Anxiety sensitivity in adolescents: factor structure and relationships to trait anxiety and symptoms of anxiety disorders and depression

Anxiety sensitivity, the fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations, is a recently ldentified construct, which has become part of the conceptualisation of anxiety. Evidence in the research literature suggests that adults who have a high level of anxiety sensitivity combined with a high level of the more traditionally recognised trait anxiety reported a significantly higher incidence of anxiety disorders. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a high level of both anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety in children results in more anxiety symptoms and therefore may be a risk factor for developing anxiety disorders. Anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety and anxiety symptoms were examined in a sample of 455 primary school children in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 at schools in metropolitan, regional and country areas of Victoria, Australia. Results revealed that children who reported high anxiety sensitivity together with high trait anxiety experienced significantly more anxiety symptoms than other children. Significant gender and age differences were also found in relation to anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety and anxiety symptoms. Anxiety disorders are debilitating and interfere with normal development. If children with a predisposition to developing anxiety disorders could be identified as those who report high anxiety sensitivity together with high trait anxiety then early intervention could prevent the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescence or adulthood.

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Anxiety sensitivity, trait anxiety, and the anxiety disorders

Journal of Anxiety Disorders ◽

10.1016/0887-6185(91)90030-w ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 293-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 119

Author(s):

Steven Taylor ◽

William J. Koch ◽

David J. Crockett

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Trait Anxiety ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity

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Factor Structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Profile: Evidence for a Hierarchical Structure

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e413782005-301 ◽

1999 ◽

Author(s):

Craig N. Sawchuk ◽

David F. Tolin ◽

Suzanne A. Meunier ◽

Scott O. Lilienfeld ◽

Jeffrey M. Lohr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Factor Structure ◽

Hierarchical Structure ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Sensitivity Profile

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Anxiety Sensitivity and Trait Anxiety As Predictors of Drug-Related Consequences

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e711632011-001 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Faith O. Aremu ◽

Jonathan M. Freedlander ◽

Elizabeth C. Katz

Keyword(s):

Trait Anxiety ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity

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The role of personality traits in initiating and maintaining addictive behavior

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1049 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S307-S307

Author(s):

M. Manea ◽

B. Savu

Keyword(s):

Substance Abuse ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Trait Anxiety ◽

Psychiatric Clinic ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Addictive Disorder ◽

Substance Disorders ◽

Competing Interest

IntroductionIt is well known that certain personality traits are more linked to drug abuse than others. Psychiatrists are more likely to emphasize the importance of impulsivity in the connection with substance disorders but in the following study we found an important percentage of patients that have a substance abuse were linked to anxiety through impulsiveness as a personality trait.ObjectivesMost youths admitted for a substance abuse are highly impulsive. Our quest was to differentiate what component of impulsivity was more frequently linked to a substance use disorder.MethodsIn the study were included 50 patients admitted in the 3rd Psychiatric Clinic, Substance Dependences Department, Cluj-Napoca. For the identification of the drug abused we used the multitest screening kit in correlation with the results from the Forensic Medicine Institute of Cluj-Napoca. Each patient completed the Barratt Impulsivity Scale and the Swedish Universities Scales of Personality.ResultsHigh scores on BIS-11 strongly correlated with attentional impulsiveness (Pearson's r correlation = .838) which means high inattention and cognitive instability this being linked with anxiety disorders. Cognitive Instability was correlated with Psychic Trait Anxiety (r = 0.29) and Motor Impulsiveness with Somatic Trait Anxiety (r = 0.3). Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE.ConclusionsThe underrecognized anxiety disorders in young adults whom are admitted for an addictive disorder prefrontal cortex is known to be the source of both impulsivity and could be linked to anxiety as well (valence asymmetry hypothesis). Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Merging Our Understanding of Anxiety and Exposure: Using Inhibitory Learning to Target Anxiety Sensitivity in Exposure Therapy

Behavior Modification ◽

10.1177/01454455211005073 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 014544552110050

Author(s):

Chandra L. Bautista ◽

Ellen J. Teng

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Alternative Explanation ◽

Standard Treatment ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Fear Of Anxiety ◽

Learning Research ◽

Inhibitory Learning ◽

Number Of Individuals ◽

Basic Learning

Exposure-based therapies are the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders, and recent advancements in basic and clinical research point to the need to update the implementation of exposure. Recent research has highlighted the importance of transdiagnostic factors such as anxiety sensitivity (AS), or fear of anxiety-related sensations. Elevated AS is common among all anxiety disorders and contains three dimensions, or expectancies, that can be used to guide treatment. Recently, treatments directly targeting AS have shown potential in reducing symptoms of anxiety. In addition, inhibitory learning theory (ILT) provides an alternative explanation of exposure processes based on basic learning research. ILT extends the current framework by accounting for renewal of fear, which is important given the substantial number of individuals who experience a return of symptoms following treatment. The current paper will provide an overview of ILT and discuss several ILT techniques that can be used to target AS. These two converging bodies of research hold strong potential for optimizing treatment for anxiety.

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Elucidating the Relationship between Worry and Physical Health

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology ◽

10.5127/jep.008210 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. jep.008210 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Evelyn Behar ◽

R. Kathryn McHugh ◽

Michael W. Otto

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Physical Health ◽

Trait Anxiety ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Respiratory Infections ◽

Depression Symptom ◽

Physical Health Status ◽

Physical Health Problems ◽

Upper Respiratory ◽

The Relationship

Research indicates a relationship between trait worry and physical health, such that individuals with high levels of trait worry display physical health problems (e.g., upper respiratory infections, cardiological problems, immune system impairment). However, existing studies do not address whether three constructs that are theoretically and empirically related to worry – trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and depression – might better account for the observed relationship between worry and physical health status. Participants completed measures of trait worry, trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, depression symptom severity, and health status. Results indicated that worry serves as a proxy risk factor for health status through the influence of trait anxiety and depressive symptoms, with both of these variables being related to mental health status, and only trait anxiety being related to physical health status. Anxiety sensitivity did not explain the relationship between trait worry and either type of health status. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

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Anxiety sensitivity does not predict treatment outcome or treatment length in obsessive-compulsive disorder and related anxiety disorders

Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jocrd.2018.11.003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

pp. 18-25

Author(s):

Caroline M.B. Kwee ◽

Marcel A. van den Hout

Keyword(s):

Treatment Outcome ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Treatment Length ◽

Compulsive Disorder

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Risk Orientation Scale: A new clinically relevant measure of risk aversion

10.31234/osf.io/dm7ze ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gary P. Brown

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Factor Structure ◽

Risk Taking ◽

Underlying Mechanism ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Research Domain Criteria ◽

Orientation Scale ◽

Measures Of Risk ◽

Research Domain

Aversion to risk is a prominent factor in transdiagnostic theories of emotional problems, and it is included as an element in the research domain criteria. There is a plethora of risk scales across different domains, but most of these have notable shortcomings or are not suited for use in mental health research. The present study describes the development of the Risk Orientation Scale. Content was drawn from previous risk scales and separate classifications of risk. The factor structure of the ROS was derived in a clinically relevant sample and confirmed in two other independent non-clinical samples. The final 15-item ROS was found to have an adequate three-factor structure across clinical, general population and undergraduate student samples. Total and subscale scores covaried in the predicted direction with measures of risk taking behavior, underlying orientation towards reward and punishment, and clinical anxiety-relevant measures that have been theoretically linked to risk. The findings on the ROS thus support the idea that aversion to risk is a process that underlies anxiety disorders. The ROS can provide a brief and valid measure of this in both clinical and non-clinical populations. As it provides risk orientation towards specific domains, it can potentially aid in guiding clinicians in targeting important underlying mechanism in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

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