Search

Background: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are empirically supported treatments for anxiety and panic disorder (PD), though they differ in their putative vulnerability and maintenance processes. The present study examined the incremental validity of several of these models' proposed core processes, including anxiety sensitivity (AS), dispositional avoidance, experiential avoidance (EA), cognitive fusion (CF), and mindfulness, as well as the interaction of the processes within each model, in the prediction of anxiety and panic symptomology. Methods: a sample of US adults (n = 316) completed self-report measures of AS, dispositional avoidance, EA, CF, mindfulness, anxiety, and PD symptoms. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results: hierarchical regression analyses indicated that AS, dispositional avoidance, and EA predicted anxiety and panic symptoms even after controlling for one another, CF, mindfulness, and demographic variables. Although mindfulness and CF was correlated with anxiety and panic at the univariate level, they did not predict either outcome above and beyond AS, dispositional avoidance, and EA. When interaction terms were added to the models, the interaction between AS and -dispositional avoidance was a significant predictor of panic and anxiety symptoms, whereas the interaction between EA and CF only predicted panic symptoms. None of the interactions that included mindfulness were significant predictors. Conclusions: these findings provide support the independent and interactive predictive value of traditional CBT (AS, dispositional avoidance, and AS-dispositional avoidance) and ACT (EA) processes for anxiety and panic symptoms, but raise questions about the incremental predictive utility of CF and mindfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of regular physical exercise have been well documented, though the mechanisms through which exercise alleviates symptoms of emotion disorders require further investigation. Mounting research indicates that exercise reduces anxiety sensitivity, a known vulnerability factor for the development and maintenance of psychological disorders, presumably via repeated exposure to feared somatic sensations. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether anxiety sensitivity mediates the relation between exercise frequency and symptoms of anxiety and depression. A large community sample of 955 volunteers completed a demographic questionnaire, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index‐3, and the Brief Symptom Inventory‐18. Exercise frequency significantly predicted anxiety sensitivity, anxiety, depression, and somatization scores. Mediation analyses indicated that anxiety sensitivity mediated the association between exercise frequency and anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms. The findings provide further support for the association between exercise and negative affective states and suggest that anxiety sensitivity may be one mechanism through which exercise reduces emotional disorder symptomology. The implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is often treated as a discrete diagnostic entity that represents a naturally occurring class, though empirical evidence largely supports a dimensional conceptualization of social fears. Further, the inclusion of a “performance only” specifier in the DSM-5 implies that individuals who experience intense social anxiety exclusively in performance situations are distinct from those with broader social fears. The purpose of the present research was to examine the latent structure of SAD and the DSM-5 “performance only” specifier in a large nonclinical sample (n = 2019). Three taxometric procedures (MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) were applied to indicators derived from two commonly used measures of social anxiety. Results yielded convergent evidence indicating that social anxiety exhibits a dimensional latent structure. Further, social performance anxiety demonstrates continuous relationships with milder social fears, suggesting that the “performance only” specifier may not represent a discrete entity. The implications of these findings for the assessment, diagnosis, classification, and treatment of social anxiety are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effects of a single bout of aerobic exercise versus resistance training on cognitive vulnerabilities for anxiety disorders. Seventy-seven participants (60% female; 84% Caucasian) were randomized to complete 20 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, resistance training, or rest, followed by a 35% CO2/65% O2inhalation challenge task. Results indicated that aerobic exercise and resistance training were significantly and equally effective in reducing anxiety sensitivity (AS) compared with rest (), though only aerobic exercise significantly attenuated reactivity to the CO2challenge task. Neither form of exercise generated observable effects on distress tolerance, discomfort intolerance, or state anxiety (allps>.10). The results of this study are discussed with regard to their implications for the use of exercise interventions for anxiety and related forms of psychopathology, and potential directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High trait anxiety has been linked with risk-avoidant decision-making, though little is known regarding the specific facets of anxiety contributing to this negative association. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor for anxiety-related pathology, may be particularly relevant to risk decision-making given that risk-taking behaviors generate heightened somatic arousal and produce many of the sensations feared by individuals with high AS. Two studies were conducted to investigate the relation between AS and risk decision-making. In the first study, 268 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires that included measures of AS and gambling behaviors. Significant negative correlations were observed between AS and several gambling-related risk-taking activities, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that AS scores added significant incremental validity in predicting risk-taking over and above demographic variables, negative affect, and trait anxiety. In the second study, 43 participants who had screened for high (n= 20) or low (n= 23) AS completed the Iowa gambling task, a behavioral measure of risk-taking. Results indicated that, when placed under conditions of risk, individuals with high AS engaged in significantly less risk-taking than their low AS counterparts. The implications of these findings and potential directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most commonly used measure of anxiety sensitivity is the 36-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R). Exploratory factor analyses have produced several different factors structures for theASI-R, but an acceptable fit using confirmatory factor analytic approaches has only been found for a 21-item version of the instrument. We evaluated the fit of all published factor models for the 36- and 21-item ASI-R, modified the hierarchical model using an approach that does not eliminate items, evaluated the invariance of the modified model across Caucasian and African-American subsamples, and compared the reliability and validity of the 36-item and 21-item versions. The 21-item version of theASI-R fit a four factor model, as did the 36-item version after several meaningful model modifications. The modified 36-item model was replicable in independent cases and its structural properties were generally invariant across race. Scores from the 36-item version exhibited superior reliability and criterion-related validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate has arisen over whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is most accurately conceptualized as representing a discrete clinical syndrome or an extreme reaction to traumatic life events. Recent taxometric research using predominately adult samples appears to support a dimensional model of PTSD, raising questions about the utility of current psychiatric nosology which depicts PTSD as a distinct entity. The present study sought to use taxometric procedures to examine the latent structure of posttraumatic stress reactions among a national epidemiologic sample of 2,885 adolescents. Results were consistent with previous taxometric studies in supporting a dimensional model of posttraumatic stress reactions. The implications of these findings for public policy, as well as the etiology and assessment of posttraumatic stress reactions, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Repeated administration of anxiety sensitivity measures can often produce declining scores, even in ostensible control groups, which is a significant concern for researchers. The reasons for these changes are as yet unknown, but could be because of regression to the mean in samples selected on extreme scores, exposure to general information about anxiety contained in psychiatric interviews, or mere exposure to anxiety sensitivity information. Methods: This study sought to experimentally evaluate these potential explanations using a comprehensive measure of anxiety sensitivity and its subcomponents, a non-anxiety sensitivity measure (self-esteem), and participants representing the full spectrum of anxiety sensitivity. Results: Results indicated significant decreases in anxiety sensitivity scores (but not self-esteem scores) that could not be accounted for by regression to the mean or exposure to information about anxiety in general. Conclusions: Several potential explanations for these findings are reviewed and implications for research study designs are discussed. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important focus of recent aggression research has been to identify personality variables that influence the expression of aggression. One such variable may be anxiety sensitivity (AS). Individuals high in AS fear unpleasant anxiety-related physiological sensations and perhaps physiological arousal in general. Accordingly, people high in AS are motivated to avoid situations that produce these sensations. With respect to aggressive encounters, an intense attack by an opponent involves significant physiological arousal. High anxiety-sensitive individuals may therefore attempt to decrease the intensity of the interaction by responding in a non-aggressive or conciliatory manner. To test this possibility, 112 community volunteers completed a measure of AS and a well-validated laboratory task designed to assess aggressive behavior. As predicted, an inverse relation between AS and extreme aggressive responding was found. Specifically, as AS increases, retaliatory aggression is less likely after intense attack by an opponent. Aggr. Behav. 33:1–8, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss; Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]