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Anxiety Sensitivity (anxiety + sensitivity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	53%
Psychology	33%
Life Sciences	13%

Selected Abstracts

Anxiety Sensitivity as a Moderator of the Association between Smoking Rate and Panic-Relevant Symptoms among a Community Sample of Middle-aged Adult Daily Smokers

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS, Issue 1 2009
Alison C. McLeish PhD
The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the moderating role of anxiety sensitivity (AS) in the relation between smoking rate and panic vulnerability variables among a community-based sample of adults. Results indicated that the interaction between AS and smoking rate significantly predicted anxious arousal, agoraphobic avoidance, and anticipatory anxiety. Specifically, participants who reported higher levels of AS and heavier smoking rates reported the highest levels of panic vulnerability. These data suggest that this combination of high AS and heavier smoking is particularly problematic in regard to panic symptoms. [source]

Anxiety sensitivity and posttrauma stress symptoms in female undergraduates following a campus shooting,

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 6 2009
Katherine L. Stephenson
Participants were recruited from female undergraduate students participating in an ongoing longitudinal study at the time of a campus shooting. Eighty-five percent (N = 691) of the 812 students who were invited to participate in the current study completed questionnaires an average of 27 days following a campus shooting. In a mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal design, the cognitive and the physical concerns dimensions of postshooting anxiety sensitivity accounted for unique variance in posttrauma stress symptom severity (cross-sectional), after controlling for preshooting psychological symptoms (longitudinal). The cognitive concerns dimension showed the strongest relationship. Anxiety sensitivity also appeared to moderate the relationships of hyperarousal symptoms with reexperiencing and numbing symptoms. [source]

A prospective test of anxiety sensitivity as a moderator of the relation between gender and posttraumatic symptom maintenance among high anxiety sensitive young adults

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 3 2008
Matthew T. Feldner M.D.
Abstract The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the individual and combined influence of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and gender on the longitudinal prediction of posttraumatic symptoms. A large nonclinical sample of young adults (n=404) was prospectively followed over approximately 18 months. The primary findings indicated that gender and AS were uniquely associated with posttraumatic symptom levels during the follow-up period. Moreover, AS appeared more strongly (positively) related to posttraumatic stress symptoms during the follow-up period among females than males. These data provide novel prospective evidence regarding the interplay of relatively well-established risk factors implicated in the maintenance of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Depression and Anxiety 0:1,10, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Cognitive specificity of anxiety disorders: a review of selected key constructs

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 2 2006
F.R.A.N.Z.C.P., Ph.D., Vladan Starcevic M.D.
Abstract Cognitive models of anxiety disorders propose that certain cognitive constructs, that is, underlying beliefs and cognitive processes, may be specific for particular disorders. In this article, we review the specificity of four representative cognitive constructs,anxiety sensitivity, pathological worry, intolerance of uncertainty, and thought,action fusion,for particular disorders. Conceptual overlap, inconsistent definitions, and insufficient consideration of the components of these constructs are limitations of the existing literature. We suggest that the constructs are unlikely to be pathognomonic for any given disorder or to occur in isolation. Rather, the association of each cognitive construct is evident, to varying degrees, with different disorders. Relative to other disorders, anxiety sensitivity is to a certain extent specific for panic disorder, as are pathological worry for generalized anxiety disorder, intolerance of uncertainty for generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive,compulsive disorder, and thought,action fusion for obsessive,compulsive disorder. We discuss the implications of these findings for diagnostic systems and treatment, and suggest areas for further research. Depression and Anxiety 23:51,61, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The functional impact of anxiety sensitivity in the chronically physically ill

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 4 2005
Sonya B. Norman Ph.D.
Abstract The symptoms and physical limitations resulting from chronic physical illness often diminish physical functioning. Comorbidity of chronic physical illness and an anxiety disorder is associated with greater impairment in functioning than chronic illness alone. One potential contributor to anxiety in the chronically ill is anxiety sensitivity (AS). The goal of this study was to explore the role of AS on functioning in the chronically ill. Participants were 267 primary care patients. Logistic regression showed that physical AS (but not social or psychological), controlling for age, gender, and negative affect, was associated with hypertension, heart disease, and high cholesterol (P<.01). Higher AS was associated with poorer vitality, mental functioning, and social functioning (P<.05). AS may be a correlate of poorer adjustment to chronic illness. Depression and Anxiety 21:154,160, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Early detection of relapse in panic disorder

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2004
M. R. Mavissakalian
Objective:, To explore predictive models of relapsing based on change in symptoms at a time when panic disorder patients are still in remission following discontinuation of antidepressants. Method:, Forty-seven subjects, who were randomized to double-blind placebo and who had valid data at four time points: pretreatment, randomization to placebo substitution, an assessment on placebo prior to the last assessment or relapse and their last assessment (relapsers n = 15, non-relapsers n = 32) were studied using descriptive, growth curve analysis and logistic regression methodologies. Results:, Measures of generalized anxiety, fearfulness and disability at work and at home were better predictors of relapse than measures of panic and anxiety sensitivity. Logistic regression models using any one of these four general variables and its linear change correctly predicted relapse for 78.7,84.4% of the study subjects. Conclusion:, It is possible to gauge, with a fair degree of accuracy, the probability of relapsing in panic disorder patients who have discontinued serotonergic antidepressants 2 months prior to the return of panic. [source]

Anxiety sensitivity and posttrauma stress symptoms in female undergraduates following a campus shooting,

High risk studies and developmental antecedents of anxiety disorders,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS, Issue 2 2008
Dina R. Hirshfeld-Becker
Abstract The past two decades have witnessed significant growth in our understanding of the developmental antecedents of anxiety disorders. In this article, we review studies of offspring at risk for anxiety disorders, longitudinal studies of the course of anxiety disorders in clinical, epidemiologic, and at-risk samples, studies of hypothesized temperamental risk factors for anxiety, and give a brief overview of the literature on environmental risk factors. Clear developmental antecedents to anxiety disorders identified include (1) childhood anxiety disorders [in particular, separation anxiety and overanxious disorder/general anxiety disorder (GAD)], (2) behavioral inhibition which predicts later social phobia, (3) anxiety sensitivity which predicts later panic disorder, and (4) negative affectivity, which predicts a spectrum of psychopathology including anxiety disorders. Further prospective studies are needed to examine the roles of environmental factors such as parenting practices, peer influences, stressful life events, and perinatal stressors. Future studies could benefit from (1) beginning earlier in development and following individuals into adulthood, (2) assessing the overlap between multiple temperamental constructs, (3) greater use of observational measures of temperament and of parent,child and peer interactions, (4) greater attention to parental psychopathology which may confound associations noted, (5) exploration of other features of anxiety disorders (neurofunctional correlates, cognitive features, other aspects of emotional regulation) as potential precursors, and (6) intervention studies exploring whether modifying developmental antecedents can alter the course of anxiety disorders. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Anxiety Sensitivity as a Moderator of the Association between Smoking Rate and Panic-Relevant Symptoms among a Community Sample of Middle-aged Adult Daily Smokers

Disgust and eating disorder symptomatology in a non-clinical population: The role of trait anxiety and anxiety sensitivity

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 4 2009
Graham C. L. Davey
Abstract The present paper reports the results of a study investigating the relationship between a domains-independent measure of disgust (the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale-Revised) and measures of eating disorder symptomatology in a non-clinical population. Significant correlations between disgust sensitivity and disgust propensity and selected eating disorder symptomatology measures suggested that disgust is significantly correlated with measures of eating disorder symptomatology and is appraised more negatively. However, both measures of disgust propensity and sensitivity failed to predict any significant residual variance in scores on eating symptomatology measures when either trait anxiety or anxiety sensitivity was controlled for. This suggests that while the experience of disgust may be heightened in individuals with eating disorders, it may be linked to other relevant emotions such as anxiety and anxiety sensitivity rather than being an independent risk factor for symptoms.,Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: The experience of disgust may be heightened in individuals with eating disorder symptomatology. Disgust levels may not be an independent predictor of eating disorder symptoms. In those with eating disorder symotomatology disgust may be linked to other emotions such as anxiety and anxiety sensitivity. [source]

A Comparison of Emotional Approach Coping (EAC) between Individuals with Anxiety Disorders and Nonanxious Controls

CNS: NEUROSCIENCE AND THERAPEUTICS, Issue 2 2009
Luana Marques
Emotional regulation deficits are described as a core component of anxiety disorders (ADs), yet there remains a paucity of data examining this issue in patients diagnosed with ADs. We hypothesized that help-seeking individuals with ADs would report lower levels of emotional approach coping (EAC), which includes emotional processing (EP) and emotional expression (EE), than nonanxious controls. Diagnostic interviews and a validated self-report scale assessing emotional approaches to coping (emotional approach coping scale [EACS]) were administered to 101 nonanxious controls and 92 patients with a primary AD (29 generalized anxiety disorder, 40 social anxiety disorder, and 23 panic disorder). Patients with each AD demonstrated significantly lower EAC, including both EP and EE, than nonanxious controls. Lower EAC was also associated with higher anxiety sensitivity and higher anxiety symptom severity. Overall, gender did not moderate the anxiety,EAC effect, but the results suggested that women utilize EAC to a greater degree than men. Clinical techniques designed to improve emotional coping may be beneficial to individuals with ADs. [source]