DTIC ADA423616: Anxiety Sensitivity, Body Vigilance, Interoceptive Acuity, and Cardiovascular Reactivity in the Genesis of Panic

by: Defense Technical Information Center

Publication date: 2000-01-01

Topics: DTIC Archive, Storey, Julie M, UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIV OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES BETHESDA MD, *STRESS(PHYSIOLOGY), *ANXIETY, VIGILANCE, THESES, REACTIVITIES, SENSITIVITY, CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, PERCEPTION,

Collection: dticarchive; additional_collections

Language: English

Cognitive conceptualizations of panic require both the experience of arousal symptoms and their catastrophic interpretation. The tendency to interpret arousal symptoms as threatening is known as anxiety sensitivity (AS), but it is unclear if increased vigilance, greater physiological reactivity, or enhanced perception are responsible for reported physiological symptoms. Each of these mechanisms has been empirically supported in clinical, but not nonclinical, populations. The current investigation examined the ability of AS, body vigilance, cardiovascular reactivity, and interoceptive acuity to predict fearful responding to a 35% CO2 inhalation in a nonclinical population. A main effect was found for AS (R2 = .13;p .01). Two interaction effects were found (AS x Heart Rate, AR2 = .05,p .05; AS x Diastolic Blood Pressure, AR2 = .05, p .05). Results support cognitive theories of panic and suggest physiological reactivity combined with AS elicit more fearful responses than either alone.