Anxiety studied as experienced

Barbara Black

Psychologist Adam Radomsky runs the Fear and Anxiety Disorders Laboratory on the Loyola Campus. It’s designed to help him observe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and behaviour associated with other anxiety disorders to better understand and treat them.

The lab has a fully equipped kitchen, an invaluable research tool. When Radomsky asks participants in his studies to do household tasks, he can observe such typical OCD behaviour as repeated checking of appliances and incessant handwashing.

“We also have a large black filing cabinet, which can be helpful in experiments designed to examine claustrophobia,” he said.

They have a video camera. “We can ask someone who is afraid of public speaking to make a speech.”

That’s not all. They’ve got a snake. “Phobias of snakes are among the most common maladaptive manifestations of fear.”

Radomsky bridles at insensitive remarks about his “torture chamber.” On the contrary, his lab is a quiet place where participants invariably find understanding and often some relief from their symptoms.

“It’s all very carefully thought out,” he said. “We are interested in finding out what happens when people are afraid. Questionnaires, although highly valuable to researchers, can only elicit so much information. Once you’ve activated those fears, then you can really see what happens in front of you. We’re looking at problems live.”

He recruits research participants online, through newspaper ads and notices on bulletin boards, and from classrooms on both campuses. Participants may have the anxiety disorder being studied, a different kind of anxiety, or no symptoms whatever.

“Undergraduate classes are a great source of volunteers. They provide a comparison group. Also, all of these problems run on a continuum; in that way, they’re universal.” In other words, even a healthy undergraduate might have a teeny touch of fear in a particular situation; we all might.

The invitation to participate is deliberately worded. When a person responds by calling for more information, he or she is screened for suitability, and identified as part of the study group or the control group. Volunteers go through an informed consent process that takes as much time as necessary.

“Fearful people need assurances,” Radomsky said. “We don’t want to surprise them.”

“Sometimes, because of the nature of the study, we don’t want to tell them all of the minute details, but we do give them sufficient information about the task. In our research, we just create a little bit of anxiety. Nobody ever leaves the lab in an anxious state.”

In the case of a study on snake phobia, participants are so well prepared that the periods leading up to (and during) their actual encounter with the reptile constitutes effective treatment for their fear. People who are fearful of contamination are treated with cognitive-behaviour therapy, an extension of behaviour modification. They are often asked to touch various objects that they think are contaminated to a greater or lesser degree.

Radomsky doesn’t think OCD is increasing. It’s just that many people now talk about their fears more openly, which leaves the impression that there’s more of it around. Not all fears can be tested in the lab, however.

“We are just starting a study on thinking about unpleasant things — assault, for instance. People who have been assaulted often have the urge to shower, to clean themselves, but the feeling of being contaminated doesn’t go away. The ideal treatment for this kind of anxiety can’t be traditional behaviour modification, so it is likely to involve talking, and focusing on more of the cognitive aspects of the problem.”

If you are interested in learning more about Radomsky’s research and/or participating in one of his studies, send an email to anxlab@alcor.concordia.ca