Abstract
Self-focused attention refers to attention consciously directed toward the self. Although cognitive models of panic posit the importance of attending to internal sensations and the role of this self-focus in the experience and maintenance of panic, limited empirical work has examined self-focus in the anxiety disorders. The current investigation examines two parameters of self-focus in subjects with diagnoses of panic disorder: baseline levels of self-focus when the individual is not experiencing panic, and levels of self-focus when the individual is placed under mild stress. Nineteen subjects with panic disorder and 20 normal controls completed a physiological task of baseline, relaxation, and mild stress. Pulse, skin temperature, and epidermal activity were assessed and cognitions were sampled. Cognitions were coded into content categories of self (physiological and cognitive), task, or other. Results support the existence of heightened levels of self-focused attention in panic subjects with differential types of self-focus during structured and unstructured tasks. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of cognitive models of panic and conceptualizations of self-focus.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Beck, A. T. (1988). Cognitive approaches to panic disorder: Theory and therapy. In S. Rachman & J. D. Maser (Eds.),Panic: Psychological perspectives (pp. 91–109). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56 893–897.
Borden, J. W., Peterson, D. R., & Jackson, E. A. (1991). The Beck Anxiety Inventory in nonclinical samples: Initial psychometric properties.Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 13 345–356.
Brown, T. A., & Cash, T. F. (1989). The phenomenon of panic in nonclinical populations: Further evidence and methodological considerations.Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 3 139–148.
Carver, C. S. (1979). A cybernetic model of self-attention processes.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37 1251–1281.
Carver, C. S., Peterson, L. M., Follansbee, D. J., & Scheier, M. F. (1983). Effects of self-directed attention on performance and persistence among persons high and low in test anxiety.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7 333–354.
Clark, D. M. (1986). A cognitive approach to panic.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24 461–470.
Clark, D. M. (1988). A cognitive model of panic attacks. In S. Rachman & J. D. Maser (Eds.),Panic: Psychological perspectives (pp. 71–89). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Deffenbacher, J. L. (1978). Worry, emotionality, and task-generated interference in test anxiety: An empirical test of attentional theory.Journal of Educational Psychology, 70 248–254.
DiNardo, P. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1988).Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Revised (ADIS-R). Albany, NY: Author.
Heide, F. J., & Borkovec, T. D. (1983). Relaxation-induced anxiety: Paradoxical anxiety enhancement due to relaxation training.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51 171–182.
Heide, F. J., & Borkovec, T. D. (1984). Relaxation-induced anxiety: Mechanisms and theoretical implications.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 22 1–12.
Hibbert, G. A. (1984). Ideational components of anxiety: Their origin and content.British Journal of Psychiatry, 144 618–624.
Hope, D. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (1985).Public and private self-consciousness in a social phobic sample. Paper presented at the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Houston.
Hope, D. A., Heimberg, R. G., Zollo, L. J., Nyman, D. J., & O'Brien, G. T. (1987).Thought listing in the natural environment: Valence and focus of listed thoughts among socially anxious and nonanxious subjects. Paper presented at the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Boston.
Ingram, R. E. (1990). Self-focused attention in clinical disorders: Review and a conceptual model.Psychological Bulletin, 107 156–176.
Ingram, R. E., & Kendall, P. C. (1987). The cognitive side of anxiety.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11 523–536.
Kenardy, J., Evans, L., & Oei, T. P. S. (1990). Attributional style in panic disorder.Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 21 9–13.
Ottaviani, R., & Beck, A. T. (1987). Cognitive aspects of panic disorder.Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 1 15–28.
Slapion, J. J., & Carver, C. S. (1981). Self-directed attention and facilitation of intellectual performance among persons high in test anxiety.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 5 115–121.
Wells, A. (1990). Panic disorder in association with relaxation induced anxiety: An attentional training approach to treatment.Behavior Therapy, 21 273–280.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The authors would like to thank Elizabeth Jackson, Kathy Cooper, and Debra Brown for their assistance in data collection and Rick E. Ingram, Melinda A. Stanley, and three reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Borden, J.W., Lowenbraun, P.B., Wolff, P.L. et al. Self-focused attention in panic disorder. Cogn Ther Res 17, 413–425 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173054
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173054