Abstract
Anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety-related sensations) has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of panic disorder. The present study involved a conceptual replication of Ehlers' study on childhood learning experiences and panic attacks, but also extended her work by investigating the relationship between early learning experiences and the development of AS, in a non-clinical sample. A sample of 551 university students participated in a retrospective assessment of their childhood and adolescent instrumental and vicarious learning experiences with respect to somatic symptoms (i.e. anxiety and cold symptoms, respectively) using an expanded version of Ehler's (1993) Learning History Questionnaire. AS levels were assessed using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, and panic history was obtained using the Panic Attack Questionnaire, Revised. Contrary to hypotheses, the learning experiences of high AS individuals were not found to be specific to anxiety symptoms, but involved parental reinforcement of sick-role behavior related to somatic symptoms in general. High AS subjects reported both more anxiety and cold symptoms prior to age 18 than individuals with lower levels of AS. In addition, both cold and anxiety symptoms elicited more special attention and/or instructions from parents for high AS individuals to take special care of themselves. These findings are contrasted with the results for self-reported panickers who reported more learning experiences (modeling and parental reinforcement) specific to anxiety-related symptoms, than the non-panickers. The results suggest that higher-than-normal levels of AS may arise from learning to catastrophize about the occurrence of bodily symptoms in general, rather than anxiety-related symptoms in particular.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 505-525 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Behaviour Research and Therapy |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 1998 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada (MT-12514) awarded to the second author, and by a grant from the Manitoba Health Research Council awarded to the third author. This study was conducted by the first author as partial fulfillment of a comprehensive exam requirement for the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University, under the internal supervision of the second author, and the external supervision of the third author. The first author is supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Doctoral Studentship and an Honorary Killam Scholarship. The authors would like to thank Anke Ehlers for kindly providing us with a copy of her revised version of the Learning History Questionniare (LHQ). The authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Eric Richards and Carol Thompson in data collection at the University of Manitoba and Dalhousie University sites, respectively.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
