This study purpose is to define the stress level and the external events control notion in patients with panic disorder in comparison to subjects with no psychiatric disturbs. The sample was composed by 30 adults divided in two groups, one group with diagnosis of panic disorder and the other without psychiatric diagnosis, all of them systematically evaluated. The participants were evaluated individually through the Lipp Stress Symptoms Inventory and the Levenson Scale of Locus of Control. The statistical comparison has shown that the group with panic disorder presented more stress indicators with predominance of the resistance phase, and control perception more susceptibility for stress and low confidence in events prediction ability as they believe in chance, luck or fate determination.
anxiety; internal external locus of control; Lipp's stress inventory; stress; panic disorder
