Anxiety Sensitivity and Retaliatory Aggressive Behavior In Research Volunteers

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

Effects of Aerobic Exercise On Anxiety Sensitivity

Anxiety sensitivity is a known precursor to panic attacks and panic disorder, and involves the misinterpretation of anxiety-related sensations. Aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce generalized anxiety, and may also reduce anxiety sensitivity through exposure to feared physiological sensations. Accordingly, 54 participants with elevated anxiety sensitivity scores completed six 20-min treadmill exercise sessions at either a high-intensity aerobic (n = 29) or low-intensity (n = 25) level. Self-ratings of anxiety sensitivity, fear of physiological sensations associated with anxiety, and generalized anxiety were obtained at pretreatment, post-treatment, and one-week follow-up. Results indicated that both high- and low-intensity exercise reduced anxiety sensitivity. However, high-intensity exercise caused more rapid reductions in a global measure of anxiety sensitivity and produced more treatment responders than low-intensity exercise. Only high-intensity exercise reduced fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations. The implications of these findings are discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Anxiety sensitivity and retaliatory aggressive behavior in research volunteers. Aggressive Behavior

ABSTRACT An important focus of recent aggression research has been to identify personality variables that influence the expression of aggression. One such variable may be anxiety sensitivity (AS). Individuals high in AS fear unpleasant anxiety-related physiological sensations and perhaps physiological arousal in general. Accordingly, people high in AS are motivated to avoid situations that produce these sensations. With respect to aggressive encounters, an intense attack by an opponent involves significant physiological arousal. High anxiety-sensitive individuals may therefore attempt to decrease the intensity of the interaction by responding in a non-aggressive or conciliatory manner. To test this possibility, 112 community volunteers completed a measure of AS and a well-validated laboratory task designed to assess aggressive behavior. As predicted, an inverse relation between AS and extreme aggressive responding was found. Specifically, as AS increases, retaliatory aggression is less likely after intense attack by an opponent. Aggression researchers have long been interested in how personality influences the expression of aggression [e.g., AS is characterized by a fear of anxiety-related sensations, arising from the belief that these sensations can have harmful consequences Results of studies on the relation between AS and drug preferences indicate that high-AS individuals prefer sedatives over stimulants Anxiety-sensitivity studies of exercise and analgesic use have provided qualified support for the notion that high-AS individuals are less likely to engage in behaviors that produce intense physiological sensations. For example, researchers have reported a negative correlation between AS and exercise frequency Taken together, these results suggest that people who are high anxiety sensitive are more likely to avoid intense physiological sensations. Indeed, Cox [1996] has suggested that, ''AS may be part of a broader set of beliefs about the harmfulness of unusual or strong internal sensations that may or may not be identified as anxiety symptoms'' (p. 365). Thus, it may be the case that high-AS individuals actively avoid intense physiological sensations, whether caused by anxiety or other physical or situational events. Studies to date, however, have relied on retrospective, self-reports of avoidance behaviors, and none has examined if AS increases avoidance of aggressive interactions or behavior. Indeed, intense physiological sensations and aggression go hand in hand Not all individuals, however, respond to attack in the same fashion. Given that high AS is associated with avoidance of unpleasant physiological sensations, it is possible that high-AS individuals behave less aggressively in response to provocation or attack to both minimize arousal and the possibility of subsequent attack. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the relation between AS and retaliatory aggression using a well-established laboratory measure of aggression. We hypothesize that AS will be inversely associated with aggressive responding, especially after attack by a highly provocative opponent. METHOD Participants Participants were 74 men and 38 women (N=112) ages 18-48 years (M=24.75; S=56.90). The sample was predominately Caucasian (72%) and African American (23%), never married (83%), and relatively well-educated (93% had at least some college education). Median income was in the $12,500-14,999 range. Volunteers were recruited via community postings for a study on ''psychomotor skills.'' Participants received financial compensation for their time. The consent process and procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects at the University of Southern Mississippi. AS and Trait Anxiety The Anxiety Sensitivity Index [ASI; Controversy has arisen over whether AS can be differentiated from trait anxiety [e.g., Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) The TAP is a classic laboratory measure of aggressive behavior A rich literature supports the validity of the inferences that can be drawn from the TAP and related laboratory measures of physical aggressive behavior Procedure The ASI and STAI-T were embedded in a battery of paper-and-pencil measures. The other measures were administered for separate purposes and are reported elsewhere. After completing the paper-and-pencil measures, the participant was seated in front of the TAP apparatus [for a description of the apparatus see Participants next completed 28 trials consisting of an initial trial, followed by two blocks of 13 trials. Blocks were separated by a trial of intermediate intensity to smooth the transition between blocks. The shock ostensibly set by the fictitious opponent before each trial was communicated to the participant via the lights labeled 0 and 1-10 through 20. Provocation was manipulated by increasing the opponent's average shock setting from Block 1 (mean shock54.0) to Block 2 (mean shock58.5). Block 2 also included one trial (not included in the determination of the Block 2 average above) in which the opponent selects a 20-shock for the participant. This provides a clearly aggressive attack by the opponent. In the one instance the fictitious opponent selects a 20, the participant does not receive the shock because she or he ''wins'' the trial. We provided no other information about the role of shock in the task. The participant lost (received the opponent shock) on half the trials, with the frequency of wins and losses preprogrammed by the experimenter. After the TAP, participants were debriefed to determine if he or she accepted the social conditions of the task; that is, if he or she believed that they were interacting with another participant and if they were unaware that the purpose of the study was to examine aggressive behavior. RESULTS Analyses were conducted 2-tailed at the .05 level of significance. Before analyzing the data, 20 shocks were re-coded as 11 to minimize the influence of 20 shock selections on mean shock calculations [e.g., Preliminary Analyses Cover task. Three participants indicated that they believed we were studying aggression, and two other participants reported that they did not believe the opponent was real. These individuals were excluded from all analyses. Thus, the final sample (N=112) consisted of participants who accepted the social conditions of the TAP and understood that the shocks chosen by their opponent would be administered to him or her on losing trials. Demographic variables. To ensure that the association between both AS and trait anxiety and aggressive responding was not due to other demographic variables that happened to covary with AS or trait anxiety, zero-order correlations were calculated between scores on both the ASI (M=15.90, S=59.63) and STAI-T (M=33.93, S=511.05) and age, education, and ethnicity. No relation between any of the demographic variables and either AS or trait anxiety was found. Thus, these variables were not included in the main analyses. Gender differences for age, race, and education level were also assessed. Male and female participants did not differ on age, t(108)<1, education level, X 2 (6)=2.30, P=.89, or race, X 2 (5)=2.98, P=.70. Study variables. Scores on the ASI and the STAI-T were correlated, r(112)=.40, P < .001, sharing approximately 16% of their variance. Independent samples t-tests were used to assess potential gender differences for both anxiety sensitivity (ASI) and trait anxiety (STAI-T). Results revealed a significant gender difference for trait anxiety, t(110)=2.04, P=.04, with women (M=36.86, SD=10.25) reporting more trait anxiety than men (M=32.41, SD=12.07). No gender difference was found for AS. Regression Analyses of Shock Setting Behavior Two indices of aggressive behavior, mean shock selection, and use of the 20 shock, were used as dependent variables in separate sets of regression analyses. We expected AS to be inversely related to both indices of aggressive behavior, but primarily in the second block under high levels of provocation. In addition, we attempted to determine if gender moderates this relationship, and if AS and generalized anxiety have similar relationships with retaliatory aggression. Thus, the individual and combined effects of AS, trait anxiety, gender, and provocation on aggressive and non-aggressive responding were examined. Because both trait anxiety and AS are continuous in nature, regression analyses were employed. ASI and STAI-T scores were z-transformed to center the variables In order to use regression analyses in a repeated measures design (the two levels of provocation), a sum/difference regression method was employed in which two DVs are examined in separate regression models. The sum of the two provocation blocks (DV1) was used to examine between-subjects effects independent of provocation, and the difference between low and high provocation trials (DV25high provocation -low provocation) was used to examine the interaction between the within subjects provocation effect and the between-subjects variables. This approach allows for the exploration of all interactions without the need to dichotomize continuous data Mean shock aggression. To determine how average shock levels vary as a function of AS, trait anxiety, and gender, two regression models were created. The first regression model examined between-subjects effects independent of provocation. The full model was significant F(7,104)=2.45, P=.023; R 2 =.14. A significant effect of gender (b=0.77, SE= 0.23 t=3.27, P=.001) was noted, with men (M=5.52, S=52.26) setting higher average shocks compared to women (M=4.14, SD=2.07). No other significant effects emerged from this analysis. The second regression examined the association between AS, trait anxiety, and gender on provocation-based changes in mean aggressive responding. The full model was not significant, F(7, 104)= -1.95, P=.069; R 2 =.12. Extreme shock aggression. Two regression analyses were again performed to evaluate the effect of AS, trait anxiety, and gender on extreme (20 shock) aggression, defined as the number of 20 shocks selected by the participant to administer to the opponent. The first regression analysis examined the role of these variables independent of provocation. The full model was significant, F(7,104)=4.23, P < .001; R 2 =.22. AS SE=0.42, t5_2.85, P=.005) and gender (b=1.14, SE=0.44, t=2.73, P=.007) were the only significant effects in the model. Men (M=2.57, SD=4.95) set more extreme shocks than women (M=0.53, S=51.29). As shown in low-provocation differences in counterattack decreased as AS scores increased above the mean. Use of the 0 Response The correlation between the two ''extreme'' response options, the 20 and 0, was non-significant, r= -.098, P=.30. Thus, the 0 response option may provide independent information about the relation between AS and a clearly non-aggressive response. Accordingly, a regression analysis was conducted for AS and provocation with the number of 0 shocks the participant selected for his or her opponent as the dependent variable. No main effects or interactions for AS emerged from this analysis. DISCUSSION The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation between AS and retaliatory aggressive behavior. In his initial conceptualization of AS, Reiss [1991] proposed that persons with high AS fear the experience of unpleasant anxiety-related physiological sensations. Thus, they are motivated to avoid stimuli that are likely to create anxiety Results were consistent with this prediction, but only for extreme aggressive behavior. Specifically, AS did not predict mean aggression levels, but AS was inversely associated with the use of an extreme aggressive response, especially after an intense attack by an opponent. In other words, even though participants observed the opponent select a highly painful shock for them to receive, those with higher levels of AS were less likely to respond in kind. Given the different pattern of results for mean and extreme aggression, it may be that behaviors that produce mild increases in physiological sensations are not avoided by high-AS individuals, but behaviors that generate more intense sensations are avoided. In addition, the pattern for extreme aggression supports the notion that AS has a small relation with aggression when provocation is minimal, but clear conciliatory behavior is expressed by high-AS people when attacked. Although our AS arousal-avoidance hypothesis is plausible and appears to be supported, it is possible that the relation between AS and aggressive responding merely reflects a more general propensity for trait-anxious people to avoid retaliatory aggression. However, no evidence was found to support this position. Results indicated that trait anxiety did not predict aggressive responding, including extreme displays of aggression. One unique feature of the present study was the inclusion of an unequivocally non-aggressive response option. The vast majority of TAPbased aggression research forces participants to administer some level of shock. The fact that the present study included a response that did not deliver any shock (the 0) provides the opportunity to examine AS in the context of a true ''non-aggressive'' response. Results indicated that AS was not associated with non-aggressive responding. Thus, it appears that AS does not prevent one from entering an aggressive encounter but that high-AS individuals are less likely to display escalating levels of aggression in response to high provocation

Taxometric Investigation of PTSD: Data From Two Nationally Representative Samples

Current psychiatric nosology depicts posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a discrete diagnostic category. However, only one study has examined the latent structure of PTSD, and this study suggested that PTSD may be more accurately conceptualized as an extreme reaction to traumatic life events rather than a discrete clinical syndrome. To build on the existing literature base, the present research examined the latent structure of posttraumatic stress reactions by applying three taxometric procedures (MAXEIG, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) to data collected from large nationally representative samples of women (ns = 2684 and 3033) and adolescents (n = 3775). Results consistently provided evidence for a dimensional PTSD solution across samples and statistical procedures. These findings have important implications for the theory, assessment, and investigation of posttraumatic stress reactions

Tai Chi on psychological well-being: systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physical activity and exercise appear to improve psychological health. However, the quantitative effects of Tai Chi on psychological well-being have rarely been examined. We systematically reviewed the effects of Tai Chi on stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance in eastern and western populations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight English and 3 Chinese databases were searched through March 2009. Randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled studies and observational studies reporting at least 1 psychological health outcome were examined. Data were extracted and verified by 2 reviewers. The randomized trials in each subcategory of health outcomes were meta-analyzed using a random-effects model. The quality of each study was assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty studies totaling 3817 subjects were identified. Approximately 29 psychological measurements were assessed. Twenty-one of 33 randomized and nonrandomized trials reported that 1 hour to 1 year of regular Tai Chi significantly increased psychological well-being including reduction of stress (effect size [ES], 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 1.09), anxiety (ES, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.29 to 1.03), and depression (ES, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.80), and enhanced mood (ES, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.69) in community-dwelling healthy participants and in patients with chronic conditions. Seven observational studies with relatively large sample sizes reinforced the beneficial association between Tai Chi practice and psychological health.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Tai Chi appears to be associated with improvements in psychological well-being including reduced stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance, and increased self-esteem. Definitive conclusions were limited due to variation in designs, comparisons, heterogeneous outcomes and inadequate controls. High-quality, well-controlled, longer randomized trials are needed to better inform clinical decisions.</p

Associative and phonological priming effects following letter-search on the prime

ABSTRACT Responses to target words typically are faster and more accurate after associatively related primes (e.g., &quot;orange-juice&quot;) than after unrelated primes (e.g., &quot;gluejuice&quot;). This priming effect has been used as an index of semantic activation, and its elimination often is cited as evidence against semantic access. When participants are asked to perform a letter search on the prime, associative priming typically is eliminated, but repetition and morphological priming remain. It is possible that priming survives letter search when it arises from activity in codes that are represented before semantics. This experiment examined associative and phonological priming to determine whether priming from phonologically related rhymes would remain after letter search (e.g., &quot;moose-juice&quot;; rhyming items were orthographically dissimilar). When participants read the primes, equivalent associative and phonological priming effects were obtained; both effects were eliminated after letter search. The impact of letter search on semantic and phonological access and implications for the structural arrangement oflexical and semantic memory are discussed

Associative and Phonological Priming Effects After Letter Search On the Prime

Responses to target words typically are faster and more accurate after associatively related primes (e.g., orange-juice ) than after unrelated primes (e.g., glue-juice ). This priming effect has been used as an index of semantic activation, and its elimination often is cited as evidence against semantic access. When participants are asked to perform a letter search on the prime, associative priming typically is eliminated, but repetition and morphological priming remain. It is possible that priming survives letter search when it arises from activity in codes that are represented before semantics. This experiment examined associative and phonological priming to determine whether priming from phonologically related rhymes would remain after letter search (e.g., moose-juice ; rhyming items were orthographically dissimilar). When participants read the primes, equivalent associative and phonological priming effects were obtained; both effects were eliminated after letter search. The impact of letter search on semantic and phonological access and implications for the structural arrangement of lexical and semantic memory are discussed

The Effects of Measurement Frequency and Timing on Anxiety Sensitivity Scores

Mere repeated administration of anxiety sensitivity (AS) measures (i.e., fear of anxiety-related sensations) leads to predictably lower scores, and this effect cannot be attributed to regression to the mean or the indirect provision of anxiety related information. The purpose of this study was to determine whether (a) the number of times an anxiety sensitivity measure is administered within a 2 week time period, and (b) the elapsed time between the initial and subsequent administrations influence mean reductions in anxiety sensitivity scores and test-retest correlations. Fifty-five participants were randomly assigned to complete a self-report measure of anxiety sensitivity (the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised; ASI-R) two, four, or eight times over a 2-week period. Results indicated that ASI-R total scores declined from the first administration to the second administration only. The time elapsed between the first and second administrations ranged from 1 day to 2 weeks. However, the elapsed time between the first and second administrations did not moderate the observed decline in scores. In addition, examination of test-retest correlations provided qualified evidence that the reliability of the measure changes with repeated exposure to the ASI-R. Implications for the valid assessment of AS are discussed

Is Perfectionism Categorical or Dimensional? A Taxometric Analysis

Considerable debate exists within the perfectionism literature regarding whether perfectionism is most accurately conceptualized as a dimensional or categorical construct. Specifically, some researchers have viewed perfectionism as a continuous construct, with extreme scores being associated with negative psychological outcomes (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, etc.). In contrast, others have argued that two distinct forms of perfectionism exist (i.e., adaptive vs. maladaptive perfectionism) that are associated with both positive and negative outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the latent structure of perfectionism using taxometric procedures to determine whether perfectionism is most accurately conceptualized as taxonic (categorical) or dimensional (continuous). We applied four taxometric procedures (maximum eigenvalue [Waller & Meehl, 1998], maximum covariance [Meehl & Yonce, 1996], mean above minus below a cut [Meehl & Yonce. 1994], and latent-mode factor analysis [Waller & Meehl, 1998]) to perfectionism data collected from 2 large nonclinical samples. Results provided convergent evidence for a dimensional conceptualization of perfectionism across samples, perfectionism measures, and statistical procedures. We discuss the implications of these findings for the theory, assessment, and investigation of perfectionism are discussed

The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised Confirmatory Factor Analyses, Structural Invariance in Caucasian and African American Samples, and Score Reliability and Validity

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