Experiential Avoidance and Anxiety Sensitivity: Unique to Anxiety Versus Depression?

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to a fear of arousal-related body sensations based on beliefs that such sensations are dangerous. Experiential (emotional) avoidance (EA) involves an unwillingness to endure upsetting emotions, thoughts, memories, and other private experiences. As both of these constructs are thought to be predictive of health anxiety, the present study examined their relative contribution in the prediction of health anxiety symptoms. A large sample of nontreatment-seeking participants completed measures of AS, EA, and health anxiety. An analogue sample of participants with clinical levels of health anxiety endorsed more AS and EA relative those with less health anxiety. Within the analogue sample, both AS and EA predicted health anxiety symptoms. However, whereas AS (specifically, the physical concerns domain) uniquely predicted health anxiety, EA did not contribute significantly over and above the contributions of AS. Results are also discussed in terms of the conceptualization and treatment of health anxiety.

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Short-term pain for long-term gain: The role of experiential avoidance in the relation between anxiety sensitivity and emotional distress

Journal of Anxiety Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.12.013 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 113-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Joseph R. Bardeen

Keyword(s):

Emotional Distress ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Short Term

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The Relationship between Higher Chronic Opioid Therapy Dose and Specific Personality Traits in Individuals with Chronic Pain

Pain Research and Management ◽

10.1155/2021/9946067 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Amanda McIntyre ◽

Swati Mehta ◽

Danielle Vanderlaan ◽

Keith Sequeira ◽

Eldon Loh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Outcome Measures ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Short Form ◽

Pain Interference ◽

High Dose ◽

Sensitivity Index ◽

The Relationship

Objective. To evaluate the relationship between opioid use and specific personality traits among individuals with chronic pain stratified by morphine equivalent doses (MEQ). Design. Observational cohort study. Setting. Chronic pain outpatient clinic in Canada (2017–2019). Patients. Participants were included if they (1) were at least 18 years old, (2) had been diagnosed with chronic pain (pain >3 months), and (3) were able to read and write in English. Interventions. None. Main Outcome Measures. Completion of the following outcome measures: Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Brief-Coping with Problems Experience 28-item, Brief Pain Inventory Short Form, CAGE-AID substance misuse screening tool, EuroQol-5D, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item. One-way analysis of variance compared outcomes between MEQ groups. Results. 215 individuals (64.2% female) were included with a mean age of 52.7 ± 11.7 years and time since pain onset of 14.1 ± 10.2 years (range 1–45). There were no significant differences between MEQ groups with respect to sociodemographic and clinical health variables except for gender and employment status and time since pain onset. After controlling for gender, time since pain onset, and average pain severity, patients with MEQ 90+ mg had significantly higher scores for experiential avoidance and anxiety sensitivity in addition to increased pain interference, greater depressive and anxiety symptoms, more dysfunctional coping, and poorer QoL than those with MEQ 1–89 mg or MEQ 0 mg. Conclusions. Compared to individuals using no or lower-dose opioids to treat chronic pain, those using high-dose opioids had higher scores on two maladaptive personality traits (i.e., anxiety sensitivity and experiential avoidance) which was associated with poorer mood, greater pain interference, lower quality of life, and dysfunctional coping. These maladaptive personality traits may help to explain how individuals with chronic pain utilize higher doses of opioid analgesics.

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The Renfrew Unified Treatment for Eating Disorders and Comorbidity: Long-Term Effects of an Evidence-Based Practice Implementation in Residential Treatment

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.641601 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Heather Thompson-Brenner ◽

Simar Singh ◽

Taylor Gardner ◽

Gayle E. Brooks ◽

Melanie T. Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Sensitivity Index ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Significant Difference

Background: The Renfrew Unified Treatment for Eating Disorders and Comorbidity (UT) is a transdiagnostic, emotion-focused treatment adapted for use in residential group treatment. This study examined the effect of UT implementation across five years of treatment delivery.Methods: Data were collected by questionnaire at admission, discharge (DC), and 6-month follow-up (6MFU). Patient outcomes were measured by the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ), Anxiety Sensitivity Index, and Southampton Mindfulness Scale. Data were analyzed for N = 345 patients treated with treatment-as-usual (TAU), and N = 2,763 treated with the UT in subsequent years.Results: Results from multilevel models demonstrated a significant interaction between implementation status (TAU vs. UT) and time, both linear and quadratic, for the depression, experiential avoidance, anxiety sensitivity, and mindfulness variables. Patients treated with the UT showed more improvement in these variables on average, as well as more rebound between DC and 6MFU. Results from multilevel models examining eating disorder outcome showed no significant difference between the TAU and UT for the full sample, but a significant three-way interaction indicated that the UT produced more improvement in the EDE-Q relative to the TAU particularly for patients who entered treatment with high levels of experiential avoidance (BEAQ score).Conclusion: This long-term study of a transdiagnostic, evidence-based treatment in residential care for eating disorders and comorbidity suggests implementation was associated with beneficial effects on depression and emotion function outcomes, as well as eating disorder severity for patients with high levels of baseline emotion regulation problems. These effects did not appear to diminish in the 5 years following initial implementation.

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Aversive Reactivity: A Transdiagnostic Functional Bridge Between Neuroticism and Avoidant Behavioral Coping

10.31219/osf.io/dmtxu ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Semcho ◽

Matthew W. Southward ◽

Nicole Stumpp ◽

Destiney MacLean ◽

Caitlyn O. Hood ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Future Research ◽

Negative Urgency ◽

Coping Behaviors ◽

Distress Intolerance ◽

Thought Action Fusion ◽

Clinically Relevant Behaviors

Aversive reactivity to negative affect has been described as a transdiagnostic mechanism that links distal temperamental vulnerabilities to clinically relevant behaviors. However, the abundance of constructs reflecting aversive reactivity has resulted in a proliferation of models that may ultimately be redundant. We performed a circumscribed review of studies measuring associations between six constructs – anxiety sensitivity, experiential avoidance, distress intolerance, intolerance of uncertainty, thought-action fusion, and negative urgency – and ten relevant coping behaviors. Results suggested that most constructs were measured in relation to a limited number of coping behaviors. Additionally, constructs were most often measured in isolation, rather than with similar constructs. Implications and suggestions for future research and treatment are discussed.

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The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders

Applications of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780190255541.003.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Katherine A. Kennedy ◽

David H. Barlow

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Emotional Disorders ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Large Clinical Trial ◽

Transdiagnostic Treatment ◽

The Core ◽

Unified Protocol ◽

Core Elements ◽

Negative Appraisals

This chapter recounts the origins of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) as it developed over a period of several decades. The rationale for developing it was derived from research emerging over this period of time that highlighted commonalities among anxiety, depressive, and related disorders, focusing on emotional disruption and dysregulation, as well as research highlighting common underlying temperamental factors associated with all these disorders. With a particular emphasis on the temperament of neuroticism, transdiagnostic constructs in emotional disorders that are fundamental aspects of neuroticism, such as increased anxiety sensitivity, decreased mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and negative appraisals and attributions, were identified and became targets for treatment. After presentation of the core elements comprising the UP, research supporting its efficacy, including a recently completed large clinical trial, is presented.

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