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Examination of the Phenomenology and Clinical Correlates of Emetophobia in a Sample of Salvadorian Youths

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Abstract

Emetophobia is an under-researched disorder characterized by a specific fear of vomiting. There is a paucity of research on this impairing condition, with extant examinations being largely limited to adult samples and online communities. The present study examined the incidence, phenomenology, and correlates of emetophobia in 305 Salvadorian youths. Caregivers completed a battery of questionnaires regarding the youth’s symptoms of emetophobia, internalizing/externalizing symptoms, health anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Approximately 7.5 % of the sample was elevated on emetophobia symptoms, and higher levels of emetophobia symptoms were correlated with higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, health anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and lower levels of adaptive functioning. Youths meeting the cutoff for elevated emetophobia symptoms versus those who did not demonstrated significantly higher levels of externalizing behaviors, as well as general obsessive–compulsive symptoms, especially doubting/checking and neutralizing behaviors. These findings are hoped to help improve the conceptualization and treatment of this poorly understood disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Rothman Center for Neuropsychiatry, University of South Florida, 880 6th Street South, Suite 460, Box 7523, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA

    Monica S. Wu, Robert R. Selles, Nicole M. McBride & Eric A. Storch

  2. Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Monica S. Wu, Robert R. Selles & Eric A. Storch

  3. Tin Marin Children’s Museum, San Salvador, El Salvador

    Juan Carlos Novoa

  4. Universidad de Jose Matias Delgado, Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador

    Raquel Zepeda

  5. Private Practice, San Salvador, El Salvador

    Daniel Guttfreund

  6. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Eric A. Storch

  7. Department of Health Management and Policy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Eric A. Storch

  8. Rogers Behavioral Health – Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL, USA

    Eric A. Storch

  9. All Children’s Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Eric A. Storch

Authors
  1. Monica S. Wu
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  2. Robert R. Selles
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  3. Juan Carlos Novoa
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  4. Raquel Zepeda
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  5. Daniel Guttfreund
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  6. Nicole M. McBride
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  7. Eric A. Storch
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Monica S. Wu.

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Wu, M.S., Selles, R.R., Novoa, J.C. et al. Examination of the Phenomenology and Clinical Correlates of Emetophobia in a Sample of Salvadorian Youths. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 48, 509–516 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0677-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0677-9

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