experience sampling is a relatively new research approach that captures relevant variations in experience and symptoms in the course of everyday life. In this paper, a socioecological frame of reference that integrates psychological, historical, cultural, and developmental theories about anxiety phenomena will be illustrated using quantitative descriptions of anxiety and avoidance behaviors gathered with the Experience-Sampling Method. The interaction between anxiety symptoms and the environment in which they occurred is explored in a case study that points to possibilities for future research and the establishment of therapeutic approaches that are optimally suited to the individual patient.