We divided the volunteers into two groups. Group 1 consisted
of patients with PD with agoraphobia, and Group 2
was made up of the 70 control participants. We recruited all
members of the later group from the staff and students of the
Institute of Psychiatry and non-family caregivers of the patients.
All participants met the criteria for inclusion in the
research. The control group was heterogeneous with regard
to age, education, occupation and sex. The control participants
underwent psychiatric evaluations and completed the
MINI to rule out the presence of mental disorders.
The criteria for inclusion in the control group consisted
of being between 18- and 70-years of age, literate, residents
of Rio de Janeiro and MP owners. The criteria for exclusion
consisted of having a psychiatric disorder or serious clinical
comorbidity.