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

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

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

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

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

A Taxometric Investigation of the Latent Structure of Worry: Dimensionality and Associations With Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

Worry has been described as a core feature of several disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The present study examined the latent structure of worry by applying 3 taxometric procedures (MAXEIG, MA/VIBAC, and L-Mode) to data collected from 2 large samples. Worry in the first sample (Study 1) of community participants (n=1,355) was operationalized by worry engagement, absence of worry, and the worry feature of trait anxiety. Worry in the second sample (Study 2) of undergraduate participants (n=1,171) was operationalized by the tendency to experience worry, intolerance of uncertainty, beliefs about worry, and symptoms of GAD. Results across both samples provided converging evidence that worry is best conceptualized as a dimensional construct, present to a greater or lesser extent in all individuals. Findings from Study 2 also indicated that the latent dimension of worry generally has an equal association with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress across the entire continuum. These findings are discussed in relation to the conceptualization and assessment of worry in GAD and related disorders

The Latent Structure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Adolescents

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

The Latent Structure of Anxiety Sensitivity - Revisited

Anxiety sensitivity has been implicated as a risk factor for the development and maintenance of panic and other anxiety disorders. Although researchers have generally assumed that anxiety sensitivity is a dimensional, rather than categorical, variable, recent taxometric research has raised questions concerning the accuracy of this assumption. The present study examined the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity by applying four taxometric procedures (MAXEIG, MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) to data collected from two large nonclinical samples (n = 1,025 and n = 744) using two distinct measures of anxiety sensitivity (Anxiety Sensitivity Profile and Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised). In contrast to previous taxometric analyses of anxiety sensitivity, results of the present research provided convergent evidence for a latent anxiety sensitivity dimension. Several potential explanations for the discrepancy between these findings and those of previous research are discussed, as well as the implications of these findings for the conceptualization and measurement of anxiety sensitivity