Irrational Beliefs and Symptoms of General Anxiety Disorder among the General Population in Debrezeit, Ethiopia

Authors

  • Henok Legesse Ayele Lecturer at Adigrat University Collage of Social Science and Humanity Department of Psychology, Adigrat, P.O. Box 50, Ethiopia

Keywords:

Irrational Beliefs, Types of Irrational Beliefs, General Anxiety Disorder, GAD, IBI .

Abstract

The aim of the presented study was primarily to evaluate the relationship between total as well as specific types of irrational beliefs with respect to total and specific symptoms of General Anxiety disorder among the general population in Debrezeit town, Ethiopia. In collecting data, other than demographic profile, two instruments were used. The first is Irrational Beliefs Inventory (IBI) [1] that measures overall irrational beliefs as well as five types of irrational beliefs such as; worrying, rigidity, problem avoidance, need for approval, and emotional irresponsibility. The second instruments which was developed based on [2], tested for validity and reliability by the researcher were a structured questionnaire that can screen and rate symptoms of General Anxiety Disorder (i.e. total as well as characteristic symptoms of GAD). The study found out that there are significant and positive correlations between irrational beliefs and GAD symptoms. More specifically, the result of the presented study indicated that, the relationship between overall irrational beliefs (Total irrationality) and Total GAD symptoms is positive and significant. The findings of the study also indicated that the relationship between Total irrationality and the characteristics types of GAD symptoms such as (GAD-Apprehensive Expectation, GAD-Inability to control the worry, GAD-Major (Diagnostic) Symptoms, GAD-Impairment in daily activities) were all significant and in positive directions.

Worrying and Problem Avoidance had significant positive correlation with Total-GAD Symptom as well as with all other characteristic types of GAD symptoms (i.e. GAD-Apprehensive Expectation, GAD-Inability to control the worry, GAD-Major (Diagnostic) Symptoms, GAD-Impairment in daily activities. Moreover, Rigidity (IBI-Rigidity) had significant positive correlations with majorities of GAD Symptoms such as GAD-Total symptom, GAD-Inability to control the worry, and GAD-Major (Diagnostic) Symptoms. However, Rigidity had no significant correlation with GAD-Apprehensive Expectation, and GAD-Impairment in daily activities. On the other hand, Need for Approval and Emotional Irresponsibility had no significant correlation with Total-GAD Symptom as well as with all other characteristic types of GAD symptoms (i.e. GAD-Apprehensive Expectation, GAD-Inability to control the worry, GAD-Major (Diagnostic) Symptoms, GAD-Impairment in daily activities.

References

[1]. Koopmans, P.C., Sanderman, R., Timmerman, I., & Emmelkamp, P.M.G. (1994). The Irrational Beliefs Inventory (IBI): Development and psychometric evaluation.
[2]. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association,1994.
[3]. Henok . L Ayele, (2012), Irrational Beliefs. Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing
[4]. Richard, N. John., (2001). Theory and Practice of Counseling & Therapy, London, Tate gallery, Great Britain. Routledge, London
[5]. Joseph Murphy, (1963). The Power of your Subconscious mind. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood
[6]. Wayne Froggatt, Third Ed. (Feb 2005) Brief Introduction To Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy.
[7]. Irwin, G. S., & Barbara, R. S. (2005). Abnormal Psychology: The problem of Maladaptive Behavior. New Delhi, India: Prentice-Hall.

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Published

2016-02-14

How to Cite

Ayele, H. L. (2016). Irrational Beliefs and Symptoms of General Anxiety Disorder among the General Population in Debrezeit, Ethiopia. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences, 16(1), 293–309. Retrieved from https://asrjetsjournal.org/index.php/American_Scientific_Journal/article/view/1295

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