anxiety

The present study investigated perceived acceptability and suppression of negative emotion in participants with anxiety and mood disorders. Sixty participants with these disorders and 30 control participants watched an emotion-provoking film and completed self-report measures of their experience and regulation of emotions. The film elicited similar increases in negative emotion for clinical and nonclinical participants; however, clinical participants judged their resulting emotions as less acceptable and suppressed their emotions to a greater extent. The higher level of suppression in the clinical group was attributable to females in the clinical group suppressing their emotions more than females in the nonclinical group. For all participants, high levels of suppression were associated with increased negative emotion during the film and during a postfilm recovery period. Further analyses showed that appraising emotions as unacceptable mediated the relationship between negative emotion intensity and use of suppression in the clinical group. This study extends the literature on emotion regulation to a clinical sample and suggests that judging emotions as unacceptable and suppressing emotions may be important aspects of the phenomenology of emotional disorders.

The present study investigated perceived acceptability and suppression of negative emotion in participants with anxiety and mood disorders. Sixty participants with these disorders and 30 control participants watched an emotion-provoking film and completed self-report measures of their experience and regulation of emotions. The film elicited similar increases in negative emotion for clinical and nonclinical participants; however, clinical participants judged their resulting emotions as less acceptable and suppressed their emotions to a greater extent. The higher level of suppression in the clinical group was attributable to females in the clinical group suppressing their emotions more than females in the nonclinical group. For all participants, high levels of suppression were associated with increased negative emotion during the film and during a postfilm recovery period. Further analyses showed that appraising emotions as unacceptable mediated the relationship between negative emotion intensity and use of suppression in the clinical group. This study extends the literature on emotion regulation to a clinical sample and suggests that judging emotions as unacceptable and suppressing emotions may be important aspects of the phenomenology of emotional disorders.

This study examined the role of experiential avoidance and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when distressed in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and depressive symptom severity. A sample of 391 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Results provided support for a model where experiential avoidance and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior mediate the relationship between the AS dimensions of fear of cognitive dyscontrol and fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions and depressive symptom severity. The ability of this model to distinguish participants (N = 53) reporting clinical levels of depression from those without (N = 53) was then examined. The model was found to reliably distinguish between participants with and without clinical levels of depression. However, only experiential avoidance was a significant mediator. Implications for research on the role of AS in depression vulnerability and treatment are discussed.

This study examined the role of experiential avoidance and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when distressed in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and depressive symptom severity. A sample of 391 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Results provided support for a model where experiential avoidance and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior mediate the relationship between the AS dimensions of fear of cognitive dyscontrol and fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions and depressive symptom severity. The ability of this model to distinguish participants (N = 53) reporting clinical levels of depression from those without (N = 53) was then examined. The model was found to reliably distinguish between participants with and without clinical levels of depression. However, only experiential avoidance was a significant mediator. Implications for research on the role of AS in depression vulnerability and treatment are discussed.

Acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches to anxiety have recently received increased attention and empirical support. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms of such interventions and further study is needed to determine the conditions under which such approaches are warranted. The current study experimentally investigated two possible mediators (i.e., perceived control; mindfulness) of acceptance based coping instruction on fear responding in nonclinical participants who underwent voluntary hyperventilation. Selected relationships between experiential avoidance (EA), anxiety sensitivity (AS), coping strategy choice, both mediators, and anxious responding were also examined in a no instruction comparison condition. It was expected that participants in the acceptance condition, compared to the no instruction group, would exhibit less avoidance behavior and subjective anxiety in response to hyperventilation. An increase in perceived control was predicted to mediate the relationship. The alternative mediator hypothesis was that increased state mindfulness (i.e., curiosity; decentering) or increased emotional willingness would mediate the effect. In the no instruction condition, AS and EA were expected to be positively associated with fearful responding as well as the utilization of avoidance-based coping strategies, which were in turn expected to be positively associated with subjective distress. An association between lower levels of mindfulness and perceived control and elevated levels of AS and EA was anticipated. Despite significant change and/or between-group differences in measured mediators, the acceptance coping manipulation did not produce any significant between-group differences in indexes of fear of avoidance. Exploratory analyses indicated, however, that use of acceptance coping was prospectively associated with decreased behavioral avoidance of the second hyperventilation across the sample. Though both the acceptance manipulation and use of acceptance-based coping were positively associated with facets of state mindfulness (i.e., decentering), the post-hoc effect of acceptance-based coping on avoidance was mediated by a willingness to experience emotions and symptoms during initial hyperventilation. Modest support for most of the no instruction group hypotheses was indicated. Experimental findings were discussed in terms of the comparison group, which used predominantly acceptance-based strategies, and the relatively unselected college student sample. Implications and findings were discussed with an emphasis on acceptance-based coping, state mindfulness, perceived control, and avoidance-based coping.

Although research on the temperamental vulnerabilities associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) has focused primarily on the role of impulsive-aggression, affective instability, and emotional vulnerability, growing evidence suggests that anxiety sensitivity (AS) also may increase vulnerability for BPD. This study provides preliminary data on the relationship between AS and BPD, examining whether AS distinguishes outpatients with BPD from outpatients without a personality disorder (non-PD), and whether the relationship between AS and BPD is mediated by experiential avoidance (i.e., attempts to avoid unwanted internal experiences, such as anxiety). Findings indicate that BPD outpatients reported higher levels of AS than non-PD outpatients and AS reliably distinguished between these two groups. Furthermore, the relationship between AS and BPD was mediated by experiential avoidance. Finally, results indicate that AS (and experiential avoidance as a mediator) accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in BPD status above and beyond both negative affect and two well-established temperamental vulnerabilities for BPD (affect intensity/reactivity and impulsivity). Findings suggest the need to further explore the role of AS in the pathogenesis of BPD.

Although research on the temperamental vulnerabilities associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) has focused primarily on the role of impulsive-aggression, affective instability, and emotional vulnerability, growing evidence suggests that anxiety sensitivity (AS) also may increase vulnerability for BPD. This study provides preliminary data on the relationship between AS and BPD, examining whether AS distinguishes outpatients with BPD from outpatients without a personality disorder (non-PD), and whether the relationship between AS and BPD is mediated by experiential avoidance (i.e., attempts to avoid unwanted internal experiences, such as anxiety). Findings indicate that BPD outpatients reported higher levels of AS than non-PD outpatients and AS reliably distinguished between these two groups. Furthermore, the relationship between AS and BPD was mediated by experiential avoidance. Finally, results indicate that AS (and experiential avoidance as a mediator) accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in BPD status above and beyond both negative affect and two well-established temperamental vulnerabilities for BPD (affect intensity/reactivity and impulsivity). Findings suggest the need to further explore the role of AS in the pathogenesis of BPD.

Describes the successful 18-session psychosocial treatment of a 26-yr-old woman with generalized anxiety. Prior 1-yr psychopharmacological therapy was ineffective. Clinical treatment incorporated progressive relaxation training, the shaping of S's verbal behavior about her problem and its solutions, some strategies from acceptance and commitment therapy, and self-monitoring. Positive results were maintained at 1-mo and 12-mo follow-up.

Describes the successful 18-session psychosocial treatment of a 26-yr-old woman with generalized anxiety. Prior 1-yr psychopharmacological therapy was ineffective. Clinical treatment incorporated progressive relaxation training, the shaping of S's verbal behavior about her problem and its solutions, some strategies from acceptance and commitment therapy, and self-monitoring. Positive results were maintained at 1-mo and 12-mo follow-up.