Agoraphobia: a critical review of the concept.

Phobic avoidance has been widely accepted as the central feature of the agoraphobic syndrome, and the presence of agoraphobia has been used to define groups of subjects for clinical research. A review of the evidence suggests that agoraphobia should not be classified with the phobias; several lines of inquiry point to the conclusion that it is a variable feature of patients suffering from anxiety neurosis. Implications for research and problems with the present classification of neurotic affective disorders are noted.