Robust dimensions of anxiety sensitivity: Development and initial validation of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3.

Accumulating evidence suggests that anxiety sensitivity (fear of arousal-related sensations) plays an important role in many clinical conditions, particularly anxiety disorders. Research has increasingly focused on how the basic dimensions of anxiety sensitivity are related to various forms of psychopathology. Such work has been hampered because the original measure--the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI)--was not designed to be multidimensional. Subsequently developed multidimensional measures have unstable factor structures or measure only a subset of the most widely replicated factors. Therefore, the authors developed, via factor analysis of responses from U.S. and Canadian nonclinical participants (n = 2,361), an 18-item measure, the ASI-3, which assesses the 3 factors best replicated in previous research: Physical, Cognitive, and Social Concerns. Factorial validity of the ASI-3 was supported by confirmatory factor analyses of 6 replication samples, including nonclinical samples from the United States and Canada, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Spain (n = 4,494) and a clinical sample from the United States and Canada (n = 390). The ASI-3 displayed generally good performance on other indices of reliability and validity, along with evidence of improved psychometric properties over the original ASI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety sensitivity, panic, and depressed mood: A reanalysis teasing apart the contributions of the two levels in the hierarchical structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index.

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been defined as the fear of anxiety and anxiety-related sensations, and evidence suggests that AS plays an important role in the psychopathology of panic. It is entirely unclear whether the relation between AS and panic should be attributed to one (or more) of the AS group factors, the general AS factor, or to factors at both levels of the AS hierarchy. The authors reanalyzed data presented earlier by R. M. Rapee, T. A. Brown, M. A. Antony, and D. H. Barlow (1992) to tease apart the contributions of the different levels of the AS hierarchy to fear responses to hyperventilation and 5.5% carbon dioxide challenges. The results demonstrated that AS-Physical Concerns is the only one of the three AS group factors that contributes to relations with fear responses to these two challenges. However, AS-Mental Incapacitation Concerns had a stronger positive linear association with depressed mood than did AS-Physical Concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taxometric and factor analytic models of anxiety sensitivity: Integrating approaches to latent structural research.

This study represents an effort to better understand the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity (AS), as indexed by the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; S. Reiss, R. A. Peterson, M. Gursky, & R. J. McNally, 1986), by using taxometric and factor-analytic approaches in an integrative manner. Taxometric analyses indicated that AS has a taxonic latent class structure (i.e., a dichotomous latent class structure) in a large sample of North American adults (N = 2,515). As predicted, confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a multidimensional 3-factor model of AS provided a good fit for the AS complement class (normative or low-risk form) but not the AS taxon class (high-risk form). Exploratory factor analytic results suggested that the AS taxon may demonstrate a unique, unidimensional factor solution, though there are alternative indications that it may be characterized by a 2-factor solution. Findings suggest that the latent structural nature of AS can be conceptualized as a taxonic latent class structure composed of 2 types or forms of AS, each of these forms characterized by its own unique latent continuity and dimensional structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The role of anxiety sensitivity in the pathogenesis of panic: Prospective evaluation of spontaneous panic attacks during acute stress": Correction to Schmidt et al. (1997).

Reports an error in "The role of anxiety sensitivity in the pathogenesis of panic: Prospective evaluation of spontaneous panic attacks during acute stress" by Norman B. Schmidt, Darin R. Lerew and Robert J. Jackson (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1997[Aug], Vol 106[3], 355-364). The article contained an error in the scoring of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI). A data conversion error led to transformation of ASI scores that dramatically truncated this measure (scores of 0-2 recoded to 0, 3 receded to 1, and 4 recoded to 2). The corrected values (items scored 0-4), revised statistics, and amended conclusions are presented in the corrected text. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1997-05214-001.) Expectancy theory posits that anxiety sensitivity may serve as a premorbid risk factor for the development of anxiety pathology (S. Reiss, 1991). The principal aim of the present study was to determine whether anxiety sensitivity acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the pathogenesis of anxiety pathology. A large, nonclinical sample of young adults (N?=?1, 401) was prospectively followed over a 5-week highly stressful period of time (i.e., military basic training). Anxiety sensitivity was found to predict the development of spontaneous panic attacks after controlling for a history of panic attacks and trait anxiety. Approximately 20% of those scoring in the upper decile on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (R. A. Peterson & S. Reiss, 1987) experienced a panic attack during the 5-week follow-up period compared with only 6% for the remainder of the sample. Anxiety sensitivity also predicted anxiety symptomatology, functional impairment created by anxiety, and disability. These data provide strong evidence for anxiety sensitivity as a risk factor in the development of panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of anxiety symptoms in urban children: Competing factor models of Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale.

The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS; C. R. Reynolds & B. 0. Richmond, 1985) is among the most widely used self-report measures of children's anxiety. The authors compared its current empirically derived factor structure with theory-driven models derived from 8 experts on child anxiety using concept mapping. Confirmatory factor analyses compared models using data from 898 seventh graders in an urban public school system serving a high percentage of African Americans. The most parsimonious best-fitting model was an expert-derived model with factors reflecting anxious arousal, social evaluation–oversensitivity, worry, and a higher order factor. This model was theoretically meaningful, excluded items less relevant to anxiety, and was invariant across gender. Future research with the RCMAS should consider use of these dimensions. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology used in this study appeared to have considerable utility for refining measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does age play a role in structure of anxiety and depression in children and youths? An investigation of the tripartite model in three age cohorts.

Although previous studies provide some support for a tripartite model of relations between anxiety and depression in children, there is evidence to suggest that anxiety and depression may be increasingly differentiated over development. Using a confirmatory factor analytic strategy with rationally selected item sets from the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory, the current study sought to test unitary, dual. and tripartite models for anxiety and depression in a cross-sectional design using 3 narrow-band age cohorts of nonreferred children and youths. The results found little evidence of increasing differentiation. All models provided a moderate fit to the data, with some evidence that a correlated 3-factor model was the preferred model in all age cohorts. Further research is required to explore the discriminant validity and clinical utility of the tripartite dimensions in childhood populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Relationship Between Automatic Thoughts and Negative Emotions in Children and Adolescents: A Test of the Cognitive Content-Specificity Hypothesis.

The aim of this study was to test the cognitive content-specificity hypothesis in children and adolescents aged 7-16 years. Participants consisted of a community sample of 200 youth and a clinical sample of 160 youth with anxiety, depressive, or disruptive behavior disorders. Participants completed several self-report measures assessing a wide range of negative beliefs and symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems. Multivariate analyses examining the interrelationships between beliefs and noncognitive symptoms revealed that thoughts on loss or personal failure were the strongest predictors of depressive symptoms, thoughts on social threat were the strongest predictors of anxiety symptoms, and thoughts on hostility or revenge were the strongest predictors of aggression. Results showed clear evidence of cognitive-affective specificity across both internalizing and externalizing problems in youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)