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An Expanded Anxiety Sensitivity Index
Abstract
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related sensations. According to Reiss’s (e.g., Reiss, 1991) expectancy theory, AS amplifies fear and anxiety reactions, and plays an important role in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders, particularly panic disorder. Recent evidence suggests that AS has a hierarchical structure, consisting of multiple lower order factors, loading on a single higher order factor. If each factor corresponds to a discrete mechanism (Cattell, 1978), then the results suggest that AS arises from a hierarchic arrangement of mechanisms. A problem with previous studies is that they were based on the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index, which may not contain enough items to reveal the type and number of lower order factors. Also, some of the original ASI items are too general to assess specific, lower order factors. Accordingly, we developed an expanded measure of AS—the ASI-R—which consists of 36 items with subscales assessing each of the major domains of AS suggested by previous studies. The ASI-R was completed by 155 psychiatric outpatients. Factor analyses indicated a four-factor hierarchical solution, consisting of four lower order factors, loading on a single higher factor. The lower order factors were: (1) fear of respiratory symptoms, (2) fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions, (3) fear of cardiovascular symptoms, and (4) fear of cognitive dyscontrol. Each factor was correlated with measures of anxiety and depression, and fear of cognitive dyscontrol was most highly correlated with depression, which is broadly consistent with previous research. At pretreatment, patients with panic disorder tended to scored highest on each of the factors, compared to patients with other anxiety disorders and those with nonanxiety disorders. These findings offer further evidence that Reiss’s expectancy theory would benefit from revision, to incorporate the notion of a hierarchic structure of AS.
... When a group design was not employed, effect sizes utilising questionnaires measuring generalised anxiety were selected. Specifically, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; , ASI Revised (ASI-R; Taylor & Cox, 1998), ASI-3 (Taylor et al., 2007), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger et al., 1983) were selected over other anxiety questionnaires were available, as these measures were frequently used across studies, the selection of which aimed to reduce heterogeneity. ...
... Studies reporting separate effect sizes for the STAI subscales were averaged to create a composite score as state and trait anxiety are multidimensional interactional facets of anxiety, which have been found to highly correlate amongst various samples Leal et al., 2017;Vitasari et al., 2011). Similarly, studies reporting separate effect sizes for the ASI subscales (physical, cognitive, and social concerns) were averaged, as subscales of the ASI, ASI-R and ASI-3 were also well correlated (Taylor et al., 2007;Deacon et al., 2003;Taylor & Cox, 1998;Altungy et al., 2023). When subscales for STAI and ASI questionnaires were both utilised in a study (e.g., STAI-Trait and ASI: Physical Concern subscales), STAI subscales were selected as the STAI is one of the most commonly used measure to assess generalised anxiety symptoms (Julian, 2011;Zsido et al., 2020). ...
... State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger et al., 1983) 14 No Yes Tense, Strained, Jittery Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; 7 Yes --Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21: Anxiety (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) 9 Yes --Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale: Anxiety Subscale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) 3 Yes --Anxiety Sensitivity Index 3 (ASI-3; Taylor et al., 2007) 3 Yes --The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI): Anxiety (Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983) 2 Yes --Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7; Spitzer et al., 2006) 2 Beck et al., 1988) 1 Yes --Anxiety Sensitivity Index Revised (ASI-R; Taylor & Cox, 1998) 1 Yes --Acrophobic Questionnaire (Baker et al., 1973) 1 ...
Interoception, the processing of internal bodily sensations, is associated with various mental health conditions. In particular, anxiety is often considered to be the prototypical interoceptive disorder. However, empirical evidence is mixed, with meta-analytic work reporting no relationship between anxiety and cardiac interoceptive accuracy. Less explored, however, are the mixed results relating to anxiety and self-reported interoception. This meta-analysis of 71 studies explored the relationship between self-report measures of interoception and anxiety. Across 12 measures (20 subscales), anxiety was associated with increased negative evaluations of, frequency of, and sensitivity to, bodily signals. Anxiety was also associated with greater (negative) attention to bodily signals, and difficulties describing bodily signals and emotions. However, anxiety was not associated with the use of bodily signals to inform emotions (e.g., noticing emotionally induced bodily signals). Results are discussed considering the overlap between anxiety and interoception questionnaires, the lack of specificity of certain measures, and the potential confound of individual differences in questionnaire interpretation. We also discuss limitations of anxiety measures and the clinical relevance of findings.
... Severity of symptoms and daily functioning were measured using: (i) the Anxiety Sensitivity Index Revised (ASI-R), (ii) Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale Self-Report (MADRS-S), (iii) Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and (iv) a modified Inventory of College Students Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE-M) scores. These measures, with the exception of the modifications to the ICSRLE (described below), have been validated in the literature (Kohn, et al., 1990;Leon et al., 1992;Ruedel et al., 2010;Taylor & Cox, 1998). Anxiety sensitivity is defined as the extent to which an individual believes that their experience of anxiety will lead to harmful consequences. ...
... Anxiety sensitivity is defined as the extent to which an individual believes that their experience of anxiety will lead to harmful consequences. The ASI-R, a self-report scale, measures anxiety sensitivity and ranges between zero and 144 (Taylor & Cox, 1998). The MADRS-S measures the severity of depressive symptoms and ranges between zero and 27 (Ruedel et al., 2010). ...
... The resultant modified ICSRLE ranges between 47 and 188 (Saunders, 2016). For all four indicators higher scores reflect poorer health or functioning (Kohn, et al., 1990;Leon et al., 1992;Ruedel et al., 2010;Saunders, 2016;Taylor & Cox, 1998). In the regression analysis, the psychometric indicators were centered at the sample mean. ...
Objectives
To characterize health related quality of life (HRQOL) for Canadians aged 16 to 25 (adolescents and young adults, AYAs) seeking care for mood and anxiety concerns at the First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program, in London, Ontario and to identify factors associated with HRQOL in this population.
Methods
AYAs completed demographic, psychometric, and HRQOL questionnaires. We calculated 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores standardized to Canadian and US population norms. We computed Short Form 6 Dimension (SF-6D) utilities conducting multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusting for age, sex, ethnoracial minority status, parental marital/cohabitation status, parental education, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-R), Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale Self-Report (MADRS-S), Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and a modified Inventory of College Students’ Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE-M).
Results
Amongst 182 AYAs who completed questionnaires, mean physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS) and SF-6D utility scores were low, 43.8 (SD = 16.6), 19.0 (SD = 11.9) and .576 (SD = .074), respectively. Maternal post-secondary education, depression (MADRS-S) and functional impairment (SDS) were significantly associated with SF-6D utility.
Conclusion
This cohort of mental healthcare-seeking AYAs had significantly impaired psychometric and utility-based measures of quality of life, underscoring the importance of timely access to healthcare services for this population.
... Amongst those researchers who have assessed or employed a multifactorial CASI with children and adolescents, several have concluded that more items are needed to comprehensively and reliably assess AS as a multifactorial construct in youth (e.g., Essau et al. 2010;Muris et al. 2001;Walsh et al. 2004;van Widenfelt et al. 2002). Indeed, in response to similar concerns raised with the adult Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss et al. 1986), the item content assessing the multifactorial construct of AS amongst adults was revised and expanded upon multiple times, resulting in the ASI-Revised (ASI-R; Taylor and Cox 1998a), the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile (ASP; Taylor and Cox 1998b), and the ASI-3 ) (see Olatunji and Wolitzky-Taylor 2009 for a review of these measures). To address the limited number of items available to assess the lower-order facets comprising the child AS construct, a revised and expanded version of the CASI, the Revised Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI-R) was developed by Muris (2002). ...
... The CASI-R was developed by combining the 18 items from the original CASI with 26 items from the ASI-Revised (ASI-R; Taylor and Cox 1998a) and asking expert raters to select items that were (a) specific to one of the four AS factors identified in adults with the ASI-R (i.e., fear of cardiovascular symptoms, fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions, fear of cognitive dyscontrol, and fear of respiratory symptoms), (b) written in reference to the harmful consequences of anxiety, and (c) seemingly appropriate for comprehension by children as young as 12 years of age. The 31 items remaining after expert selection were administered to a non-clinical sample of 518 children and adolescents aged 12-18 years. ...
... Taylor and Cox 1998a); the original CASI items that were incorporated into the CASI-R are indicated with an asterisk in Appendix Table 4. Because of the way the CASI-R was developed (as noted above), the item content overlap between it and the CASI is small (eight items) and the items for the CASI-R were selected in such a way as to assess across each of the four facets of AS identified by Taylor and Cox (1998a) in their development of the ASI-R for adults. In a confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 518 non-clinical adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, Muris (2002) observed support for the following four CASI-R subscales: Fear of Cardiovascular Symptoms (α = .88), ...
The multifactorial nature of anxiety sensitivity (AS) in children has been assessed almost solely with the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI; Silverman et al. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20(2), 162–168, 1991); however, multiple studies have suggested that the item content of the CASI is too limited to adequately assess multiple AS factors in youth. Here we examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI-R; Muris Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 299–311, 2002), developed to assess a higher-order global AS factor and four lower-order factors. In a non-clinical sample of youth aged 8–14 we (a) examined the psychometric properties of the CASI-R, comparing findings for children aged 11 and younger with those aged 12 and older, (b) evaluated and compared the internal consistency of the four-factor CASI-R and the three- and four-factor CASI, and (c) examined and compared the convergent validity of the CASI and CASI-R subscales with child-reported anxiety symptoms. Reliability estimates for the CASI-R total, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory scales were high for all youth; the Cognitive Dyscontrol and Publicly Observable Reactions scales yielded low estimates of internal consistency for the younger group. Compared to the parallel CASI scales, these CASI-R scales demonstrated stronger internal consistency in both the older and younger groups. Comparatively larger correlations between the CASI-R physical and cognitive scales with symptoms of panic and between the CASI-R social scale and symptoms of social anxiety were observed. These findings suggest continued use and examination of the CASI-R in child and adolescent non-clinical and clinical samples to comprehensively assess the AS construct in youth.
... Framed as an "interpretation bias" with respect to the subjective experience of symptoms of anxiety that are in fact neutral but are perceived as negative and involving potential threat (Alkozei et al. 2014;Weems et al. 2010), this construct was first objectively assessed in adults using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss et al. 1986), a 16-item self-report measure. Since its publication and initial validation, the ASI has been revised and expanded upon, resulting in the ASI-Revised (ASI-R; Taylor and Cox 1998a), the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile (ASP; Taylor and Cox 1998b), and the ASI-3 ) (see Olatunji and Wolitzky-Taylor 2009 for a review of these measures). Continued evaluation of the AS construct amongst adults has yielded support for AS as not only a predictor of anxiety symptoms and disorders but also as a transdiagnostic risk factor for other psychological concerns, including depression (e.g., Boswell et al. 2013;Naragon-Gainey 2010). ...
... In contrast to the ASIC, which attempted to assess AS in a more focused and narrow fashion by including only those items of the original ASI that demonstrated good reliability in youth, the CASI-R approached the assessment of AS in children by expanding the item content to 31 items intended to more broadly assess each of the AS facets, a direction that had been recommended elsewhere (e.g., Deacon et al. 2002). The CASI-R is comprised of eight items taken from the original CASI and 23 taken from the ASI-R (Taylor and Cox 1998a). In a sample of non-clinical adolescents aged 12-18 years, Muris (2002) employed CFA analyses to provide support for a four-factor structure of the CASI-R, each scale of which yielded an excellent estimate of internal consistency: Fear of Cardiovascular Symptoms (α = .88), ...
... An augmented item pool potentially allows for the composition of more stable and reliable subscales, thus improving our ability to generate and test theories with respect to childhood anxiety and the factors that influence and maintain it. Indeed, this recommendation is consistent with those that have been made within the adult literature as well (e.g., Taylor and Cox 1998a, b). With respect to the CASI-R, one imminent area of future investigation might be to examine the applicability of this scale to younger samples (e.g., those aged 11 and younger). ...
Background
Child anxiety sensitivity (AS) is measured almost exclusively using the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI). Yet, in the context of significant discrepancies regarding the CASI factors and how they are scored and reported, it remains unclear whether the CASI reliably and validly assesses the purported multifactorial AS construct.
Objective
This paper will: (1) provide a comprehensive summary of previous CASI factor analyses by which these factor structures were identified, (2) evaluate evidence regarding the multifactorial nature of AS in youth, and (3) discuss potential directions for continued research in this area.
Method
In a PsycInfo search, peer-reviewed studies published between 1991 and 2018 were identified for inclusion if they examined the factor structure of the CASI or reported data on the CASI subscales as administered to child participants.
Results
Findings from the 50 studies reviewed suggested that (1) the 18-item CASI does not consistently yield internally reliable assessments of specific AS facets, (2) significant discrepancies exist regarding the CASI subscales identified, the items comprising these scales, and their predictive validity in terms of anxiety, and (3) alternatives to assess the multifactorial construct of AS in youth do exist, but they have not been systematically examined in the literature.
Conclusions
Directions for future study include further examining expanded scales for AS in youth, continued study of shorter scales assessing more consistently reliable AS content, and evaluating the utility of an expanded response scale for the CASI.
... Taylor and Cox [37]. developed the ASS to assess the degree of fear of anxiety symptoms and consequences. ...
... The items are rated on a five-point Likert scale. Taylor and Cox have reported alpha coefficients from 0.83 to 0.94, confirming the internal consistency of the scale [37]. In Iran, the coefficients measured for the scale and its subscales varied from 0.82 to 0.93, confirming the internal consistency of the scale [38]. ...
... using the Chinese version (Zsido et al., 2020); three studies used the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck et al., 1988;see Lucibello et al., 2019see Lucibello et al., , 2020Parker et al., 2016); two studies used the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS; Zung, 1971), whereas one used the Chinese version (J. . One study used the Social Anxiety Scale for adolescents (Inderbitzen-Nolan & Walters, 2000; see also Lima et al., 2022); two studies used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) (Bonhauser et al., 2005;Philippot et al., 2022) and one study used the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Peterson & Reiss, 1992) (Sabourin et al., 2015) and one the revised version of the ASI (Taylor & Cox, 1998) (Broman-Fulks & Storey, 2008. One study used the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (Zuckerman et al., 1964; see also Norris et al., 1992). ...
This systematic review provides an overview of the current literature on the effects of physical activity (PA) as an intervention to treat anxiety symptoms in adolescents and young adults. Three searches (March and May 2022; July 2024) focusing on RCTs using a PA intervention of at least moderate intensity were carried out in PubMed, PsycInfo, SportDiscus, and Google Scholar. Studies were screened, and risk of bias was assessed for all included studies. In total 2,521 studies were retrieved, and 14 RCTs were retained. Studies were compared based on several criteria, such as type of exercise, intensity, delivery mode, PA alone or as add-on treatment. Results suggest that PA is more effective compared to inactive control conditions. Intensity (moderate or high) or type of exercise (aerobic or resistance training) requirements for anxiolytic effects are less clear. Participants with elevated anxiety scores benefit more from PA interventions than those with low anxiety scores. We conclude that PA is a promising intervention to treat anxiety in adolescents and young adults. Heterogeneity between studies is high, and many present methodological shortcomings. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms responsible for anxiety-reducing effects. To advance research, more high-quality studies are needed to develop effective and personalized PA interventions.
... 2 Various tools have been developed to measure anxiety sensitivity. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index, 3 Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised, 4 and Anxiety Sensitivity Profile 5 were developed to measure anxiety sensitivity. These instruments have reported different findings regarding factor structures. ...
Objective
Anxiety sensitivity is associated with the onset and progression of various emotional disorders. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index 3 (ASI-3) is a self-report scale for anxiety sensitivity. This study aims to resolve the ongoing controversy about the factorial structure of the ASI-3 using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), a newly advanced technique.
Methods
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), ESEM, bifactor-CFA, and bifactor-ESEM were used to investigate the factorial structure of the ASI-3. Three hundred Korean college students (female = 195, age: 21.74 ± 2.34) filled out the ASI-3 and the Distress Intolerance Index.
Results
The bifactor-ESEM model exhibited a model fit superior to the 4 alternative models. The general factor showed higher loadings and reliability and explained common variance than the 3 specific factors in the bifactor-ESEM model. Most items reflected the global factor, but 6 items (Items 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 17) from the specific factors had insufficient loadings. Moreover, the global factor of the ASI-3 was associated with distress intolerance scores, indicating adequate criterion-related validity.
Conclusion
The factorial structure of the ASI-3 is best described as a bifactor-ESEM model for Korean college students. Additionally, the bifactor-ESEM model of the ASI-3 includes a strong global factor that explains a large amount of the observed variance in the ASI-3 items.
... Several instruments measure AS or the very similar construct of "fear of fear" or "fear of anxiety" in adults. McHugh (2019) and Taylor (2020) conducted reviews of these instruments and, among the questionnaires, scales, and self-report inventories, identified the following: Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ; Chambless et al., 1984), Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ; Chambless et al., 1984), Panic Belief Inventory (PBI; Wenzel et al., 2006), Body Sensations Interpretations Questionnaire (BSIQ; Clark et al., 1997), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss et al., 1986), and different versions and updates of the latter -Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R; Taylor & Cox, 1998a), Anxiety Sensitivity Profile (ASP; Taylor & Cox, 1998b) and Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3; Taylor et al., 2007). The ASI is undoubtedly the most used and studied of them, both in its original version and in its latest update, the ASI-3. ...
Background:
The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) is the reference instrument for measuring anxiety sensitivity. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the ASI-3 have been examined in university students but not in adults from the general population. Whether the ASI-3 subscales provide relevant information has not yet been examined either.
Method:
The ASI-3’s factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, and relationship with neuroticism were examined in a Spanish community sample of 919 adults.
Results:
In two subsamples of participants, the ASI-3 presented a structure of three correlated factors (physical, cognitive, and social concerns) that loaded on a higher-order factor, but the three factors did not explain much item variance. The total scale and subscales of the ASI-3 showed excellent or good indices of internal consistency (alphas and omegas = .81 – .91), and adequate indices of test-retest reliability at two months ( r = .57 – .73) and the relationship with neuroticism and its facets ( r = .19 – .52).
Conclusions:
The ASI-3 provides reliable, valid measures of anxiety sensitivity in Spanish adults, but its subscales are not very useful beyond the information provided by the total scale.
... ). Zur Operationalisierung und Messung des Konstrukts entwickelten Reiss und Kollegen den Angstsensitivitätsindex (ASI;Reiss et al., 1986), welcher seit Mitte der 80er Jahre bis zur revidierten Fassung von Taylor und Cox (ASI-R;Taylor & Cox, 1998) und der erneuten Revision im Jahr 2007 (ASI-3;Taylor et al., 2007) das Standardinstrument zur Erfassung der AS ist. Die durchschnittlichen ...
Angsterkrankungen stellen mit einer 12-Monats-Prävalenz von 14% die häufigsten psychischen Erkrankungen in der westlichen Gesellschaft dar. Angesichts der hohen querschnittlichen wie sequentiellen Komorbidität von Angsterkrankungen, der ausgeprägten individuellen Einschränkungen sowie der hohen ökonomischen Belastung für das Gesundheitssystem ist neben therapeutischen Behandlungsansätzen die Entwicklung von kurzzeitigen, kostengünstigen und leicht zugänglichen Präventionsmaßnahmen von großer Bedeutung und steht zunehmend im Fokus des gesundheitspolitischen Interesses, um die Inzidenz von Angsterkrankungen zu reduzieren. Voraussetzung für die Entwicklung von gezielten und damit den effektivsten Präventionsmaßnahmen sind valide Risikofaktoren, die die Entstehung von Angsterkrankungen begünstigen. Ein Konstrukt, das in der Literatur als subklinisches Symptom in Form einer kognitiven Vulnerabilität für Angsterkrankungen und damit als Risikofaktor angesehen wird, ist die sogenannte Angstsensitivität (AS). AS umfasst die individuelle Tendenz, angstbezogene körperliche Symptome generell als bedrohlich einzustufen und mit aversiven Konsequenzen zu assoziieren. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war daher die Etablierung und Validierung eines Präventionsprogramms zur Reduktion der AS an einer nicht-klinischen Stichprobe von 100 Probanden (18-30 Jahre) mit einer erhöhten AS (Anxiety Sensitivity Index [ASI-3] ≥17) sowie die Rekrutierung von 100 alters- und geschlechtsangeglichenen Probanden mit niedriger Angstsensitivität (ASI-3 <17). In einem randomisiert-kontrollierten Studiendesign durchliefen die Probanden mit hoher AS entweder das über fünf Wochen angelegte „Kognitive Angstsensitivitätstraining“ (KAST) als erste deutschsprachige Übersetzung des Computer-basierten „Cognitive Anxiety Sensitivity Treatment“ (CAST) von Schmidt et al. (2014) oder wurden der Wartelisten-Kontrollgruppe zugeteilt. Das KAST Training bestand aus einer einmaligen Vermittlung kognitiv-behavioraler Psychoedukation zum Thema Stress und Anspannung sowie deren Auswirkungen auf den Körper und der Anleitung von zwei interozeptiven Expositionsübungen (‚Strohhalm-Atmung‘ und ‚Hyperventilation‘), die über den anschließenden Zeitraum von fünf Wochen in Form von Hausaufgaben wiederholt wurden. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Teilnehmer des KAST-Programms nach Beendigung des Trainings (T1) eine signifikant niedrigere AS-Ausprägung im Vergleich zur Wartelisten-Kontrollgruppe aufwiesen und diese Reduktion auch über den Katamnese-Zeitraum von sechs Monaten (T2) stabil blieb. Ergänzend wurde auch die Targetierbarkeit weiterer intermediärer Risikomarker wie der Trennungsangst (TA), des Index der kardialen Sensitivität sowie der Herzratenvariabilität (HRV) untersucht, die jedoch nicht durch das KAST-Training direkt verändert werden konnten. Im Vergleich der Subgruppen von Probanden mit hoher AS und gleichzeitig hoher TA (Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire [ASA-27] ≥22) und Probanden mit hoher AS, aber niedriger TA (ASA-27 <22) zeigte sich, dass die AS-TA-Hochrisikogruppe ebenfalls gut von der KAST-Intervention profitieren und eine signifikante Reduktion der AS erzielen konnte, indem sie sich bei T1 dem Niveau der Gruppe mit niedriger TA anglich. Zudem korrelierte die prozentuale Veränderung der Einstiegswerte der inneren Anspannung während der Strohhalm-Atmungsübung positiv mit der prozentualen Veränderung der dimensionalen TA bei T1. Zusammenfassend weisen die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit erstmalig auf die Wirksamkeit der deutschsprachigen Übersetzung des CAST-Programms (Schmidt et al., 2014), eines Computer-basierten, und damit leicht zu implementierenden sowie kostengünstigen Programms, in Bezug auf die Reduktion der AS sowie indirekt der TA hin und können damit zur indizierten und demnach besonders effektiven Prävention von Angsterkrankungen in Hochrisikogruppen beitragen.
... To address this problem, Taylor and Cox proposed the ASI-R, consisting of 36 questions, that has a higher explanatory power and validity. 26 The STAI, designed by Spielberger, is a self-reporting questionnaire that consists of 20 questions assessing state anxiety (STAI-S) and 20 questions assessing trait anxiety (STAI-T). 27 The STAI-S measures psychological states such as worry, tension, and anxiety in different mood states; the higher the score, the higher the anxiety level. ...
Context
: The analgesic effect of music has long been reported.
Objective
: To assess how anxiety-related psychological states affect the analgesic effect of music using the cold pressor task (CPT).
Design
: A 3-period × 3-sequence crossover design was adopted; three conditions were used: “no sound,” “music-listening,” and “news-listening.”
Setting:
Participants
Forty-nine participants were included.
Interventions
After completing five anxiety-related psychological instruments (Anxiety Sensitivity Index [ASI]-16, ASI-Revised, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]-S, STAI-T, and Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale-20), the participants were allocated to the low- or high-anxiety group. The high- and low-anxiety groups were defined based on cutoff points according to the distributions and characteristics of the five instruments.
Main outcome measures
Pain responses, such as pain tolerance time, pain intensity, and pain unpleasantness, were measured on the CPT. Pain responses in the music-listening condition were also compared to those in the other two conditions via pairwise comparisons within each anxiety group.
Results
: The Cronbach alpha of the five instruments ranged from .866 to .95, indicating that they were reliable. Pain responses in the music-listening condition in the low-anxiety groups based on any of the five scales were significantly different from those in the other conditions, but this effect was not found in the high-anxiety groups. This study demonstrates that anxiety-related psychological states can predict the analgesic effect of music on pain responses measured by the CPT and suggests that music may be beneficial as a pain management tool in low-anxiety groups.
... 3, 6 Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to the fear of anxiety-related symptoms or bodily sensations resulting from the belief that such sensations have harmful somatic, social or psychological consequences. [7][8][9][10][11] Anxiety sensitivity explains why level of anxiety and fear are increased. 7,10 The concept of AS can also be valuable in the context of dentistry. ...
Background: Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling that occurs when something undesirable is going to happen, while fear is the expecting threat from an identifiable source. Aim and objective: To assess the level of anxiety related to dental treatment among undergraduate students in a dental College of Bengaluru. Materials and methods: For data collection, an online digital survey App, namely, Surveymonkey.com was used. At the outset, the said App was installed. A questionnaire containing four relevant questions was prepared and sent to the respondents/participants, that is, all the undergraduate dental students of a dental college in Bengaluru through e-mail. Results: In the survey carried out among 334 respondents, 75.08% were female and remaining 24.92% were male. There were seven age categories based on year of study (1st year to IV-year BDS). The seven age categories were distributed as follows: 18 years of age (8.08%), 19 years of age (22.46%), 20 years of age (27.54%), 21 years of age (21.56%), 22 years of age (11.68%), 23 years of age (3.59%), and 24 years of age (5.09%). Further, the percentage of respondents based on year of study is as follows: First year BDS (27.03%), second year (33.33%), third year (19.52%), and fourth year (20.12%). The results revealed that the dental students experience less fear and anxiety during dental treatment due to their familiarity and awareness toward the subject.
... The following baseline measures were assessed: National Adult Reading Test [34], Eysenck Personality Questionnaire [35], Trauma History Checklist [20], Post-traumatic Cognition Inventory [36], Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory [37], Beck Depression Inventory II [38], Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory [39], Attention Control Scale [40], and Behavioural Inhibition and Activation Scale [41]. All participants gave written informed consent. ...
The angiotensin-II antagonist losartan is a promising candidate that has enhanced extinction in a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) animal model and was related to reducing PTSD symptom development in humans. Here, we investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying these results, testing the effect of losartan on data-driven and contextual processing of traumatic material, mechanisms proposed to be relevant for PTSD development. In a double-blind between-subject design, 40 healthy participants were randomised to a single oral dose of losartan (50 mg) or placebo, 1 h before being exposed to distressing films as a trauma analogue while heart rate (HR) was measured. Peritraumatic processing was investigated using blurry picture stimuli from the films, which transformed into clear images. Data-driven processing was measured by the level of blurriness at which contents were recognised. Contextual processing was measured as the amount of context information retrieved when describing the pictures’ contents. Negative-matched control images were used to test perceptual processing of peripheral trauma-cues. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed via self-report questionnaires after analogue trauma and an intrusion diary completed over 4 days following the experiment. Compared to placebo, losartan facilitated contextual processing and enhanced detail perception in the negative-match pictures. During the films, the losartan group recorded lower HR and higher HR variability, reflecting lower autonomic stress responses. We discuss potential mechanisms of losartan in preventing PTSD symptomatology, including the role of reduced arousal and increased contextual processing during trauma exposure, as well as increased threat-safety differentiation when encountering peripheral trauma-cues in the aftermaths of traumatic events.
... One of the debated aspects of the anxiety sensitivity construct is its relationship with other anxiety-related constructs. Anxiety sensitivity mirrors how much an individual believes and fears Woods, & Tolin, 2003;Taylor & Cox, 1998a, 1998bZvolensky et al., 2003; for an extended overview, see Olatunji & Wolitzky-Taylor, 2009). ...
We evaluated the Portuguese version of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index 3
(ASI–3–PT). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (N¼603; 65.3%
women, M age ¼ 28.55, SD¼10.42) confirmed multidimensionality of the
construct and the receiver operating characteristic confirmed the discriminant
capacity of the measure between clinical and nonclinical samples.
... Anxiety sensitivity (AS), defined as the fear of anxiety and arousal-related sensations, is another construct related to both PTSD and SUD [39••]. AS, which is often measured via the self-report Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) [40], ASI-Revised [41], or ASI-3 [42], is positively associated with PTSD symptoms and diagnosis, as well various types of SUDs, providing evidence of the negative-reinforcement model of substance use, with higher AS being associated with greater coping-oriented substance use behavior in individuals with comorbid PTSD/SUD. ...
Purpose of review
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) are highly comorbid, and the presence of both disorders is associated with lower treatment effect sizes and higher dropout from treatment than one disorder alone. This review examines recent research on treatments for patients with comorbid PTSD/SUD, as well as recent work on psychological mechanisms that may contribute to both disorders.
Recent findings
Several studies have shown that trauma-focused treatments, such as Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE), are effective for reducing PTSD and do not cause exacerbation of substance use in patients with comorbid SUD. A few studies have examined pharmacotherapies for PTSD/SUD, but to date there is not one medication that appears to have clear efficacy for individuals with PTSD/SUD. Several mechanisms such as anxiety sensitivity, trauma-related cognitions, and pain may contribute to both PTSD and SUD.
Summary
Although trauma-focused treatments show promising results for PTSD/SUD, preconceptions regarding potential concurrent treatment risks influence provider adoption. Because many patients do not have a goal of total abstinence from substances, future research on the impact of continued use on trauma-focused treatment outcomes is needed. Additional trials of medications in conjunction with psychotherapy are indicated.
... (SD ¼ 5.52) in the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Spielberger and Gorsuch, 1983), which both indicate average levels of anxiety. Moreover, the sample had a low mean anxiety sensitivity score of 11.48 (SD ¼ 8.12) in the Anxiety Sensitivity Index -Revised (ASI-R, Taylor and Cox, 1998). No participant had any established risk factor related to TMS (e.g., ferromagnetic implants, cardiac pacemakers, epilepsy, and use of drugs; see Rossi et al., 2012). ...
Anxiety sensitivity refers to an individual’s belief that anxiety symptoms adversely affect physical, cognitive, and social appraisals, thereby exacerbating the fear of these symptoms. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) has been widely used to measure anxiety sensitivity. To provide researchers with more flexibility in selecting scale lengths, this study developed two shortened versions of the ASI-3 via item response theory analysis: one containing 12 items and the other containing six items. Given the overall good quality of the original scale, this study primarily achieved scale shortening by retaining items that could provide a substantial amount of item information, namely, items of high measurement precision. Compared to the original scale, the two shortened versions demonstrate good reliability while maintaining the same three-dimensional latent structure, robust inter-construct relationships, and highly correlated latent traits.
Purpose
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to fear of anxiety-related sensory arousal and has been revealed to be associated with increased psychological distress and mental problems. Although Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) has been confirmed to be effective in evaluating this construct, whether it is consistently applicable in college students is still elusive. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of Chinese version of ASI-3 (C-ASI-3) among college students experiencing campus lockdown due to novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Methods
A total of 1532 Chinese college students (397, 25.9% males) aged between 16 and 25 were included in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to verify the factor structure of C-ASI-3. Multi-group CFA was conducted for analysis of measurement invariance with regard to gender. McDonald’s omega values were computed for examination of scale reliability. For criterion, convergent, and divergent validity, average variance extracted (AVE) values for C-ASI-3 subscales, difference between square root of AVE for each factor and inter-factor correlation, as well as pearson correlation and partial correlation between the C-ASI-3 and other three scales, including the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19 S) were evaluated.
Results
The C-ASI-3 presented a three-factor scale structure with fit indices being as follows: χ²/df = 11.590, CFI = 0.938, RMSEA = 0.083, SRMR = 0.042. Strict measurement invariance was reached across gender. Regarding convergent validity, the C-ASI-3 had a high correlation with the DASS-21 (r = 0.597, p < 0.01) and the STAI (r = 0.504, p < 0.01). All AVE values for C-ASI-3 subscales were above 0.5. In terms of divergent validity, the C-ASI-3 had medium correlation with the FCV-19 S (r = 0.360, p < 0.01). Square of root of AVE for each factor was higher that inter-factor correlation. McDonald’s omega values of the three dimensions ranged from 0.898 ~ 0.958.
Conclusion
The C-ASI-3 has acceptable psychometric properties among college students. College students with different gender have consistent understanding on the scale construct.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on mental health, straining an already overburdened healthcare system. A modular, transdiagnostic approach to treating psychopathology may be ideal to target common transdiagnostic risk factors for emotional distress and related disorders likely to be impacted by circumstances related to this once-in-a-lifetime environmental stressor. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or fear of anxious arousal, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), or distress when confronted with uncertainty, and loneliness are three transdiagnostic risk factors impacted by the pandemic and robust predictors of emotional distress beyond that. We completed a pilot feasibility, acceptability, and utility trial of Coping Crew, our group, telehealth-delivered transdiagnostic treatment protocol in 17 participants who completed the intervention (M age = 22.00, SD = 4.46; 71% female). The intervention and study protocol were feasible to deliver and were rated as acceptable and useful to address intervention targets. Evidence was mixed regarding feasibility, acceptability, and usefulness of the mobile app component. Sixteen of 17 participants (94%) completed at least one survey a day on 80% of the days but only 6 participants (35%) completed at least 80% of the mobile app surveys delivered over the course of the intervention. Most participants rated use of the app as acceptable and relevant to psychological improvements made due to the intervention. Sizeable effect size reductions in transdiagnostic risk factors were found at post-intervention and maintained at 1- and 3-month follow-up, supporting next steps in the development of this modular transdiagnostic treatment.
Repeated suicide attempts are a significant risk factor for suicide, and anxiety sensitivity has been proposed as one of the individual characteristics that increase such attempts. However, there is a lack of research that explores the underlying mechanism of how anxiety sensitivity is associated with suicide attempts. The present study examined the mediating effect of rumination and hopelessness in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and repeated suicide attempts among psychiatric patients. The moderating effect of gender in this mediating relationship was also investigated. Two hundred twenty-nine patients who visited the psychiatric department at a university hospital in Seoul completed self-report measures and structured clinical interview. Data on demographic characteristics as well as anxiety sensitivity (ASI-3), rumination (RRS), and hopelessness (BHS) were collected. Structured interviews (SCID-5-CV) were also administered to identify their history and frequency of suicide attempts. The results indicated a significant mediating effect of rumination and hopelessness in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and repeated suicide attempts. This association differed by gender, demonstrating a moderated mediation effect. More specifically, the mediation effect was not significant among men. In the case of women, the simple mediation effect of hopelessness was significant (indirect effect = 0.008, Boot SE = 0.003, 95% CI [0.003, 0.016]), and the serial mediation effect of rumination and hopelessness was also significant (indirect effect = 0.006, Boot SE = 0.003, 95% CI [0.003, 0.012]). The results imply a significant link between hopelessness and suicide attempts, specifically observed in women (interaction effect = 0.081, SE = 0.033, 95% CI [0.015, 0.146]). The present study highlights the prominent role of anxiety sensitivity regarding suicidal risks among patients with mental disorders. Moreover, it is vital to consider both rumination, a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy, and feelings of hopelessness to understand their repeated suicide attempts better. In addition, this study provides evidence of the importance of gender-specific interventions in suicide prevention measures.
The Cambridge Handbook of International Prevention Science offers a comprehensive global overview on prevention science with the most up-to-date research from around the world. Over 100 scholars from 27 different countries (including Australia, Bhutan, Botswana, India, Israel, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Thailand) contributed to this volume, which covers a wide range of topics important to prevention science. It includes major sections on the foundations of prevention as well as examples of new initiatives in the field, detailing current prevention efforts across the five continents. A unique and innovative volume, The Cambridge Handbook of International Prevention Science is a valuable resource for established scholars, early professionals, students, practitioners and policy-makers.
Introduction: The present study examined the psychometric properties of a Greek adaptation of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3; Taylor et al., 2007). Method: We translated the ASI-3 following a forward-backward method and then, in addition to measures of anxiety and depression (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995; Lyrakos et al., 2011), we administered it to a nonclinical general population sample (N = 611) recruited online. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a bifactor model with three orthogonal group factors best fit the data, followed by a correlated three-factor model. An examination of the dimensionality of the ASI-3 and the reliability of its dimensions suggested the presence of a reliable, strong AS general factor and comparatively weaker group factors. The ASI-3 appears to measure AS invariantly across gender. We report preliminary evidence for its convergent, discriminant, and divergent validity. Conclusion: The Greek adaption of the ASI-3 revealed adequate psychometric properties. Future studies should explore its criterion-related validity by administering the Greek adaptation of the ASI-3 to clinical samples and explore its relationship to other key constructs of anxiety sensitivity’s nomological network.
As with any life-threatening event, the Covid-19 outbreak causes people to have emotional reactions such as fear and anxiety. Understanding people’s emotional responses to the pandemic is important to understand mental health results. This study investigated the relationships between the levels of acute stress disorder symptoms, anxiety sensitivity, and fear of coronavirus. Data for this aim was collected from university students between the ages of 18 and 55 through an online research form. Data was collected between 23 April 2020 and 29 May 2020. Analysis of 739 participants showed that 67.9% of the participants had symptoms of acute stress ranging from moderate to extreme. It was also observed that anxiety sensitivity, fear of coronavirus, and sex explained 31.0% of the variance in acute stress symptom levels. Also, it was observed that the fear of coronavirus was higher in women than in men. The results point out that support systems that aid psychological well-being such as accessible online psychological help, and online social support groups have great importance during and after the pandemic. It has been thought that it may be beneficial to develop intervention programs targeting anxiety sensitivity to prevent trauma symptoms.
Introduction:
Changes in the DNA methylation of 5-HTTLPR are associated with the pathophysiology of panic disorder (PD). This study was conducted to investigate the association between stressful life events and the level of 5-HTTLPR methylation in patients with PD. We also examined whether these factors were associated with white matter alterations in psychological trauma-related regions.
Methods:
The participants comprised 232 patients with PD and 93 healthy adults of Korean descent. DNA methylation levels of five cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites in the 5-HTTLPR region were analyzed. Voxel-wise statistical analysis of diffusion tensor imaging data was performed within the trauma-related regions.
Results:
PD patients showed significantly lower levels of the DNA methylation at 5-HTTLPR 5 CpG sites than healthy controls. In patients with PD, the DNA methylation levels at 5-HTTLPR 5 CpG sites showed significant negative association with the parental separation-related psychological distress, and positive correlations with the fractional anisotropy values of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) which might be related to trait anxiety.
Conclusion:
Early life stress was significantly associated with DNA methylation levels at 5-HTTLPR related to the decreased white matter integrity in the SLF region in PD. Decreased white matter connectivity in the SLF might be related to trait anxiety and is vital to the pathophysiology of PD.
Objectives
Dyspnoea is a common persistent symptom post-coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) illness. However, mechanisms underlying dyspnoea in the post-COVID-19 syndrome remain unclear. The aim of our study was to examine dyspnoea quality and intensity, burden of mental health symptoms, and differences in exercise responses in people with and without persistent dyspnoea following COVID-19.
Methods
49 participants with mild-to-critical COVID-19 were included in this cross-sectional study 4 months following acute illness. Between group comparisons were made in those with and without persistent dyspnoea (defined as modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea score ≥1). Participants completed standardised dyspnoea and mental health symptom questionnaires, pulmonary function tests, and incremental cardiopulmonary exercise testing.
Results
Exertional dyspnoea intensity and unpleasantness were increased in the dyspnoea group. The dyspnoea group described dyspnoea qualities of suffocating and tightness at peak exercise (p<0.05). Ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (V E /VCO 2 ) nadir was higher (32±5 versus 28±3, p<0.001) and anaerobic threshold was lower (41±12 versus 49±11%predicted maximum oxygen uptake, p=0.04) in the dyspnoea group, indicating ventilatory inefficiency and deconditioning in this group. The dyspnoea group experienced greater symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress (all p<0.05). A subset of participants demonstrated gas-exchange and breathing pattern abnormalities suggestive of dysfunctional breathing.
Conclusions
People with persistent dyspnoea following COVID-19 experience a specific dyspnoea quality phenotype. Dyspnoea post-COVID-19 is related to abnormal pulmonary gas exchange and deconditioning and is linked to increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.
Background & Aims: Due to the increasing number of older women with anxiety sensitivity, attention to this condition in this vulnerable group is of particular importance. Spiritual wellbeing can promote the mental health of the elderly, especially older women. this study aims to determine the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and anxiety sensitivity of older women in Ashtian, Iran.
Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive-correlational study. The study population includs all older women referred to urban and rural health centers in Ashtian city. Of these, 160 were selected by a continuous sampling method. A demographic form, the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised were used to collect information. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS software, version 16.
Results: The mean±sd total scores of spiritual wellbeing and anxiety sensitivity were 96.1±19.86 and 48.25±31.93, respectively. Spiritual wellbeing had a significant association with anxiety sensitivity in older women (r=-0.734, P
Aims:
We aimed to examine the long-term benefits of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on white matter plasticity in the cortical midline structures (CMS) for a period of 2 years in patients with panic disorder and the relationships between white matter changes in the CMS and severity of state and trait symptoms.
Methods:
Seventy-one participants were enrolled and underwent diffusion tensor imaging at baseline and after 2 years (26 who received MBCT as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy [MBCT+PT], 20 treated with pharmacotherapy alone [PT-alone], and 25 healthy controls [HCs]). The severity of symptoms and fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter regions underlying the CMS were assessed at baseline and 2-year follow-up.
Results:
The MBCT+PT group showed better outcomes after 2 years than the PT-alone group. The groups showed different FA changes: the MBCT+PT group showed decreased FA in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); the PT-alone group showed increased FA in the bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and precuneus. Decreased white matter FA in the ACC, PCC, and precuneus was associated with improvements in the severity of state and trait symptoms in patients with panic disorder.
Conclusion:
Alleviation of excessive white matter connectivity in the CMS after MBCT leads to improvements in clinical symptoms and trait vulnerability in patients with panic disorder. Our study provides new evidence for the long-term benefits of MBCT on white matter plasticity and its clinical applicability as a robust treatment for panic disorder. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic condition that can seriously impact a patient’s functions and quality of life. Mindfulness-based meditation as a clinical intervention can positively affect the emotional and physical states of patients with MS. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the role of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on anxiety sensitivity in patients with MS. Methods: This quasi-experimental study adopted a pretest-posttest, control group design with follow-up. The statistical population included the women with MS who enrolled in the Tehran MS Society. Convenience sampling was employed to select 30 participants who were assigned randomly to an experimental group and a control group (15 members per group). The experimental group received MBCT (for eight 90-minute sessions), whereas the control group received no interventions. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) was used for data collection, and repeated measures ANCOVA was adopted for data analysis. Results: The mean age of women was 37.21 ± 5.78 years. Also, the duration of the disease in the participants was 5.81 ± 2.43 years. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the pretest, posttest, and follow-up scores of anxiety sensitivity in the experimental group were101.66 ± 2.63, 93.86 ± 3.11 and 94.00 ± 3.62, respectively, which in the posttest and follow-up was significantly different from the control groups (P < 0.001). The MBCT significantly improved anxiety sensitivity components in the experimental group compared to the control group. This significant difference was also observed during the follow-up period (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The MBCT helped alleviate anxiety sensitivity in women with MS. Therefore, psychotherapists can use MBCT as an effective intervention in improving anxiety sensitivity in women with MS.
You live your entire waking life immersed in your inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations and so on) – private phenomena created by you, just for you, your own way. Despite their intimacy and ubiquity, you probably do not know the characteristics of your own inner phenomena; neither does psychology or consciousness science. Investigating Pristine Inner Experience explores how to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. This book will transform your view of your own inner experience, awaken you to experiential differences between people and thereby reframe your thinking about psychology and consciousness science, which banned the study of inner experience for most of a century and yet continued to recognize its fundamental importance. The author, a pioneer in using beepers to explore inner experience, draws on his 35 years of studies to provide fascinating and provocative views of everyday inner experience and experience in bulimia, adolescence, the elderly, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, virtuosity and more.
You live your entire waking life immersed in your inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations and so on) – private phenomena created by you, just for you, your own way. Despite their intimacy and ubiquity, you probably do not know the characteristics of your own inner phenomena; neither does psychology or consciousness science. Investigating Pristine Inner Experience explores how to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. This book will transform your view of your own inner experience, awaken you to experiential differences between people and thereby reframe your thinking about psychology and consciousness science, which banned the study of inner experience for most of a century and yet continued to recognize its fundamental importance. The author, a pioneer in using beepers to explore inner experience, draws on his 35 years of studies to provide fascinating and provocative views of everyday inner experience and experience in bulimia, adolescence, the elderly, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, virtuosity and more.
You live your entire waking life immersed in your inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations and so on) – private phenomena created by you, just for you, your own way. Despite their intimacy and ubiquity, you probably do not know the characteristics of your own inner phenomena; neither does psychology or consciousness science. Investigating Pristine Inner Experience explores how to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. This book will transform your view of your own inner experience, awaken you to experiential differences between people and thereby reframe your thinking about psychology and consciousness science, which banned the study of inner experience for most of a century and yet continued to recognize its fundamental importance. The author, a pioneer in using beepers to explore inner experience, draws on his 35 years of studies to provide fascinating and provocative views of everyday inner experience and experience in bulimia, adolescence, the elderly, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, virtuosity and more.
You live your entire waking life immersed in your inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations and so on) – private phenomena created by you, just for you, your own way. Despite their intimacy and ubiquity, you probably do not know the characteristics of your own inner phenomena; neither does psychology or consciousness science. Investigating Pristine Inner Experience explores how to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. This book will transform your view of your own inner experience, awaken you to experiential differences between people and thereby reframe your thinking about psychology and consciousness science, which banned the study of inner experience for most of a century and yet continued to recognize its fundamental importance. The author, a pioneer in using beepers to explore inner experience, draws on his 35 years of studies to provide fascinating and provocative views of everyday inner experience and experience in bulimia, adolescence, the elderly, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, virtuosity and more.
You live your entire waking life immersed in your inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations and so on) – private phenomena created by you, just for you, your own way. Despite their intimacy and ubiquity, you probably do not know the characteristics of your own inner phenomena; neither does psychology or consciousness science. Investigating Pristine Inner Experience explores how to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. This book will transform your view of your own inner experience, awaken you to experiential differences between people and thereby reframe your thinking about psychology and consciousness science, which banned the study of inner experience for most of a century and yet continued to recognize its fundamental importance. The author, a pioneer in using beepers to explore inner experience, draws on his 35 years of studies to provide fascinating and provocative views of everyday inner experience and experience in bulimia, adolescence, the elderly, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, virtuosity and more.
You live your entire waking life immersed in your inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations and so on) – private phenomena created by you, just for you, your own way. Despite their intimacy and ubiquity, you probably do not know the characteristics of your own inner phenomena; neither does psychology or consciousness science. Investigating Pristine Inner Experience explores how to apprehend inner experience in high fidelity. This book will transform your view of your own inner experience, awaken you to experiential differences between people and thereby reframe your thinking about psychology and consciousness science, which banned the study of inner experience for most of a century and yet continued to recognize its fundamental importance. The author, a pioneer in using beepers to explore inner experience, draws on his 35 years of studies to provide fascinating and provocative views of everyday inner experience and experience in bulimia, adolescence, the elderly, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, virtuosity and more.
Background:
It is well known that the course of migraine is influenced by comorbidities and that individual psychological characteristics may impact on the disease. Proper identification of psychological factors that are relevant to migraine is important to improve non-pharmacological management. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between psychological factors and migraine in subjects free of psychiatric comorbidities.
Methods:
A sample of women with episodic (EM) and chronic migraine (CM) without history of psychiatric comorbidities were included in this cross-sectional study. The study also included female healthy controls (HC) without migraine or other primary headaches. We evaluated sleep, anxiety, depression, intolerance of uncertainty, decision making style and tendence to pain catastrophizing by validated self-report questionnaires or scales. Comparisons among groups were performed using ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results:
A total of 65 women with EM (mean age ± SD, 43.9 ± 7.2), 65 women with CM (47.7 ± 8.5), and 65 HC (43.5 ± 9.0) were evaluated. In sleep domains, CM patients reported poorer overall sleep quality, more severe sleep disturbances, greater sleep medication use, higher daytime dysfunction, and more severe insomnia symptoms than HC. EM group showed better sleep quality, lower sleep disturbances and sleep medication use than CM. On the other hand, the analysis highlighted more severe daytime dysfunction and insomnia symptoms in EM patients compared to HC. In anxiety and mood domains, CM showed greater trait anxiety and a higher level of general anxiety sensitivity than HC. Specifically, CM participants were more afraid of somatic and cognitive anxiety symptoms than HC. No difference in depression severity emerged. Finally, CM reported a higher pain catastrophizing tendency, more severe feeling of helplessness, and more substantial ruminative thinking than EM and HC, whilst EM participants reported higher scores in the three above-mentioned dimensions than HC. The three groups showed similar decision-making styles, intolerance of uncertainty, and strategies for coping with uncertainty.
Conclusions:
Even in individuals without psychiatric comorbidities, specific behavioral and psychological factors are associated with migraine, especially in its chronic form. Proper identification of those factors is important to improve management of migraine through non-pharmacological strategies.
Evidence has consistently demonstrated the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide. However, there is little research related to the differential relationships between the PTSD symptom clusters (avoidance, re-experiencing, hyperarousal and negative alterations in cognitions and mood) and risk and suicidal behavior. The present systematic review studies the relationship between these post-traumatic symptom clusters and suicidal behavior (suicidal ideation and suicide attempts). The review includes 20 articles from the databases PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and Web of Science. Results indicate that hyperarousal significantly predicts suicidal ideation in 53.33% and suicide attempts in 42.85% of the studies reviewed. Reduction of hyperarousal symptoms should be considered a priority objective in the development of therapeutic interventions to reduce suicide risk in people with post-traumatic conditions or diagnosed with PTSD. Resumen: Existe evidencia contrastada de la relación entre el trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y el suicidio. No obs-tante, existen pocas investigaciones sobre las relaciones diferenciales entre los grupos de síntomas de TEPT (evitación, re-expe-rimentación, hiperactivación y alteraciones negativas cognitivas y del estado de ánimo [ANCE]) y la conducta suicida. La pre-sente revisión sistemática estudia la relación entre estos grupos de síntomas postraumáticos y la conducta suicida (ideación e intentos suicidas). La revisión incluye 20 artículos procedentes de las bases de datos PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES y Web of Science. Los resultados apuntan que la hiperactivación predice de forma significativa la ideación suicida en el 53.33% de los estudios revisados y los intentos de suicidio en el 42.85% de los mismos. La reducción de los síntomas de hiperactivación debe considerarse un objetivo prioritario en la elaboración de intervenciones terapéuticas para reducir el riesgo suicida en personas con cuadros postraumáticos o diagnóstico de TEPT. Palabras clave: TEPT; hiperactivación; ideación suicida; intentos de suicidio; revisión sistemática.
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the factor structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) in a Turkey sample and to determine measurement invariance of the ASI-3 across gender and age groups. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on four different models to determine the best fit model for the structure. After the best structure was determined, different models were tested for measurement invariance across gender and age groups. To determine the reliability of the ASI-3, the hierarchical omega coefficient and correlations between the scores obtained from different scales for convergent validity were calculated. It has been determined that the bifactor model is the model that best fits the data, and this model shows invariance across gender and age groups. Besides, evidence regarding the reliability and convergent validity of the ASI-3 was also provided in the study. Current findings show that anxiety sensitivity consists of a general factor (anxiety sensitivity) and three independent specific factors (physical, cognitive, and social concerns). It was concluded that the general factor of anxiety sensitivity constitutes a dominant factor and special factors have a relatively low effect on explaining the structure. Considering the dominance of the general factor, it is recommended to use the ASI-3 total score as a measure of general anxiety sensitivity.
Objective:
To examine the trajectory of psychosomatic symptoms and to explore the impact of psychosomatic symptoms on setup error in patients undergoing breast cancer radiotherapy.
Methods:
A total of 102 patients with early breast cancer who received initial radiotherapy were consecutively recruited. The M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) and three different anxiety scales, i.e., the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), were used in this study. The radiotherapy setup errors were measured in millimetres by comparing the real-time isocratic verification film during radiotherapy with the digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR). Patients completed the assessment at three time points: before the initial radiotherapy (T1), before the middle radiotherapy (T2), and before the last radiotherapy (T3).
Results:
The SAS and STAI-State scores of breast cancer patients at T1 were significantly higher than those at T2 and T3 (F=24.44, P<0.001; F=30.25, P<0.001). The core symptoms of MDASI were positively correlated with anxiety severity. The setup errors of patients with high SAS scores were greater than those of patients with low anxiety levels at T1 (Z=-2.01, P=0.044). We also found that higher SAS scores were associated with a higher risk of radiotherapy setup errors at T1 (B=0.458, P<0.05).
Conclusions:
This study seeks to identify treatment-related psychosomatic symptoms and mitigate their impact on patients and treatment. Patients with early breast cancer experienced the highest level of anxiety before the initial radiotherapy, and then, anxiety levels declined. Patients with high somatic symptoms of anxiety may have a higher risk of radiotherapy setup errors.
This study aimed to investigate the effect of the family-friendly program (FFP) on reducing parental anxiety sensitivity (PAS) and also Separation Anxiety disorders (SAD) in children and adolescents. Subjects in both groups responded to the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorder-71 (SCARED-71) (to diagnose separation) and the anxiety sensitivity questionnaire for parents, before intervention (pretest) and immediately after the intervention (posttest). ANCOVA test via SPSS 23 showed that there was a significant difference between the test and control groups in the post-test (p < 0.0001). Teaching FFP affects reducing PAS and also SAD in children and adolescents.
Objective:
Although neural correlates of sub-clinical agoraphobia (AG) symptoms have been previously suggested, only a few studies evaluating structural changes of the brain have been conducted in agoraphobic patients with panic disorder (PD). We investigated and compared white matter (WM) micro-structural alterations between PD patients with AG (PD ＋ AG) and those without AG (PD - AG).
Methods:
Our study included 56 female PD patients, of which 25 were diagnosed with AG and 31 were diagnosed without AG. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed to investigate micro-structural changes in the WM tracts related to fronto-temporo-occipital areas (uncinate fasciculus, cingulum bundle, inferior longitudinal/fronto-occipital fasciculus, fornix column and body, and fornix/stria terminalis). All participants were subjected to the Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory-Revised (ASI-R), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Albany Panic and Phobia questionnaires.
Results:
The fractional anisotropy values of the right uncinate fasciculus in PD ＋ AG were significantly lower than that of PD - AG and showed significant correlations with BDI-II and ASI-R total scores. Mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity values of the right uncinate fasciculus were significantly higher in PD ＋ AG as compared to PD - AG.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that the uncinate fasciculus may be associated with AG symptoms in PD, possibly through demyelination. Our findings may contribute to the neurobiological evidence regarding the association between AG and WM structural changes in PD.
Purpose
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental disorder that often takes a chronic course. One of the factors influencing the treatment effectiveness in anxiety and depressive disorders is the self-stigma. This study focused on the relationship between the self-stigma, symptomatology, and therapeutic outcomes in patients with OCD.
Patients and Methods
Ninety-four inpatients with OCD, who did not sufficiently respond to at least one selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor trial, participated in the study. They attended a six-week therapeutic program consisting of exposure and response prevention, transdiagnostic group cognitive behavioral therapy, individual sessions, mental imagery, relaxation, sport, and ergotherapy. The participants completed several scales: the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI), the self-report Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS-SR), Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI), Beck Depression Scale-II (BDI-II), and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). A senior psychiatrist filled in the Clinical Global Impression (CGI-S).
Results
The average scales’ scores considerably declined in all measurements except for DES. The self-stigma positively correlated with all psychopathology scales. It was also higher in patients with a comorbid personality disorder (PD). The higher self-stigma predicted a lower change in compulsion, anxiety, and depressive symptoms but not the change of obsessions or the overall psychopathology.
Conclusion
The self-stigma presents an important factor connected to higher severity of OCD. It is also a minor predictor of a lower change in symptomatology after combined treatment.
Objective:
The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met (rs6265) polymorphism is suggested to be associated with the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders, including panic disorder (PD). Although the fronto-limbic white matter (WM) microstructures have been investigated, the corpus callosum (CC) has not yet been studied regarding its relationship with BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in PD.
Methods:
Ninety-five PD patients were enrolled. The Neuroticism, the Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory-Revised, Panic Disorder Severity Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were administered. Voxel-wise statistical analysis of diffusion tensor imaging data was performed within the CC regions using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics.
Results:
The GG genotype in BDNF Val66Met polymorphism has significantly higher fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the body and splenium of the CC, neuroticism and depressive symptom scale scores than the non-GG genotype in PD. The FA values of the body of the CC in the two groups were significantly different independent of age, sex, neuroticism, and BDI-II.
Conclusion:
Our findings demonstrate that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with WM connectivity of the body and splenium of the CC, and may be related to neuroticism and depressive symptoms in PD. Additionally, the CC connectivity according to BDNF polymorphism may play a role in the pathophysiology of PD.
Objective:
Early trauma (ET) is widely recognized as a contributing factor to the development of panic disorder (PD) in patients. However, there is a dearth of research on the specific volumes of hippocampal subregions and their laterality with respect to ET and PD.
Methods:
A total of 30 subjects with PD and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. All the subjects were evaluated by 3T-magnetic resonance imaging. FreeSurfer version 6.0 was used for volumetric analysis of the hippocampal subregions and their laterality. A shortened version of the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report (ETISR) as well as Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory-Revised (ASI-R), and Panic Disorder Severity Scale were utilized for analysis.
Results:
Multivariate analysis of variance showed that the volume of the right hippocampal tail and laterality indices (LIs) of the hippocampal body and tail were significantly larger in subjects with PD relative to HCs. The significance of the observations remained unchanged after multivariate analysis of covariance, controlling for age, sex, years of education, medication, depressive symptoms, and intracranial volume as covariates. The LIs of the hippocampal tails that showed a significant correlation to ETISR emotional and physical subscales were also associated with ASI-R for cardiovascular symptoms in PD.
Conclusion:
Our study displayed an increased rightward lateralization of the hippocampal tails in subjects with PD compared with HCs. This alteration in the brain, which was associated with early emotional and physical trauma, would negatively affect anxiety sensitivity to cardiovascular symptoms in subjects with PD.
Importance
The Research Domain Criteria project of the National Institute of Mental Health aims to guide neuropsychiatry toward precision medicine. Its inception was partly in response to the overlap of clinical manifestations between different DSM-IV diagnoses within a category. For example, anxiety disorders comprise a DSM-IV category that includes diagnoses that differ from each other but are all characterized by dysregulated fear levels. Whether DSM-IV–based and Research Domain Criteria–based analytic approaches provide distinct or similar information with regard to the fear circuitry of individuals with anxiety disorders has not been directly tested.
Objective
To use a threat conditioning and extinction protocol to conduct categorical (DSM-IV–based) and dimensional (Research Domain Criteria–based) assessments of psychophysiological, neural, and psychometric responses in individuals with and without anxiety disorders.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston between March 2013 and May 2015. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess psychophysiological, neural, and psychometric responses among adults aged 18 to 65 years with specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder as well as a control group of adults without anxiety disorders. Data were analyzed between May 2018 and April 2019.
Exposures
A 2-day threat conditioning and extinction protocol.
Main Outcomes and Measures
Skin conductance responses and blood oxygenated level–dependent responses were measured during the threat and extinction protocol. The categorical analysis was performed by grouping participants based on their primary DSM-IV diagnosis. The dimensional analysis was performed by regrouping participants, irrespective of their diagnoses, based on their skin conductance responses to shock delivery during threat conditioning.
Results
This cross-sectional study of 114 adults aged 18 to 65 years included 93 participants (34 men and 59 women; mean [SD] age, 29.7 [11.1] years) with at least 1 anxiety disorder (specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, or panic disorder) and 21 participants (11 men and 10 women) without an anxiety disorder. The categorical DSM-IV–based approach indicated that all anxiety disorder groups exhibited hypoactivation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during extinction recall (ηp² = 0.15; P = .004). The Research Domain Criteria–based approach revealed that higher arousal to the unconditioned stimulus was associated with higher threat responses during extinction recall (for skin conductance responses, ηp² = 0.21; P = .01 and in functional magnetic resonance imaging results, ηp² = 0.12; P = .02). The direct comparison of DSM-IV–based vs Research Domain Criteria–based results did not yield significant findings (ηp² values ranged from 0.02 to 0.078; P values ranged from .09 to .98), suggesting no overlap between the approaches.
Conclusions and Relevance
The data obtained from both approaches indicated complementary yet distinct findings. The findings highlight the validity and importance of using both categorical and dimensional approaches to optimize understanding of the etiology and treatment of anxiety symptoms.
Aim:
The First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP) is a community-based early intervention program that has been shown to improve health outcomes for emerging adults (EAs) with mood and anxiety disorders. However, not all EAs who are admitted to the program initiate treatment. Our aim was to identify factors that distinguish those who initiated treatment from those who did not.
Methods:
FEMAP administered questionnaires to EAs upon first contact with the program, collecting information on a range of socioeconomic, patient and condition-related factors. We compared EAs who initiated treatment in the program (n = 318, 87.4%) to those who did not (n = 46, 12.6%). To examine factors associated with treatment initiation, we specified a parsimonious logistic regression model, using the method of purposeful selection to choose from a range of candidate variables.
Results:
Anxiety Sensitivity Index - Revised (ASI-R), binge drinking and cannabis use were included in the final logistic regression model. Each one-point increment in the ASI-R score was associated with a 1% increase in the odds of treatment initiation (OR = 1.014; 95% CI [1.003, 1.026]). No other variable was significantly associated with treatment initiation.
Conclusions:
Our study provides insight on the differences between EAs with mood and anxiety disorders who initiated targeted treatment services and those who did not. Anxiety sensitivity was significantly associated with treatment initiation at FEMAP. Our findings suggest that it may be anxiety sensitivity, rather than depression or functional impairment per se that drive treatment initiation among EAs.
Holloway and McNally (1987) found that normals with high scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), an instrument developed to assess beliefs regarding the adverse consequences of anxiety, reported more anxiety and more frequent and intense somatic sensations following hyperventilation than did normals with low scores on the ASI. They concluded that this result provides support for the construct validity of the ASI and thus for the construct of anxiety sensitivity. Nevertheless, we argue that (a) the developers of the ASI have conflated beliefs regarding the adverse consequences of anxiety with fear of these consequences, (b) the accumulated evidence for the construct validity of the ASI is weak, and (c) Holloway and McNally's design and analyses do not permit them to exclude the more parsimonious explanation that trait anxiety accounts for their findings. Implications for research on anxiety sensitivity are discussed.
The performance of five methods for determining the number of components to retain (Horn's parallel analysis, Velicer's minimum average partial [MAP], Cattell's scree test, Bartlett's chi-square test, and Kaiser's eigenvalue greater than 1.0 rule) was investigated across seven systematically varied conditions (sample size, number of variables, number of components, component saturation, equal or unequal numbers of variables per component, and the presence or absence of unique and complex variables). We generated five sample correlation matrices at each of two sample sizes from the 48 known population correlation matrices representing six levels of component pattern complexity. The performance of the parallel analysis and MAP methods was generally the best across all situations. The scree test was generally accurate but variable. Bartlett's chi-square test was less accurate and more variable than the scree test. Kaiser's method tended to severely overestimate the number of components. We discuss recommendations concerning the conditions under which each of the methods are accurate, along with the most effective and useful methods combinations.
In view of the increasing number of factor analytic studies, investigators are urged to plan such studies prior to collecting the data, to formulate a hypothesized factor structure, to develop several relatively pure measures of each factor expected, and to select an appropriate sample of at least 200 cases. Continuous rather than dichotomous variables should be used wherever possible. Programmatic series of studies are preferred over one-shot investigations. Putting unities in the diagonals and rotating all factors with eigenvalues of one or more is discouraged, because this procedure tends to give communalities that are too high, produces too many factors, and distorts the rotational solution, especially when analytic rotational programs are used. In some situations, a computer-assisted hand rotational solution is most likely to give satisfactory results. Mathematical algorithms designed to approximate simple structure work well only in situations properly designed for their application. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In psychological research, it is desirable to be able to make statistical comparisons between correlation coefficients measured on the same individuals. For example, an experimenter (E) may wish to assess whether 2 predictors correlate equally with a criterion variable. In another situation, the E may wish to test the hypothesis that an entire matrix of correlations has remained stable over time. The present article reviews the literature on such tests, points out some statistics that should be avoided, and presents a variety of techniques that can be used safely with medium to large samples. Several numerical examples are provided. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) is one of the most widely used measures of the construct of anxiety sensitivity. Until the recent introduction of a hierarchical model of the ASI by S. O. Lilienfeld, S. M. Turner, and R. G. Jacob (1993), the factor structure of the ASI was the subject of debate, with some researchers advocating a unidimensional structure and others proposing multidimensional structures. In the present study, involving 432 outpatients seeking treatment at an anxiety disorders clinic and 32 participants with no mental disorder, the authors tested a hierarchical factor model. The results supported a hierarchical factor structure consisting of 3 lower order factors and 1 higher order factor. It is estimated that the higher order, general factor accounts for 60% of the variance in ASI total scores. The implications of these findings for the conceptualization and assessment of anxiety sensitivity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the performance of 5 methods for determining the number of components to retain—J. L. Horn's (see record 1965-13273-001 ) parallel analysis, W. F. Velicer's (see record 1977-00166-001 ) minimum average partial (MAP), R. B. Cattell's (see PA, Vol 41:969) scree test, M. S. Bartlett's (1950) chi-square test, and H. F. Kaiser's (see record 1960-06772-001 ) eigenvalue greater than 1 rule—across 7 systematically varied conditions (sample size, number of variables, number of components, component saturation, equal or unequal numbers of variables for each component, and the presence or absence of unique and complex variables). Five sample correlation matrices were generated at each of 2 sample sizes from the 48 known population correlation matrices representing 6 levels of component pattern complexity. Results indicate that the performance of the parallel analysis and MAP methods was generally the best across all situations; the scree test was generally accurate but variable; and Bartlett's chi-square test was less accurate and more variable than the scree test. Kaiser's method tended to severely overestimate the number of components. (65 ref)
A variety of rules have been suggested for determining the sample size required to produce a stable solution when performing a factor or component analysis. The most popular rules suggest that sample size be determined as a function of the number of variables. These rules, however, lack both empirical support and a theoretical rationale. We used a Monte Carlo procedure to systematically vary sample size, number of variables, number of components, and component saturation (i.e., the magnitude of the correlation between the observed variables and the components) in order to examine the conditions under which a sample component pattern becomes stable relative to the population pattern. We compared patterns by means of a single summary statistic, g–2, and by means of direct pattern comparisons using the kappa statistic. Results indicated that, contrary to the popular rules, samples size as a function of the number of variables was not an important factor in determining stability. Component saturation and absolute sample size were the most important factors. To a lesser degree, the number of variables per component was also important, with variables per component producing more stable results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Three studies were conducted to compare the ability of a measure of fear of physical sensations (Anxiety Sensitivity Index; ASI) and a measure of trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STAI) to predict response to hyperventilation. In the first study subjects (N = 43) were selected who differed in scores on the ASI but were equated on levels of trait anxiety. Two other studies were conducted in which subjects (ns = 63 and 54) varied randomly on ASI and STAI scores. The results indicate that scores on the ASI account for a significant proportion of variance in the response to hyperventilation that is not accounted for by scores on the STAI.
Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations, which arises from beliefs that the sensations have harmful somatic, psychological, or social consequences. Elevated anxiety sensitivity, as assessed by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), is associated with panic disorder. The present study investigated the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and depression. Participants were people with panic disorder (n = 52), major depression (n = 46), or both (n = 37). Mean ASI scores of each group were elevated, compared to published norms. Principal components analysis revealed 3 factors of anxiety sensitivity: (a) fear of publicly observable symptoms, (b) fear of loss of cognitive control, and (c) fear of bodily sensations. Factors 1 and 3 were correlated with anxiety-related measures but not with depression-related measures. Conversely, factor 2 was correlated with depression-related measures but not with anxiety-related measures.
Expectancy theory posits that anxiety sensitivity may serve as a premorbid risk factor for the development of anxiety pathology (S. Reiss, 1991). The principal aim of the present study was to determine whether anxiety sensitivity acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the pathogenesis of anxiety pathology. A large, nonclinical sample of young adults (N = 1,401) was prospectively followed over a 5-week highly stressful period of time (i.e., military basic training). Anxiety sensitivity was found to predict the development of spontaneous panic attacks after controlling for a history of panic attacks and trait anxiety. Approximately 20% of those scoring in the upper decile on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (R. A. Peterson & S. Reiss, 1987) experienced a panic attack during the 5-week follow-up period compared with only 6% for the remainder of the sample. Anxiety sensitivity also predicted anxiety symptomatology, functional impairment created by anxiety, and disability. These data provide strong evidence for anxiety sensitivity as a risk factor in the development of panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety sensations which arises from beliefs that these sensations have harmful somatic, social, or psychological consequences. Over the past decade, AS has attracted a great deal of attention from researchers and clinicians with more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles published. In addition, AS has been the subject of numerous symposia, papers, and posters at professional conventions.© 1999 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Why this growing interest? Theory and research suggest that AS plays an important role in the etiology and maintenance of many forms of psychopathology, including anxiety disorders, depression, chronic pain, and substance abuse. Bringing together experts from a variety of different areas, this volume offers the first comprehensive state-of-the-art review of AS--its conceptual foundations, assessment, causes, consequences, and treatment--and points new directions for future work. It will prove to be an invaluable resource for clinicians, researchers, students, and trainees in all mental health professions. © 1999 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
Hotelling's test of significance for difference in efficiency of predictors is reformulated in terms of regression analysis. A test proposed by Healy is shown to differ from Hotelling's test in general.
We tested the hypothesis that the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) measures a unitary personality variable. College students (N = 840) were administered the ASI along with a questionnaire assessing panic and anxiety symptomatology. The ASI demonstrated adequate internal reliability (α = .82) and showed modest discrimination on two of three anxiety disorder indices (i.e., anxiety medication usage and panic history). Results of a principal components analysis with varimax rotation revealed a four-factor solution which explained 53.5% of the total variance. Our findings seriously challenge previous claims that the ASI measures a single factor. Rather, our data suggest that the ASI measures several loosely-related cognitive appraisal domains concerned with the anticipated negative consequences of anxiety. The four factors that emerged from our analysis were (a) concern about physical sensations, (b) concern about mental/cognitive incapacitation, (c) concern about loss of control, and (d) concern about heart/lung failure. It is concluded that the ASI is a convenient and reliable instrument for assessing perceived physical consequences of anxiety but that the instrument is lacking in its coverage of anxiety consequences related to social concerns. Implications of the findings for treatment are discussed.
The present article has two related aims. First, to reply to the recent claims made by Lilienfeld, Turner, and Jacob. Second, as part of my reply I will present an integrative review of the current status of research on the nature and measurement of anxiety sensitivity (AS). In contrast to the largely unsubstantiated claims by Lilienfeld et al., there are empirical, methodological, and conceptual bases for drawing the following conclusions: (a) there are theoretical grounds for proposing that AS predicts fear-proneness; (b) correlations between the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and measures of common fears are not artifacts of overlapping content; (c) the ASI is not a measure of panic symptoms; it measures the fear of anxiety- and panic-related sensations; (d) the factorial structure of the ASI is highly relevant to the construct validity of this instrument; (e) a unifactorial ASI is the most reliable (replicable) factor structure. However, several studies have found support for multidimensional structures. There is growing evidence that the construct of AS is probably multidimensional, consisting of at least three dimensions: fear of somatic sensations, fear of cognitive sensations, and fear of publicly observable sensations; (f) The hypothesis that the AS-by-trait anxiety interaction predicts fear proneness received partial support from a methodologically flawed study. The hypothesis was not supported by methodologically sound research. These conclusions are supported by the available literature and by new findings presented here for the first time.
Monte Carlo research increasingly seems to favor the use of parallel analysis as a method for determining the "correct" number of factors in factor analysis or components in principal components analysis. We present a regression equation for predicting parallel analysis values used to decide the number of principal components to retain. This equation is appropriate for predicting criterion mean eigenvalues and was derived from random data sets containing between 5 and 50 variables and between 50 and 500 subjects. This relatively simple equation is more accurate for predicting mean eigenvalues from random data matrices with unities in the diagonals than a previously published equation. Moreover, given that the parallel analysis decision rule may be too dependent on chance, our equation is also used to predict the 95th percentile point in distributions of eigenvalues generated from random data matrices. Multiple correlations for all analyses were at least .95. Regression weights for predicting the first 33 mean and 95th percentile eigenvalues are given in easy-to-use tables.
proposed that panic attacks result from the catastrophic misinterpretation of certain bodily sensations . . . involved in normal anxiety responses (e.g., palpitations, breathlessness and dizziness)
perceiving these sensations as much more dangerous than they really are / indicative of an immediate, impending disaster
types of panic attack / nonconscious processes / state or trait characteristic / fear of fear / hypochondriasis
review the literature on panic to determine the extent to which it is consistent with the proposed model / ideational components / perceived sequence of events / role of hyperventilation / lactate-induced / biological factors / pharmacological treatment (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In a recent article in this journal, Taylor raised a number of important issues regarding our review of research on anxiety sensitivity (AS). Nonetheless, we content that (a) Taylor's claim that the relationship between the ASI and self-report measures of fear-proneness is not attributable to method variance is unconvincing; (b) Taylor is incorrect that the expectancy model of anxiety predicts that only the main effect of AS, rather than the interaction between AS and anxiety expectancy, influences fear-proneness; (c) Taylor's analyses examining the interaction between AS and trait anxiety are questionable; (d) Taylor's assertion that the relationship between the ASI and panic disorder cannot be dismissed as tautological does not withstand close scrutiny; and (e) Taylor's claim that the ASI is unifactorial rather than multifactorial is not supported by available evidence. We discuss the implications of Taylor's analysis examining the hierarchical relation between AS and trait anxiety, and suggest research designs for elucidating the association between these two constructs.
According to Reiss and McNally's expectancy theory, a high level of anxiety sensitivity (“fear of anxiety”) increases the risk for anxiety disorders, and plays a particularly important role in panic disorder (PD). There has yet to be a comprehensive comparison of anxiety sensitivity across the anxiety disorders. Using a measure of anxiety sensitivity known as the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), we assessed 313 patients, representing each of the six DSM-III-R anxiety disorders. ASI scores associated with each anxiety disorder were greater than those of normal controls, with the exception of simple phobia. The latter was in the normal range. The ASI scores associated with PD were significantly higher than those of the other anxiety disorders, with the exception of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There was a trend for the ASI scores associated with PD to be greater than those associated with PTSD. Analysis of the ASI item responses revealed that PD patients scored significantly higher than PTSD patients on items more central to the concept of anxiety sensitivity, as determined by principal components analysis. The pattern of results did not change when trait anxiety was used as a covariate. The implications for the expectancy theory are considered, and directions for further investigation are outlined.
A cognitive model of panic is described. Within this model panic attacks are said to result from the catastrophic misinterpretation of certain bodily sensations. The sensations which are misinterpreted are mainly those involved in normal anxiety responses (e.g. palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness etc.) but also include some other sensations. The catastrophic misinterpretation involves perceiving these sensations as much more dangerous than they really are (e.g. perceiving palpitations as evidence of an impending heart attack). A review of the literature indicates that the proposed model is consistent with the major features of panic. In particular, it is consistent with the nature of the cognitive disturbance in panic patients, the perceived sequence of events in an attack, the occurrence of ‘spontaneous’ attacks, the role of hyperventilation in attacks, the effects of sodium lactate and the literature on psychological and pharmacological treatments. Finally, a series of direct tests of the model are proposed.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related sensations arising from beliefs that these sensations have harmful physical, psychological, or social consequences. AS is measured using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), a 16-item self-report questionnaire. Little is known about the origins of AS, although social learning experiences (including sex-role socialization experiences) may be important. The present study examined whether there were gender differences in: (a) the lower- or higher-order factor structure of the ASI; and/or (b) pattern of ASI factor scores. The ASI was completed by 818 university students (290 males; 528 females). Separate principal components analyses on the ASI items of the total sample, males, and females revealed nearly identical lower-order three-factor structures for all groups, with factors pertaining to fears about the anticipated (a) physical, (b) psychological, and (c) social consequences of anxiety. Separate principal components analyses on the lower-order factor scores of the three samples revealed similar unidimensional higher-order solutions for all groups. Gender × AS dimension analyses on ASI lower-order factor scores showed that: females scored higher than males only on the physical concerns factor; females scored higher on the physical concerns factor relative to their scores on the social and psychological concerns factors; and males scored higher on the social and psychological concerns factors relative to their scores on the physical concerns factor. Finally, females scored higher than males on the higher-order factor representing the global AS construct. The present study provides further support for the empirical distinction of the three lower-order dimensions of AS, and additional evidence for the theoretical hierarchical structure of the ASI. Results also suggest that males and females differ on these various AS dimensions in ways consistent with sex role socialization practices.
The purposes of this article are to summarize the author's expectancy model of fear, review the recent studies evaluating this model, and suggest directions for future research. Reiss' expectancy model holds that there are three fundamental fears (called sensitivities): the fear of injury, the fear of anxiety, and the fear of negative evaluation. Thus far, research on this model has focused on the fear of anxiety (anxiety sensitivity). The major research findings are as follows: simple phobias sometimes are motivated by expectations of panic attacks; the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) is a valid and unique measure of individual differences in the fear of anxiety sensations; the ASI is superior to measures of trait anxiety in the assessment of panic disorder; anxiety sensitivity is associated with agoraphobia, simple phobia, panic disorder, and substance abuse; and anxiety sensitivity is strongly associated with fearfulness. There is some preliminary support for the hypothesis that anxiety sensitivity is a risk factor for panic disorder. It is suggested that future researchers evaluate the hypotheses that anxiety and fear are distinct phenomena; that panic attacks are intense states of fear (not intense states of anxiety); and that anxiety sensitivity is a risk factor for both fearfulness and panic disorder.
We have examined the stability of psychometric g, the general factor in all mental ability tests or other manifestations of mental ability, when g is extracted from a given correlation matrix by different models or methods of factor analysis. This was investigated in simulated correlation matrices, in which the true g was known exactly, and in typical empirical data consisting of a large battery of diverse mental tests. Theoretically, some methods are more appropriate than others for extracting g, but in fact g is remarkably robust and almost invariant across different methods of analysis, both in agreement between the estimated g and the true g in simulated data and in similarity among the g factors extracted from empirical data by different methods. Although the near-uniformity of g obtained by different methods would seem to indicate that, practically speaking, there is little basis for choosing or rejecting any particular method, certain factor models qua models may accord better than others with theoretical considerations about the nature of g. What seems to us a reasonable strategy for estimating g, given an appropriate correlation matrix, is suggested for consideration. It seems safe to conclude that, in the domain of mental abilities, g is not in the least chimerical. Almost any g is a “good” g and is certainly better than no g.
Reliability, factor structure, and factor independence from other anxiety measures for the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) was assessed. One hundred and twenty-two anxious college students were administered the ASI, Cognitive-Somatic Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Reactions to Relaxation and Arousal Questionnaire. The results suggest that the ASI is a reliable measure which is factorially independent of other anxiety measures. Further, the ASI was supported as a measure of the variable anxiety sensitivity which has been suggested as an important personality variable in fear behavior.
Typescript. Binder's title: Stability of component patterns. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Rhode Island, 1984. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-47).
The factor structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index was assessed in 166 agoraphobic clients who had applied to a behavioral treatment programme and 120 age and sex-matched normal controls. In both samples a four factor solution emerged as the most useful, and it explained more than 60% of the total variance. The item loading in the agoraphobic sample revealed a coherent theme with factors reflecting fear of heart and breathing symptoms, fear of loss of mental control, fear of gastrointestinal difficulties, and concern about other people detecting anxiety. The item loading in the normal sample made less psychological sense. The results are discussed both in the light of the trait model of anxiety sensitivity and with respect to the clinical implications of anxiety sensitivity.
Some relations between maximum likelihood factor analysis and factor indeterminacy are discussed. Bounds are derived for the minimum average correlation between equivalent sets of correlated factors which depend on the latent roots of the factor intercorrelation matrix . Empirical examples are presented to illustrate some of the theory and indicate the extent to which it can be expected to be relevant in practice.
Self-regulation is a complex process that involves consumers’ persistence, strength, motivation, and commitment in order to be able to override short-term impulses. In order to be able to pursue their long-term goals, consumers typically need to forgo immediate pleasurable experiences that are detrimental to reach their overarching goals. Although this sometimes involves resisting to simple and small temptations, it is not always easy, since the lure of momentary temptations is pervasive. In addition, consumers’ beliefs play an important role determining strategies and behaviors that consumers consider acceptable to engage in, affecting how they act and plan actions to attain their goals. This dissertation investigates adequacy of some beliefs typically shared by consumers about the appropriate behaviors to exert self-regulation, analyzing to what extent these indeed contribute to the enhancement of consumers’ ability to exert self-regulation.
Although simple structure has proved to be a valuable principle for rotation of axes in factor analysis, an oblique factor solution often tends to confound the resulting interpretation. A model is presented here which transforms the oblique factor solution so as to preserve simple structure and, in addition, to provide orthogonal reference axes. Furthermore, this model makes explicit the hierarchical ordering of factors above the first-order domain.
Holloway and McNally (1987) found that normals with high scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), an instrument developed to assess beliefs regarding the adverse consequences of anxiety, reported more anxiety and more frequent and intense somatic sensations following hyperventilation than did normals with low scores on the ASI. They concluded that this result provides support for the construct validity of the ASI and thus for the construct of anxiety sensitivity. Nevertheless, we argue that (a) the developers of the ASI have conflated beliefs regarding the adverse consequences of anxiety with fear of these consequences, (b) the accumulated evidence for the construct validity of the ASI is weak, and (c) Holloway and McNally's design and analyses do not permit them to exclude the more parsimonious explanation that trait anxiety accounts for their findings. Implications for research on anxiety sensitivity are discussed.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related sensations, which arises from beliefs that these sensations have harmful somatic, psychological or social consequences. According to Reiss (1991), AS is one of three fundamental fears that amplify or cause many common fears. AS also is thought to play an important role in causing panic attacks. The purpose of the present article is to review recent findings concerning the construct of AS and its place in the nomological network outlined by Reiss. Although the weight of evidence supports a unifactorial model of AS, recent findings suggest AS is multifactorial at the level of first-order factors, and these factors load on a single higher-order factor. People with elevated AS, compared to those with low AS, are more likely to have histories of panic attacks. AS is factorially distinct from other fundamental fears, and is more strongly related to agoraphobia than other common fears. AS can be regarded as a subfactor of trait anxiety, and is more strongly related to agoraphobia than other common fears. AS can be regarded as a subfactor of trait anxiety, although the question arises as to whether AS is a cause of trait anxiety. Important questions for further investigation concern the etiology of AS and whether it can be reduced to still more basic fears.
It has been hypothesized that individuals who cannot perceive elevations of CO2 will be less anxious than individuals with intact CO2 perception. To test this hypothesis, children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, who have a potentially lethal chronic illness associated with lack of CO2 perception and thus provide a natural experimental group, were studied.
Rates of anxiety symptoms and disorders in children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (N = 13) were compared with rates in an age-matched, nonreferred group of community subjects (N = 292) that included subgroups of children with asthma (N = 15) and other chronic medical illnesses (N = 66). Anxiety symptoms were assessed with information obtained from structured interviews of the parents, which provided both total symptom scores and DSM-III-R diagnoses.
The children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome exhibited significantly fewer anxiety symptoms than all other comparison subjects. Two of these children (15%) met criteria for anxiety disorders, a rate lower than that of the whole community group (24%) and of the chronically ill comparison subgroups (32%-47%). The largest difference in the prevalence of disorder emerged between the children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (15%) and those with asthma (47%). In the comparison of children with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and children with other chronic illnesses, a priori analysis showed that the former had significantly lower rates of disorders that have been linked to panic in the literature.
This study supports theories of anxiety that implicate CO2 perception in the pathophysiology of panic and related anxiety states.
Anxiety sensitivity is a promising psychological construct in understanding the development of clinical anxiety, particularly panic disorder, and it has received a significant amount of research attention. Since the development of the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), there has been considerable controversy in the literature about whether it should be conceptualized as a unidimensional or multidimensional measure. ASI responses were collected from 216 panic disorder patients and 365 undergraduate students. Various ASI models identified in previous exploratory factor analytic studies were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with multiple goodness-of-fit indicators. Separate CFA results for both the patient and student data strongly supported the view that the ASI is a multidimensional measure and the four-factor model originally identified by Peterson and Heilbronner (1987, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 1, 117-121) provided the best fit to the data. It is recommended that the ASI be expanded to better assess the multiple dimensions.
Sensitivity theory holds that people differ in both the types of reinforcement they desire and in the amounts of reinforcement they need to satiate. People who crave too much love, too much attention, too much acceptance, too much companionship, or too much of some other fundamental reinforcer are at risk for aberrant behavior because normative behavior does not produce the desired amounts of reinforcement. People who are intolerant of even everyday amounts of anxiety or frustration also are at risk for aberrant behavior. Individual differences in desired amounts of particular reinforcers may predict person-environment interactions, risk factors for psychopathology, and the occurrence of generalized and durable therapy effects versus the occurrence of relapses. Parallel predictions are made for individual differences in tolerance of aversive stimuli. Implications are discussed for applied behavior analysis, the development of psychopathology, and treatment strategies.
We investigated predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge (i.e. breathing deeply and rapidly into a paper bag for 5 min) in college students. Zero-order correlations indicated that scores on both the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI: Reiss, Peterson, Gursky & McNally, 1986) and the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS: Rachman & Taylor, 1994), predicted anxious response to challenge, whereas a behavioral measure of carbon dioxide sensitivity (i.e. maximum breath-holding duration) and scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory--Trait form (STAI-T: Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg & Jacobs, 1983) did not. Multiple regression revealed that all four variables remained in the model, entering in the following order: ASI, breath-holding duration, SFS, and STAI-T. These data suggest that psychological variables reflecting fears of bodily sensations are better predictors of response to challenge than either behavioral sensitivity to carbon dioxide or general trait anxiety.
This essay describes the current status of our conceptualization and assessment of catastrophic thoughts in panic disorder, an area that is more heterogeneous than may first appear. It is suggested that a heuristic approach would involve assessing both 'state' catastrophic cognitions (automatic thoughts) and the underlying 'trait' cognitive factors (beliefs). The cognitive symptoms listed in the DSM-IV and the self-report Anxiety Sensitivity Index serve as useful preliminary measures for assessing these respective domains. The trait cognitive domain is seen as multidimensional and congruence is required with internal or external stimuli in producing state catastrophic thoughts and accompanying panic attacks. Pressing challenges and controversies in this field are also highlighted and strategies for potentially resolving these issues are offered. Accordingly, several directions for future investigation are presented throughout the paper. Examples of innovative assessment techniques are briefly described.
Trait anxiety began as a psychodynamic concept, poorly tied to observables, and requiring Freudian defense mechanisms to explain recurrent anxiety episodes. Spielberger's thoughtful efforts improved the concept, but some important limitations remained. Lilienfeld, Turner, and Jacob (1989, 1993, 1996) uncritically accepted Spielberger's work on trait anxiety and asserted that it is the standard against which the concept of anxiety sensitivity should be judged (see also Lilienfeld, 1996). Taylor (1996) and McNally (1989, 1996) distinguished anxiety sensitivity from trait anxiety by noting that, whereas trait anxiety predicts future anxiety generally, anxiety sensitivity predicts future fear to anxiety sensations specifically. An important additional difference is that the two constructs use different indicators (past anxiety experiences versus ASI beliefs) to predict future anxiety and fear. Furthermore, only anxiety sensitivity implies that some phobics perceive the feared object to be harmless; what they fear is an uncontrollable anxiety/panic reaction to the stimulus, not the dangerous nature of the stimulus itself.
Contemporary theories of fears (and phobias) suggest two kinds of etiologic factors; those common to all fears (factors influencing fear-proneness) and factors specific to particular fears (e.g. specific learning experiences). There also may be etiologic factors of intermediate specificity; factors common to some but not all fears. The present article describes this hierarchic model of fears, which proposes that fears (and phobias) arise from a hierarchy of causal factors, ranging from specific to general. The model is supported by factor-analytic studies of fear inventories and behavioural-genetic studies of twins. However, further research is needed to clarify the number of levels, and to identify environmental, psychobiological, and genetic factors at each level of the causal hierarchy. The hierarchic model of fears represents a call for research. It encourages researchers to take a broad view of etiology by considering factors at various levels of causal specificity.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related sensations, based on beliefs that these sensations have harmful consequences. AS is thought to play an important role as a diathesis for anxiety disorders, particularly panic disorder. Recent evidence suggests that AS has a hierarchical structure, consisting of multiple lower-order factors, which load on a single higher-order factor. If each factor corresponds to a discrete mechanism, then the results suggest that AS arises from a hierarchic arrangement of mechanisms. A problem with previous studies is that they were based on the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), which may not contain enough items to reveal the type and number of lower-order factors. Accordingly, we developed the 60-item Anxiety Sensitivity Profile, which was administered to 349 university students. Factor analyses revealed four lower-order factors: (1) Fear of respiratory symptoms, (2) fear of cognitive dyscontrol, (3) fear of gastrointestinal symptoms, and (4) fear of cardiac symptoms. These loaded on a single higher-order factor. The lower-order factors shared variance with the higher-order factor, but also contained unique variance. Thus, the results suggest that AS is the product of a general factor, with independent contributions from four specific factors.
Identification of risk factors in panic attacks: Preliminary results of a five-year prospective study. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Canadian Psychological Association
- M J Telch
Telch, M. J. (1997, June). Identification of risk factors in panic attacks: Preliminary results of a five-year prospective study. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto.
What is a good g? Intelligence
- A R Jensen
- L.-J Weng
Jensen, A. R., & Weng, L.-J. (1994). What is a good g? Intelligence, 18, 231–258.
Development of an expanded Anxiety Sensitivity Index: Multiple dimensions and their correlates
- B J Cox
- S Taylor
- S Borger
- K Fuentes
- L Ross
Cox, B. J., Taylor, S., Borger, S., Fuentes, K., & Ross, L. (November, 1996). Development of an ex-panded Anxiety Sensitivity Index: Multiple dimensions and their correlates. In S. Taylor (Chair), New studies on the psychopathology of anxiety sensitivity. Symposium presented at the 30th annual meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New York.
(in press) The impact of treatment on anxiety sensitivity Anxiety sensitivity: Theory, research, and treatment of the fear of anxiety
- M W Otto
- N A Harrington
Otto, M. W., & Reilly-Harrington, N. A. (in press). The impact of treatment on anxiety sensitivity. In S. Taylor (Ed.), Anxiety sensitivity: Theory, research, and treatment of the fear of anxiety. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders Manual for the revised Beck Depression Inventory
- American Psychiatric Association
- Author
- A T Beck
- R A Steer
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Beck, A. T., & Steer, R. A. (1987). Manual for the revised Beck Depression Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp. Beck, A. T., & Steer, R. A. (1990). Manual for the revised Beck Anxiety Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp.
Anxiety sensitivity and psychopathology: Psychometric findings
- B J Cox
- M W Enns
- S Borger
Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Borger, S. (1997). Anxiety sensitivity and psychopathology: Psychometric findings. Manuscript in preparation.