Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology

Office:1050B BSB
Phone: (312) 413-5564
Email: behar@uic.edu
Mailing Address:
1007 W. Harrison St. (MC 285)
Chicago, IL 60607-7137

Curriculum Vita
Dissertation

Statement of Research Interests:
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My program of research focuses on the investigation of anxiety disorders in adults. In particular, I investigate the basic nature of particular anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder) as they are expressed physiologically, behaviorally, emotionally, cognitively, and interpersonally. In these areas, my interests span from the effects of imagery vs. verbal-linguistic processing of fear stimuli, to the nature of fear acquisition in classical conditioning paradigms, to the nature of extinction of fear given various internal and external conditions. In addition to my interests in the nature of and comorbidity between these anxiety conditions, I have secondary interests in how they overlap with other classes of syndromes ( e.g., depressive disorders, sleep disorders). In addition to this work on the basic nature of disorders, I also conductpsychotherapy outcome and process research within the anxiety disorders and related phenomena. Here, I am interested in utilizing scientifically appropriate methodological approaches to investigate the causal mechanisms of change within psychotherapeutic interventions.

Select Publications:
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Smits, J.A.J., Berry, A.C., Powers, M.B., Behar, E., & Otto, M.W. (in press). Reducing anxiety sensitivity with exercise. Depression & Anxiety.

Otto, M.W., Behar, E., Smits, J., & Hoffman, S. (in press). Combining pharmacotherapy and psychological treatment for anxiety disorders. In M.A. Antony & Murray B. Stein (Eds.), Handbook of anxiety and the anxiety disorders (pp. xx-xx). New York: Oxford University Press.

McLaughlin, K., Sibrava, N., Behar, E., & Borkovec, T.D. (in press). Recurrent negative thinking in emotional disorders: Worry, depressive rumination, and trauma recall. In S. Sassaroli & G. Ruggerio (Eds.), Worry, need of control, and other core cognitive constructs in anxiety and eating disorders (pp. xx-xx).

Newman, M.G., Groff, M., Zuellig, A.R., Kachin, K.E., & Behar, E. (2006). The reliability and validity of the Panic Disorder Self-Report (PDSR): A new diagnostic screening measure of panic disorder. Psychological Assessment, 18, 49-61.

Behar, E., & Borkovec, T.D. (2005). The nature and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. In B.O. Rothbaum (Ed.), The nature and treatment of pathological anxiety: Essays in honor of Edna B. Foa (pp. 181-196). New York: Guilford.

Behar, E., Zuellig, A.R., & Borkovec, T.D. (2005). Thought and imaginal activity during worry and trauma recall. Behavior Therapy, 36, 157-158.

Behar, E., Vescio, T.K., & Borkovec, T.D. (2005). The effects of suppressing thoughts and images about worrisome and neutral stimuli. Behavior Therapy, 36, 289-298.

Borkovec, T.D., Alcaine, O., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder. In R.G. Heimberg, C.L. Turk, & D.S. Mennin (Eds.), Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice (pp. 77-108). New York: Guilford.

Behar, E., Alcaine, O., Zuellig, A.R., & Borkovec, T.D. (2003). Screening for generalized anxiety disorder using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: A receiver operating characteristic analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 34, 25-43.

Behar, E., & Borkovec, T.D. (2003). Between-group psychotherapy outcome research. In J.A. Schinka & W. Velicer (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychology (Volume 2): Research Methods (pp. 213-240). New York: Wiley.