ABSTRACT
Both the Cross-National Collaborative study and the NCS have demonstrated a consistent association between panic disorder and agoraphobia. In the former, the odds ratio of panic disorder for those with agoraphobia ranged from 7.5 in the ECA to 21.4 in Puerto Rico. This is consistent with Klein’s theory that agoraphobia is a secondary avoidance phenomenon triggered by the aversive experience of spontaneous panic attacks. However, several community surveys report that there are many individuals who have agoraphobia but no history of panic attacks.
