Greater sustained anxiety but not phasic fear in women compared to men.

Startle reflex studies in rodents indicate that female are more reactive than rats in experimental models of sustained anxiety but not in models of phasic fear (Toufexis, 2007). This study examined evidence for a similar effect in humans. Participants were exposed to three conditions, (1) predictable aversive shocks signaled by a cue, (2) unpredictable shocks, and (3) no shocks. Acoustic startle stimuli were delivered regularly across conditions. Phasic startle potential to the threat cue in the predictable condition was not affected by sex. In contrast, and consistent with basic research, the sustained increase in startle in the predictable and unpredictable conditions was greater in women compared to men. Animal studies suggest that such an effect may be mediated by the effects of sexual dimorphism in limbic structures, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. However, psychosocial factors may also contribute to this effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How affiliation affects stress in fear and anxiety situations.

Three experiments with 156 male undergraduates investigated why the presence of calm others reduces an individual's arousal in a fear situation but intensifies the arousal in an anxiety situation. In the fear situation, Ss anticipated receiving a physically painful stimulus; in the anxiety condition, Ss anticipated receiving an innocuous but embarrassing stimulus. Overall results indicate that (a) Ss stressed by a fear context only underwent stress reduction with a calm other present if he looked at the calm other; (b) the mere presence of a co-participant was stress-inducing for Ss stressed by an anxiety context; (c) the stressed-fear Ss directed attention outward toward impinging environmental stimuli, whereas the highly aroused anxiety Ss did not or could not do so. It is argued that stressed-fear Ss were able to model a calm co-participant because their attention was directed outward, whereas stressed-anxiety Ss did not model a calm co-participant because their attention was turned inward. Some ideas are offered as to how a calm model may be able to serve as a stress preventer for a person in an anxiety situation. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression in British and American children and its relation to anxiety and fear.

The relations between the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and the Fear Survey Schedule for Children—Revised (FSSC-R) were examined in 327 British and 336 American children. Relations were similar for both samples of children, with depression more closely related to anxiety than to fear. In addition, the utility of M. Kovacs's (see record 1981-31663-001) recommended cutoff score (CDI?≥?19) for identifying extreme groups of depressed children was evaluated. Children who reported high levels of depression also reported high levels of anxiety and social evaluative fears. The findings are discussed in light of D. Watson and L. A. Clark's (see record 1985-12093-001) notion of negative affectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From fear to love: Individual differences in implicit spider associations.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to investigate automatic fear associations in fear of spiders. Fear associations toward spiders were measured among spider fearful and nonfearful participants (Experiment 1) as well as among nonfearfuls and spider enthusiasts (Experiment 2). It was shown that the IAT is sensitive to personal automatic fear associations and therefore distinguishes between high-fearful, nonfearful, and enthusiastic participants. Moreover, implicit spider associations measured by the IAT predicted avoidance behavior beyond self-reports. The results of Experiment 2 provide additional support for the argument that implicit spider associations are different from general stereotypes or knowledge about spiders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships among measures of fear and anxiety for snake phobics.

Examined the relationships between various measures of fear for snake phobic Ss. 107 female undergraduates reporting high degrees of fear for snakes were given the Fear Survey Schedule, the Bendig Emotionality Scale, the MA scale, the Lang Snake Questionnaire, the Endler Stimulus Situation-Response Inventory of Anxiousness, Nawas' Behavioral Avoidance Test, and the Walk Fear Thermometer. 25 Ss who were unable to touch the snake also completed Welsh's A scale. 2 factors were extracted which accounted for 61% of the total variance: (a) generalized and pervasive anxiety, and (b) specific fears. A correlation matrix of results is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neural systems involved in fear and anxiety measured with fear-potentiated startle.

A good deal is now known about the neural circuitry involved in how conditioned fear can augment a simple reflex (fear-potentiated startle). This involves visual or auditory as well as shock pathways that project via the thalamus and perirhinal or insular cortex to the basolateral amygdala (BLA). The BLA projects to the central (CeA) and medial (MeA) nuclei of the amygdala, which project indirectly to a particular part of the acoustic startle pathway in the brainstem. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, as well as various intracellular cascades in the amygdala, are critical for fear learning, which is then mediated by glutamate acting in the CeA. Less predictable stimuli, such as a long-duration bright light or a fearful context, activate the BLA, which projects to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), which projects to the startle pathway much as the CeA does. The anxiogenic peptide corticotropin-releasing hormone increases startle by acting directly in the BNST. CeA-mediated behaviors may represent stimulus-specific fear, whereas BNST-mediated behaviors are more akin to anxiety. NMDA receptors are also involved in extinction of conditioned fear, and both extinction in rats and exposure-based psychotherapy in humans are facilitated by an NMDA-partial agonist called D-cycloserine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexuality on the Internet: From sexual exploration to pathological expression.

A growing number of clients are presenting in therapy with problems related to their on-line sexual habits. Adults who had used the Internet for sexual pursuits at least once (N?=?9,177) completed a 59-item on-line survey. Men and women generally behaved differently, and most (92%) indicated their on-line sexual behaviors were not problematic. Heavy users (8%) reported significant problems typically associated with compulsive disorders. Problems were highly correlated with time spent on-line for sex. Results are discussed in terms of their research and practice implications, including diagnosis and treatment. Recommendations are made for outreach prevention programs and future policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voices of fear and anxiety and sadness and depression: The effects of speech rate and loudness on fear and anxiety and sadness and depression.

Two studies investigated the role of expressive vocal behavior (specifically, speech rate and loudness) in fear and anxiety and in sadness and depression. In the 1st study, participants spoke about personally experienced fear and anxiety-arousing and neutral events using 3 different voice styles: fast and loud, normal, and slow and soft. In the 2nd study, participants spoke about personally experienced sad or depressing and neutral events using the same 3 voice styles. In both studies, the participants' highest levels of subjective affective and cardiovascular (CV) arousal occurred when they spoke about the emotional events in a mood-congruent voice style: fast and loud in the case of fear and anxiety, and slow and soft in the case of sadness or depression. Mood-incongruent voice styles canceled the heightened levels of CV arousal normally associated with these negative emotions. The voice-style manipulation had no significant effect on the participants' levels of CV arousal during the neutral discussions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of GABA and anxiety in the reconsolidation of conditioned fear.

The current study examined the effects of systemic administration of a GABA agonist [midazolam (MDZ)] and a GABA antagonist (bicuculline) on fear responding after brief CS exposure, a procedure thought to involve memory reconsolidation. Using a contextual fear-conditioning paradigm, rats were initially given two context-shock training trials, followed 24 hrs later by a 90-s context exposure (reactivation), and 24 hrs later by a 3-min context test. In Experiment 1, MDZ (2 mg/kg, i.p.), whereas in Experiment 2, bicuculline (1 mg/kg, i.p.), was administered immediately after reactivation. MDZ reduced conditioned freezing, whereas bicuculline only marginally potentiated conditioned freezing. The MDZ fear disruption effect did not occur in the absence of reactivation, and was evident 10 days after the initial test. Experiment 3 induced high levels of baseline anxiety using the single prolonged stress paradigm, and replicated the essential procedure of Experiment 1. Results indicated that MDZ fear disruption did not differ between high and low anxiety rats. The data suggest the involvement of GABA receptors in reconsolidation processes, and the possible clinical use of MDZ in fear reduction with brief reexposure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Generalized anxiety disorder: From science to practice.

Reviews the book, Generalized anxiety disorder: From science to practice by Michel J. Dugas and Melisa Robichaud (2006). The reviewers commend the authors for providing a comprehensive overview of GAD. Chapters include information on diagnosis, assessment techniques and treatment modules. Dugas and Robichaud refer to their treatment as primarily cognitive and emphasize the difference between their approach and other cognitive and cognitive-behavioural treatments for GAD. The treatment presented does not employ relaxation training or other strategies to reduce physical tension and overarousal. Rather, this treatment makes use of specific cognitive interventions with the understanding that physical and affective symptoms will decrease with corresponding reductions in excessive worry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive reinterpretation of fear of death: A Japanese (Morita) psychotherapy approach to anxiety treatment.

Describes Morita therapy, a Japanese cognitive–behavioral therapy that aims toward clients' acceptance of the self-actualizing and existential meaning of anxiety (i.e., the fear of death and failure), instead of trying to resist or control anxiety symptoms. The positive reinterpretation technique attempts to mobilize clients' energy from egocentric self-preocccupations to productive and constructive action-taking. A case illustration is presented of a 35-yr-old female death-anxious client with paroxysmal anxiety reactions who was successfully treated in a single Morita session; successful maintenance continued at 40-mo follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential role of the medial and lateral prefrontal cortices in fear and anxiety.

In the rat, both the medial and lateral prefrontal. cortices (PFC; mPFC and lPFC, respectively) have direct connections with limbic structures that are important in the expression of fear and anxiety. The present study investigated the behavioral effects of excitotoxic lesions of either the mPFC or the lPFC on conditioned and unconditioned fear paradigms. In both unconditioned fear paradigms (open field, elevated plus-maze), lesions of the mPFC decreased anxiety. In fear conditioning, lPFC lesions substantially increased freezing throughout the different phases of the experiment, whereas mPFC lesions increased freezing to contextual cues and showed reduced freezing to discrete cues. These results support the functional role of the PFC in mediating or modulating central states of fear and anxiety and suggest a functional dissociation between the lPFC and mPFC in their role in fear and anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subtyping pathological gamblers based on impulsivity, depression, and anxiety.

This study examined putative subtypes of pathological gamblers (PGs) based on the Pathways model, and it also evaluated whether the subtypes would benefit differentially from treatment. Treatment-seeking PGs (N = 229) were categorized into Pathways subtypes based on scores from questionnaires assessing anxiety, depression, and impulsivity. The Addiction Severity Index—Gambling assessed severity of gambling problems at baseline, posttreatment, and 12-month follow-up. Compared with behaviorally conditioned (BC) gamblers, emotionally vulnerable (EV) gamblers had higher psychiatric and gambling severity, and were more likely to have a parent with a psychiatric history. Antisocial impulsive (AI) gamblers also had elevated gambling and psychiatric severity relative to BC gamblers. They were more likely to have antisocial personality disorder and had the highest legal and family/social severity scores. They were also most likely to have a history of substance abuse treatment, history of inpatient psychiatric treatment, and a parent with a substance use or gambling problem. AI and EV gamblers experienced greater gambling severity throughout treatment than BC gamblers, but all three subtypes demonstrated similar patterns of treatment response. Thus, the three Pathways subtypes differ on some baseline characteristics, but subtyping did not predict treatment outcomes beyond a simple association with problem gambling severity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysiology of fear imagery: Differences between focal phobia and social performance anxiety.

Studied 11 spider phobics and 16 speech anxious undergraduates who imaged fear scenes with spider and public-speaking content and a series of standard scenes that were constructed to vary in degree of emotional arousal and movement. Phobic levels were determined by the Fear Survey Schedule, the Speech Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Spider Fear Questionnaire. Both S groups did not differ on Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale scores. Heart rate, skin conductance, and ocular activity were recorded. Spider phobics rated all imagery contents as more vivid and reported more scene movement than speech anxious Ss. Both groups responded to their own fear scenes with higher ratings of emotion and a greater physiological response than to the other group's fear scenes. The arousal response of spider phobics to relevant fear scenes was greater than that of speech anxious Ss. The data suggest that the outcome of imagery-based therapies may be partly determined by type of fear. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Second-order factors among normal and pathological primary personality traits.

Intercorrelations among the primary personality traits of the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire were factor analyzed. This test measures 16 normal traits originally included in the 16 PF, 7 depression factors, and 5 pathological primary factors found in factor analyses of the MMPI item pool. The sample consisted of 925 normal adults (448 males) and 950 clinical cases (598 males). When separate analyses were carried out for men and women, 10 2nd-order factors were clearly replicated across the 2 data sets. These were identified as Extraversion, Anxiety, Tough Poise, Independence, Intelligence, Superego, Socialization, Depression, Psychoticism, and Neuroticism. All factors except Neuroticism were found to be replicable in independent and more homogeneous samples of 335 male and 553 female college students that were separately analyzed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Appraisal of dental anxiety and fear questionnaires: a review

This article reviews and assesses six dental anxiety and fear questionnaires. The construct aimed at by the questionnaires, the data collected, their reliability, validity and normative scores are considered. Some attention is given to the correlations between the questionnaires, their ambiguity, the presence of manuals, and whether the questionnaires tap the three segments distinguishable on theoretical ground in dental anxiety/fear. All questionnaires are open to criticism. In the final assessment Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Survey is preferred to Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale. The latter, however, appears useful in getting a quick impression of anxiety and in evaluative studies. Three recently developed questionnaires, Stouthard's Dental Anxiety Inventory, Weiner's Fear Questionnaire and Morin's Adolescents' Fear of Dental Treatment Cognitive Inventory are considered promising, but for the last two instruments more data, in particular with regard to their validity, are needed. It is concluded that in dental anxiety research more than one questionnaire should be used and that it may be worthwhile to include other, non-anxiety questionnaires as well.     

Male object loss: A special case of bereavement, anxiety, and fear.

Describes the experience of acute depression and bereavement following sudden termination of a young man's first consummated, heterosexual relationship and the effect of this clinical case upon the theoretical orientation of his therapist. Some of the factors in the young man's family background and history that contributed to the intensity of his reaction are considered. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential association of traits of fear and anxiety with norepinephrine- and dark-induced pupil reactivity.

The relation between fear and anxiety remains unclear, though psychometric data strongly suggest they are independent emotional systems. Because central norepinephrine (NE) projection systems are at the core of models of both fear and anxiety, the present experiment explored whether this independence extends to NE functioning. Two different aspects of NE functioning were assessed in a healthy young adult sample (N?=?18): pupillary reactivity to (a) a specific NE alpha-1 agonist challenge to assess receptor reactivity and (b) a darkness challenge to assess contributions of central NE. Pupillary reactivity to the former was strongly and specifically related to A. Tellegen's (1982) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) Harm Avoidance scale (i.e., trait fear), whereas the latter was strongly and specifically related to MPQ Negative Emotionality (i.e., trait anxiety). Implications for conceptualizing fear and anxiety as emotional systems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From the lab to the clinic: Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders.

A controversy exists over whether results of randomized controlled trials of psychological treatment methods generalize to routine clinical practice. To examine the generalizability of cognitive-behavioral interventions for anxiety disorders, a meta-analysis of 11 effectiveness studies was conducted. Only studies that closely approximated real-world clinical practice were included in the present meta-analysis (e.g., studies were conducted in a nonuniversity setting, practitioners had regular caseloads, clients were not excluded if they had comorbid conditions). Cognitive-behavioral interventions were associated with significant improvement in anxiety symptoms at the end of treatment (dw = 1.35) and again at follow-up (dw = 1.14). On the basis of these results, it seems that cognitive-behavioral interventions for anxiety disorders generalize to real-world clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)