Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a common vulnerability in emotional disorders. Due to the pathological role of AS, individuals with high AS are faced with emotional problems. Thus, cognitive behavioural interventions try to reduce these problems by targeting AS. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy (T-CBT) and construct-specific CBT (CS-CBT) on AS, anxiety, depression, and positive and negative affect in these patients. To this end, 40 patients with high AS were randomly assigned to one of the three groups of T-CBT, CS-CBT, and wait list. Participants were assessed using the Anxiety and Related Disorders Interview Schedule for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule at baseline, post-treatment, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up. The findings showed that T-CBT and CS-CBT have a significant effect on AS, anxiety, and negative affect; however, contrary to T-CBT, CS-CBT is not effective for reducing depression and positive affect. T-CBT had a more promising efficacy than CS-CBT in all treatment outcomes. The results show better and more stable efficacy of T-CBT among patients with high AS. It is essential to consider AS as a target for cognitive behavioural intervention for the spectrum of emotional disorders.

The present study tests the mediating role of hypochondriasis to explain the relation between anxiety sensitivity and panic symptomatology. Fifty-seven outpatients with clinically significant levels of panic symptomatology were selected to participate in the study. Measures of anxiety sensitivity, hypochondriasis, and panic symptomatology were obtained from standardized, self-administered questionnaires: the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss, Peterson, Gursky, & McNally, 1986), the Whiteley Index of Hypochondriasis (WI; Pilowsky, 1967), and the Panic-Agoraphobic Spectrum Self-Report (PAS-SR; Cassano et al., 1997; Shear et al., 2001). Regression analyses were performed to test for the mediation models. The results show that the effect of anxiety sensitivity on panic symptomatology is not significant when controlling the hypochondriacal concerns, whereas the latter predicted panic symptoms. This result holds for the overall ASI as well as for the Physical Concerns and the Mental Incapacitation Concerns dimensions of the ASI scale. No evidence of a direct relation between the Social Concerns dimension and panic symptoms was found. The findings suggest that hypochondriacal concerns might represent the mechanism through which anxiety sensitivity is able to influence panic symptoms.

Recent research has found low levels of general self-efficacy (GSE: beliefs about the ability to appropriately handle a wide range of stressors) and high levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS: fear of the negative consequences of experiencing anxiety) to be relevant predictors of pathological worry. This study examined the role of psychological inflexibility (PI: the dominance of private experiences over chosen values and contingencies in guiding action), the central component of the acceptance and commitment therapy model of psychopathology, in the effect of GSE and AS on worry. A total of 132 nonclinical participants completed questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Partial correlations and regression analyses showed that both GSE and AS were independent predictors of pathological worry after controlling for each other. However, mediation analyses revealed that psychological inflexibility completely mediated the independent effects of both GSE and AS on pathological worry. Theoretical and treatment implications of the results are discussed.

Background: Many older adults have at least one chronic disease and experience greater health problems than young adults. However, little is known about factors other than health that account for health anxiety (HA) among older adults. The overall objective of the present study was to develop a better understanding of HA among older and young adults.

Methods: We examined how anxiety-related constructs (anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety control, and emotion regulation) predict two core components of HA described in the cognitive–behavioral model of HA (illness likelihood and negative consequences) in older and young adults. We also examined the extent to which the predictor variables differentially account for HA in both age groups. Older and young adult participants completed several self-report surveys.

Results: Young adults reported higher levels of HA than older adults. Anxiety sensitivity and reappraisal predicted illness likelihood for older and young adults. Intolerance of uncertainty predicted negative consequences in both age groups. Anxiety sensitivity predicted negative consequences for older adults only. Anxiety control did not predict illness likelihood or negative consequences for either age group.

Conclusions: Results suggest that anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty may predispose older and young adults to HA, which is influenced by reappraisal. Implications for the cognitive–behavioral model of HA in both age groups are discussed.

The 13-item Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Specific Phobias (SEQ-SP) was developed as a measure of perceived ability to cope with phobic symptoms when approaching feared stimuli. This study examined the psychometric properties of the SEQ-SP in a sample of 43 Australian children and adolescents aged 7 through to 17 years. Participants met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for a specific phobia. Exploratory factor analysis yielded two reliable subscales labelled Cognitive/Physiological Efficacy and Behavioural Efficacy. A confirmatory cluster analysis revealed the possibility of three ad hoc clusters comprising of cognitive, physiological and behavioural classifications. Results furthermore provided preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the SEQ-SP. Psychometric evaluation revealed excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Additionally, results indicated that higher SEQ-SP scores were significantly correlated with lower scores on the Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index and higher scores on the Behavioural Avoidance Test, displaying evidence of moderate to excellent construct validity. This new self-report measure has a potentially useful role in clinical work and research with children and adolescents presenting with a specific phobia. Subsequent research examining the clinical utility of the SEQ-SP to predict treatment outcome is discussed.

The present study investigated the relations between youth anxiety sensitivity and perceived anxiety control over Internal Reactions and perceived anxiety control over External Threats within the context of a (partially) mediated model in the prediction of anxiety symptoms. Youth sex also was investigated as a moderator of the conceptual model. The sample consisted of 333 children and adolescents (51.4% boys; M = 10.27 years old) referred to a youth anxiety disorders specialty research clinic. Findings showed that high anxiety sensitivity predicted high levels of anxiety symptoms for both boys and girls. Findings also showed that for both boys and girls, high anxiety sensitivity predicted low perceived anxiety control over Internal Reactions, as well as low perceived anxiety control over External Threats. Interestingly, perceived anxiety control over Internal Reactions was a partial mediator of the relation between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety for boys, but not girls. In contrast, perceived anxiety control over External Threats was a partial mediator of the relation between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety for girls, but not boys. The results are discussed within the context of the study's conceptual model as well as potential clinical implications.

Past research has demonstrated that anxiety disorders represent a significant mental health concern. A review of the literature in the area indicates that there is limited information regarding gender differences on the basis of cognitions in clinical or nonclinical samples. The current investigation sought to determine whether any observable gender differences existed in the expression of symptoms, cognitions, and anxiety sensitivity for a nonclinical sample of 48 males and 49 females. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed support for gender differences in the expression of physiological hyperarousal, catastrophic cognitions and a general level of anxiety sensitivity in a nonclinical population. The strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

The present study evaluated the relative importance of different cognitive factors (anxiety sensitivity and trauma-related beliefs) in predicting PTSD symptom severity and treatment-related changes in these symptoms. Eighty-one victims of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) completed self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, anxiety sensitivity (AS), MVA-related beliefs and control variables (e.g., medication use, pain severity). A subsample of patients (n=28), who received cognitive-behavioural treatment for PTSD, completed these measures pre- and post-treatment. For the combined sample (n=81), regression analyses indicated that AS and pain severity were significant predictors of PTSD symptoms, whereas MVA-related beliefs were not. For patients completing treatment, regression analyses indicated that reductions in AS and pain severity were significant predictors of reductions in PTSD symptoms. MVA-related beliefs did not significantly predict symptom reduction once AS, pain severity and medication status was controlled for. These findings suggest that AS is a significant cognitive risk factor for exacerbating and maintaining PTSD symptoms. Treatment implications are discussed.