Social support has its role in maintaining of mental health and modification of the effects of aversive life events. It can be defined with respect to numerous variables: 1) The level of social integration, 2) Subjective experience of the quality of interpersonal relationships, 3) Help and support by other persons, 4) Supportive behavior actually taking place. The objective of our investigation was to establish the level of social support in patients suffering from Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia (PDA), in the course of the manifestation of the disorder.

40 patients who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for the PDA (mean age 39.25, SD 6.96) and 40 matched healthy controls were assessed by Social Support Index, Family Hardness Index, Family Coping Coherence Index, Relative and Friend Support Index (Mc Cubbin, et al., 1982).

The patients having PDA, compared to the healthy controls, had statistically significantly lower scores (p<0.001) on all the indexes except on the Relative and Friends Support Index, where there was no statistically significant difference.

In the course of the disorder, patients suffering from PDA, compared to the healthy controls, had a significantly lower level of social integration in the social community and poorer quality of family relationships, but not a lower level of help and support by relatives and friends outside the close family.