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Evaluating the Etiology of Anxiety Sensitivity: Relation to Cardiovascular Perception and Reactivity

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Abstract

A large body of research has suggested that anxiety sensitivity (AS) acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the development of anxiety pathology. More recently, attention has turned to the etiology of AS per se. The present study tested several related etiological hypotheses derived from Expectancy theory. S. Reiss and R. J. McNally (1985) originally proposed that greater physiological reactivity would increase risk for developing heightened AS. Reactive individuals are believed to have greater opportunity to perceive unpleasant bodily perturbations, thereby increasing the likelihood that concerns and fears could be attached to the sensations. Nonclinical participants (N = 86) completed physical (e.g., orthostatic) and biological (e.g., 35% CO2) challenges and a heart beat perception task. AS was not related to heart beat perception but was related to greater tonic heart rate and greater diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity to both the challenges. Higher DBP and higher heart beat accuracy interacted to predict higher AS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

    Norman B. Schmidt

  2. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland

    Helen T. Santiago

  3. Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C

    Rachel Wernicke

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  1. Norman B. Schmidt
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  2. Helen T. Santiago
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  3. Rachel Wernicke
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Schmidt, N.B., Santiago, H.T. & Wernicke, R. Evaluating the Etiology of Anxiety Sensitivity: Relation to Cardiovascular Perception and Reactivity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 23, 85–92 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010959524032

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