Anxiety Sensitivity and Its Factors in Relation to Generalized Anxiety Disorder among Adolescents

The network analysis of anxiety, depression and academic burnout symptom relationships throughout early, middle, and late adolescence

BACKGROUND

Previous research has explored the associations between anxiety, depression, and academic burnout primarily from a variable-level perspective. However, there is limited understanding of which symptoms might play a significant role in anxiety, depression, and academic burnout among adolescents at different stages.

METHODS

This study included 7,286 adolescents aged 10 to 18. Questionnaires assessed participants' anxiety, depression, and academic burnout. Network analysis was conducted on the overall sample and segmented by early, middle, and late adolescence to explore relationships between symptoms and variations in symptom expression across these stages, aiming to propose effective interventions targeting anxiety, depression, and academic burnout symptoms in early, middle, and late adolescence.

RESULTS

The study found that "feeling that studying is meaningless" emerged as a core symptom in the overall sample. Additionally, "acting or speaking slowly" emerged as a core symptom in early adolescence, while "the thought of dying or hurting" and "feeling bad about yourself, letting your family down" were prominent in middle adolescence, and "easily annoyed or irritable" and "feeling tired" may be prioritized in late adolescence. The varying central symptoms across different adolescent stages suggest the need for targeted interventions.

CONCLUSION

These findings underscore the importance of interventions tailored to specific symptoms to meet the unique needs of adolescents at different developmental stages.

Moderators of the Link Between Social Preference and Persistent Peer Victimization for Elementary School Children

OBJECTIVE

Current antibullying programs can reduce overall rates of victimization but appear to overlook processes that give rise to persistent peer victimization. Needed are studies that delineate the interplay between social contextual and individual difference variables that contribute to persistent peer victimization. We examined the extent to which two individual-difference variables - internalizing symptoms (IS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) - moderated the link between children's average social preference score across the school year and their status as persistent victims.

METHOD

Participants included 659 4th-grade students (Mage = 9.31 years, SD = 0.50, 51.8% girls; 42.3% Latinx, 28.9% non-Hispanic White, 10.2% Pacific Islander, 7.7% Bi/Multiracial, 1.9% Black, 1.7% Asian, 1.7% Native American, and 3.4% unreported) from 10 public elementary schools in the U.S.

RESULTS

As expected, higher social preference scores predicted a decreased likelihood of being persistently victimized. Conversely, IS and AS were positively linked to persistent victim status. AS significantly moderated the link between social preference and persistent victim status such that for children with high AS, compared to those with AS scores at or below the mean, the negative association between social preference and persistent victim status was attenuated.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide evidence that children who experience high levels of IS and AS are at risk for being persistently victimized by peers and that high AS could signal increased risk for persistent victimization even when children are generally liked by peers. We discuss the implications of these findings for efforts to develop focused interventions for chronically bullied children.

A cross-sectional analysis of the relationships between anxiety sensitivity and youth irritability: the mediated roles of insomnia and selective attention for threat

BACKGROUND

Irritability is common in multiple psychiatric disorders and is hallmark of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Child irritability is associated with higher risk of suicide and adulthood mental health problems. However, the psychological mechanisms of irritability are understudied. This study examined the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and irritability among youth, and further explored three possible mediated factors: selective attention for threat, delayed reward discounting, and insomnia.

METHODS

Participants were 1417 students (51.7% male; mean age 13.83 years, SD = 1.48) recruited from one high school in Hunan province, China. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure irritability (The Affective Reactivity Index and The Brief Irritability Test), anxiety sensitivity (The Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index), selective attention for threat (The Davos Assessment of Cognitive Biases Scale-attention for threat bias subscale), insomnia (The Youth Self-Rating Insomnia Scale), and delayed reward discounting (The 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire). Structural equation modal (SEM) was performed to examine mediated relations.

RESULTS

Anxiety sensitivity was modestly related to irritability and insomnia (r from 0.25 to 0.54) and slightly correlated with selective attention for threat (r from 0.12 to 0.28). However, there is no significant relationship of delayed rewards discounting with anxiety sensitivity and irritability. The results of SEM showed that selective attention for threat (indirect effect estimate = 0.04) and insomnia (indirect effect estimate = 0.20) partially mediate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and irritability, which explained 34% variation.

CONCLUSIONS

Anxiety sensitivity is an important susceptibility factor for irritability. Selective attention for threat and insomnia are two mediated mechanisms to understand the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and irritability.

Trauma in childhood is associated with greater pain catastrophizing but not anxiety sensitivity: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Adverse life experiences have been identified as a possible vulnerability factor for chronic pain. This association could result from the effect of trauma on the psychological state of individuals. Previous studies found childhood trauma to be associated with pain catastrophizing and anxiety sensitivity, both of which have been associated with an increased risk of chronic pain. However, it is unknown whether trauma in adulthood affects these variables and whether the effect on pain catastrophizing is independent of confounds such as depression and anxiety.

Objectives

To test the effect of childhood and adulthood trauma on pain catastrophizing and anxiety sensitivity whilst controlling for depression and anxiety.

Methods

In the current study, we conducted an online survey in the United Kingdom in a chronic pain sample (N = 138; 123 women; age range 19-78). We analysed whether there is an association between different types of trauma (both in childhood and through the lifespan), pain catastrophizing, and anxiety sensitivity while controlling for anxiety and depression.

Results

We found that childhood trauma (particularly emotional abuse) significantly predicts pain catastrophizing, even when controlling for depression and anxiety, whereas it did not have a significant effect on anxiety sensitivity. Trauma through the lifespan (not childhood) did not have a significant effect on anxiety sensitivity nor did it have a significant effect on pain catastrophizing.

Conclusions

Our results show that the life stage in which trauma occurs is key in its psychological effects on patients with chronic pain. Furthermore, it shows that trauma affects some psychological variables but not others.

Investigating pathways from anxiety sensitivity to impairment in a treatment-seeking sample

BACKGROUND

Previous research suggests that high anxiety sensitivity (AS) - a fear of arousal-related body sensations - may have implications not only for mental health symptoms but also for functional impairment. The aim of the present study was to examine whether elevated AS is associated with functional impairment by way of heightened anxiety symptoms and resultant depressive symptoms or unhealthy coping behaviours (i.e., alcohol use, exercise avoidance, sleep problems) in a chained mediation model.

METHOD

Participants were 128 treatment-seeking individuals with high AS who qualified for an anxiety, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis. They completed self-report measures of AS, anxiety, depression, and unhealthy coping behaviours as part of a pre-treatment assessment battery for a larger study examining the efficacy of a cognitive behavioural intervention for AS. Data were analyzed using path analysis.

RESULTS

Results revealed a direct association between AS and functional impairment that was partially mediated through a chained indirect pathway from AS to anxiety symptoms to depression symptoms to functional impairment. Unhealthy coping behaviours did not serve as mediators.

LIMITATIONS

Results are limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings have clinical implications insofar as supporting the relevance of reducing AS and focusing on depressive symptoms when seeking to improve clients' functioning.

The efficacy of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy on reducing negative affect, anxiety sensitivity and improving perceived control in children with emotional disorders - a randomized controlled trial

In response to the high rate of comorbidity among different types of emotional disorders in children, Transdiagnostic Unified Protocol of Emotional disorder in children (UP-C) was developed to address common underlying mechanisms in the development and maintenance of emotional disorders using empirically supported cognitive and behavioural strategies. Although, studies supported the effectiveness of this protocol in the treatment of wide range of emotional disorders, further studies are needed to examine its effect on transdiagnostic factors. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the UP-C on negative affect, anxiety sensitivity and perceived control in children with emotional disorders. During this randomized controlled trial, 34 children aged 7 to 13 with emotional disorders were randomly assigned to treatment (n=18) and control (n=16) groups. The treatment group and their parents received 15 sessions of UP-C. Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANASNA- C), Children’s Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), Anxiety Control Questionnaire-Children (ACQ-C) were carried out in all phases (pre-treatment, post-treatment, 3 and 8 months follow- up). The results showed that following UP-C, negative affect (hedges’g=2.01) and anxiety sensitivity (hedges’g=1.05) were significantly reduced, and perceived control (hedges’g= –2.36) was significantly improved. The results remained relatively constant during the follow-ups. Findings provide evidence that the UP-C has significant effect on negative affect, anxiety sensitivity and perceived control as roots of emotional disorders.

Cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents: A 3-year longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE

This study established cognitive vulnerability of anxiety symptoms among high school students.

METHOD

A total of 72 grade 9-11 students completed measures on levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS), selective attentional processing, and anxiety symptoms annually between 2016 and 2018.

RESULTS

Latent class growth analysis (unconditional model) showed a four-class model: High (stable) (6.94%), low (stable) (11.11%), medium (decreasing) (61.11%), and medium (increasing) (20.83%). The conditioned model controlling for the physical-concerns dimension of AS and negative attentional bias demonstrated that a two-class model consisted of a low anxiety class (n = 59, 81.9%) and a high anxiety class (n = 13, 18.1%) provided the best fit for the data. Negative attentional bias is a significant factor related to the development of anxiety trajectories.

CONCLUSION

Attentional bias modification to disengage from negative stimuli may serve as a potential target of intervention to reduce chronic anxiety among high school students.

Personality to Prescription Drug Misuse in Adolescents: Testing Affect Regulation, Psychological Dysregulation, and Deviance Proneness Pathways

Background: Fifteen to 25-year-olds are the age group most likely to misuse prescription drugs. Few studies have tested theory-driven models of adolescent risk for prescription drug misuse. Moreover, rarely are distinct pathways to different forms of prescription drug misuse considered. Methods: We tested mediational paths from personality to mental health symptoms to prescription drug misuse, informed by etiological models of addiction. We specified pathways from particular personality traits to unique forms of prescription drug misuse via specific mental health symptoms. We used semi-longitudinal data collected across two waves of the Co-Venture Trial. Our sample included students from 31 Canadian high schools tested in Grade 9 (n = 3,024) and again in Grade 10 (n = 2,869; 95% retention). Personality (hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, sensation seeking) was assessed in Grade 9. Mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, ADHD, conduct disorder) and prescription drug misuse (opioids, sedatives/tranquilizers, stimulants) were assessed at both time points. Results: Consistent with the negative affect regulation model, hopelessness was specifically associated with opioid misuse via depressive symptoms, and anxiety sensitivity was specifically associated with sedative/tranquilizer misuse via anxiety symptoms. Consistent with positive affect regulation, sensation seeking was directly associated with stimulant misuse. Consistent with the psychological dysregulation model, impulsivity was associated with stimulant misuse via ADHD symptoms. And consistent with the deviance proneness model, impulsivity was also associated with unconstrained (i.e., all three forms of) prescription drug misuse via conduct disorder symptoms. Conclusions: Screening for adolescents high in hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, sensation seeking, or impulsivity and providing them with personality-matched cognitive-behavioral interventions may be helpful in preventing or mitigating prescription drug misuse. Our results point to the specific mental health symptoms that are important to target in each of these personality-matched interventions.

Affect variability and emotional reactivity in generalized anxiety disorder

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Research indicates that greater variability in affect and emotion over time is associated with depression and anxiety. However, it remains unclear whether individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) experience greater affect variability due to individual differences or differences in the stimuli they encounter. The current study investigated whether individuals with analogue GAD demonstrate greater affect variability in response to a standardized set of stimuli.

METHODS

Participants were 134 (95 female) undergraduate participants with analogue GAD (endorsing DSM-IV criteria A, B, C, and E on the GAD-Q-IV; n = 66) or with no symptoms of GAD (n = 68). Participants reported affective reactions (positive affect, negative affect, affective arousal, and affective dominance) to each of nine sets of standardized images varying in valence (positive, neutral, or negative) and arousal (low, medium, or high).

RESULTS

In a logistic regression model controlling for baseline measurements, higher variability of affective arousal across the nine sets of images uniquely predicted analogue GAD status, whereas variability in positive affect, negative affect, and affective dominance did not. Additional analyses revealed that lower mean affective arousal also uniquely predicted analogue GAD.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations include using self-report measures to determine analogue GAD status; using a short laboratory session for the assessment of affect variability; and potential repeated testing effects.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that individuals with GAD symptoms experience higher levels of affective arousal variability, even when the stimuli presented are held constant. Assessing variability in affective arousal may be helpful in both conceptualizing and treating individuals with GAD symptoms.

Parental Presence Impacts a Neural Correlate of Anxiety (the Late Positive Potential) in 5-7 Year Old Children: Interactions with Parental Sensitivity to Child Anxiety

Anxiety disorders tend to onset early in development and often result in chronic impairment across the lifespan. Thus, there is substantial interest in identifying early neural markers of anxiety and leveraging these markers to better understand processes leading to anxiety. The late positive potential (i.e., LPP) indexes sustained attention to motivationally relevant stimuli; and the LPP to negative images is increased in individuals with anxiety. In the current study, we examined how parental presence impacts the LPP to threatening images in children (52.6% male) between 5 and 7 years-old (N = 78). Moreover, we explored interactions with parental sensitivity to child anxiety symptoms. Results suggest that when children are in the presence of their parent (compared to the presence of an experimenter), they displayed a larger LPP to threatening images. LPP activity was modulated by parental response to their child's anxiety symptoms, such that children with parents who were overly reactive to their children's anxiety symptoms had the greatest LPP response when viewing threatening stimuli in their parent's presence. Additionally, exploratory analyses indicated that children with clinical and subclinical anxiety were characterized by an increased LPP to negative images, but only when the LPP was measured with parents in the room. Findings are novel and extend previous work by suggesting that parents who react strongly when observing their children's anxiety symptoms in turn increase their child's engagement with threatening stimuli, thereby placing them at greater risk for anxiety.

Prefrontal-amygdala connectivity in trait anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder: Testing the boundaries between healthy and pathological worries

BACKGROUND

Current brain-based theoretical models of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) suggest a dysfunction of amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex emotional regulatory mechanisms. These alterations might be reflected by an altered resting state functional connectivity between both areas and could extend to vulnerable non-clinical samples such as high worriers without a GAD diagnosis. However, there is a lack of information in this regard.

METHODS

We investigated differences in resting state functional connectivity between the basolateral amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (amygdala-vmPFC) in 28 unmedicated participants with GAD, 28 high-worriers and 28 low-worriers. We additionally explored selected clinical variables as predictors of amygdala-vmPFC connectivity, including anxiety sensitivity.

RESULTS

GAD participants presented higher left amygdala-vmPFC connectivity compared to both groups of non-GAD participants, and there were no differences between the latter two groups. In our exploratory analyses, concerns about the cognitive consequences of anxiety (the cognitive dimension of anxiety sensitivity) were found to be a significant predictor of the left amygdala-vmPFC connectivity.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional nature of our study preclude us from assessing if functional connectivity measures and anxiety sensitivity scores entail an increased risk of GAD.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest a neurobiological qualitative distinction at the level of the amygdala-vmPFC emotional-regulatory system in GAD compared to non-GAD participants, either high- or low-worriers. At this neural level, they question previous hypotheses of continuity between high worries and GAD development. Instead, other anxiety traits such as anxiety sensitivity might confer a greater proneness to the amygdala-vmPFC connectivity alterations observed in GAD.

Anxiety Sensitivity and Children's Risk for Both Internalizing Problems and Peer Victimization Experiences

In this study, we examined the degree to which children's level of anxiety sensitivity (AS) was a precursor to both internalizing problems and peer victimization experiences. Participants were 581 fourth-grade children (M age = 9.31; 51.8% girls; 42.3% Hispanic/Latinx) and their teachers. Measures of AS, internalizing problems, and peer victimization were collected across a single academic year (Fall, Spring). Structural equation modeling and logistic regression analyses indicated AS predicted future internalizing symptoms as well as self- and teacher-reports of peer victimization. Also, children with heightened AS were 2.70 times more likely to reach elevated levels of self-rated peer victimization and 11.53 times more likely to have clinically elevated internalizing problems. This is the first study to examine prospectively the link between AS and children's peer victimization experiences. We discuss implications of the findings for developing preventative interventions for children at risk for peer victimization and internalizing difficulties.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 in Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

Background

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a trait-like predisposing factor for the prevalence of anxiety in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) has been widely used in both general and clinical samples for measuring AS. However, the data about its psychometric properties in women with breast cancer are deficient. In addition, there is no evidence proving the measure equivalence of ASI-3 across sociodemographic variables in the specific sample. Thus, the present study examined the psychometric properties and conducted measure equivalence testing of ASI-3 in Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods

This study included 815 Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer. Single group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was administrated to detect the factorial validity of ASI-3, and multigroup CFAs were conducted to test the measurement equivalence of ASI-3 across various sociodemographic variables. The reliability of ASI-3 was tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Guttman split-half coefficient, McDonald's omega coefficient, and test-retest coefficient. The standardized factor loadings, construct reliability, and the average variance extracted of factors were used to measure the construct validity of ASI-3, and the partial correlations were conducted to examine the criterion-related validity of ASI-3.

Results

The ASI-3 had satisfactory reliability and validity in Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer; three-factor model fitted the data well in CFA and reached partial strict invariances across age, education, and residence groups.

Conclusion

This study explored the psychometric properties and measurement invariance across sociodemographic variables of ASI-3 in Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer. Our results not only proved that the ASI-3 is an appropriate instrument for measuring AS but also deepened the understanding of ASI-3 in Chinese women with malignancy.

Test of an Anxiety Sensitivity Amelioration Program for at-risk youth (ASAP-Y)

OBJECTIVE

Adult research supports the efficacy of targeting the malleable risk factor of anxiety sensitivity (AS) in preventing anxiety and related psychopathology. However, very little work has evaluated the impact of AS reduction among youth, which is unfortunate given adolescence is a "core risk" period in terms of disorder onset.

METHOD

The primary project aim was to test the effects of an Anxiety Sensitivity Amelioration Program for Youth (ASAP-Y) among a sample of 88 youth aged 10-14 years with elevated AS. High AS youth and a parent were randomly assigned to either the ASAP-Y, which consisted of psychoeducation and experimenter-led and parent-led exposures, or a general health information control condition.

RESULTS

Youth in the intervention condition sustained low AS levels across the intervention period, and although AS levels in both conditions decreased from baseline to the one-month assessment, this decrease was more pronounced at one-month for youth in the intervention condition. Further, significant indirect effects of condition on one-month anxiety and depression symptoms via reduced AS were detected. Homework compliance rates and self-report data support the acceptability of the ASAP-Y. Contrary to hypotheses, differences between conditions in emotional reactivity elicited using experimental psychopathology methods were not observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings offer preliminary support for the ASAP-Y as an acceptable selective preventive intervention for at-risk youth, with specific anxiety- and depression-related effects through reduced AS.

Diagnostic Utility of Sodium Lactate Infusion and CO2-35% Inhalation for Panic Disorder

Laboratory measures have played an integral role in diagnosing pathology; however, compared to traditional medicine, psychiatric medicine has lagged behind in using such measures. A growing body of literature has begun to examine the viability and development of different laboratory measures in order to diagnose psychopathologies. The present review examines the current state of development of both sodium lactate infusion and CO2-35% inhalation as potential ancillary measures to diagnose panic disorder (PD). A previously established 3-step approach to identifying laboratory-based diagnostic tests was applied to available literature assessing the ability of both sodium lactate infusion or CO2-35% inhalation to induce panic attacks in PD patients, healthy controls, and individuals with other psychiatric conditions. Results suggest that across the literature reviewed, individuals with PD were more likely to exhibit panic attacks following administration of sodium lactate or CO2-35% compared to control participants. The majority of the studies examined only compared individuals with PD to healthy controls, suggesting that these ancillary measures are underdeveloped. In order to further determine the utility of these ancillary measures, research is needed to determine if panic attacks following administration of these chemical agents are unique to PD, or if individuals with related pathologies also respond, which may be indicative of transdiagnostic characteristics found across disorders.

A new conception and subsequent taxonomy of clinical psychological problems

BACKGROUND

A taxonomy of the objects of study, theory, assessment, and intervention is critical to the development of all clinical sciences. Clinical psychology has been conceptually and administratively dominated by the taxonomy of an adjacent discipline - psychiatry's Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM). Many have called for a 'paradigm shift' away from a medical nosology of diseases toward clinical psychology's own taxonomy of clinical psychological problems (CPPs), without being able to specify what is to be listed and classified.

MAIN TEXT

An examination of DSM's problems for clinical psychology, especially its lack of clinical utility, and a search for the essence of CPPs in what clinical psychologists actually do, leads to the proposal that: The critical psychological-level phenomenon underlying CPPs is the occurrence of 'problem-maintaining circles' (PMCs) of causally related cognitions, emotions, behaviours, and/or stimuli. This concept provides an empirically-derived, theory-based, treatment-relevant, categorical, essentialist, parsimonious, and nonstigmatizing definition of CPPs. It distinguishes psychological problems in which PMCs have not (yet?) formed, and which may respond to 'counseling', clinical psychological problems in which active PMCs require clinical intervention, and psychopathological problems which are unlikely to be 'cured' by PMC-breaking alone.

CONCLUSION

A subsequent classification and coding system of PMCs is proposed, and expected benefits to research, communication, and the quality of case formulation in clinical psychology are described, reliant upon a development effort of some meaningful fraction of that which has been devoted to the DSM.

The Parent Sensitivity to Child Anxiety Index

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the perception that anxiety symptoms and experiences have negative consequences, and has been identified as a risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders. AS has been measured in adults and in children, but to date, the construct of parent's sensitivity to their children's anxiety symptoms has not been identified, measured, or evaluated. The current study presents a novel measure of this construct, the Parent Sensitivity to Child Anxiety Index (PSCAI), and an initial evaluation of its psychometric properties. Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure consisting of parents' concern for physical symptoms, concern of social evaluation, and fear of anxiety symptoms. The PSCAI demonstrated good internal consistency, and was positively correlated with relevant parental constructs such as parental accommodation, anxiety sensitivity, and trait anxiety. This new measurement system opens new avenues for researching the early development of anxiety disorders and the possibility for novel targeted interventions.

Positive alcohol use expectancies moderate the association between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol use across adolescence

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the fear of anxious symptoms and the belief that these symptoms may have negative physical, social, and cognitive consequences, is one personality trait that emerges in early adolescence and may be linked to alcohol use. However, findings are equivocal as to whether elevated AS during adolescence directly predicts alcohol use. Adolescents do report increases in positive alcohol use expectancies during this developmental period, and these expectancies have been found to be significantly associated with alcohol use. The current study examined whether positive alcohol use expectancies and AS in early adolescence predicted changes in alcohol use throughout adolescence. This aim was examined via secondary data analyses from a longitudinal study examining the development of risk behaviors in adolescents. Results of univariate latent growth curve modeling suggest that AS alone was not a significant predictor of baseline alcohol use or change in use over time after controlling for gender, age, and self-reported anxiety. However, AS in early adolescence was found to be a significant predictor of increases in alcohol use across adolescence for youth who reported greater positive alcohol use expectancies. These results indicate that beliefs regarding the positive effects of alcohol use are an important moderator in the relation between AS and change in alcohol use during adolescence.

The interaction between anxiety sensitivity and cigarette smoking level in relation to sleep onset latency among adolescent cigarette smokers

Cigarette smoking during adolescence is linked to a number of sleep disturbances and has been consistently linked to sleep onset latency among adults. However, little research has examined factors that may influence the relation between cigarette smoking level and sleep onset latency among adolescents. One factor that may be particularly important in this regard is anxiety sensitivity (AS). The current study examined whether cigarette smoking level interacted with AS in its association with sleep onset latency among 94 adolescent (Mage = 15.72) cigarette smokers. As hypothesized, AS interacted with smoking level to relate to sleep onset latency, even after controlling for age and gender. This relation was specific to sleep onset latency as opposed to other types of sleep disturbances, and that adolescents who smoked at higher levels tended to go to sleep later and wake up later than adolescents who smoked at relatively lower levels.

The roles of sex, anxious reactivity to bodily arousal, and anxiety sensitivity in coping motives for cigarette smoking among adolescents

Evidence suggests that smoking to cope among adolescents is associated with a number of problematic outcomes (e.g., greater smoking frequency, higher rates of dependence). It is thus imperative to better understand factors that may increase the likelihood of smoking to cope among adolescents. Research suggests anxiety sensitivity (AS) is associated with smoking to cope among adults, although the link between AS and coping motives for cigarette use among youth is less clear. Gender differences have also been noted in AS. The current study investigates this association using a biological challenge paradigm. Specifically, the indirect effects of anxious reactivity to bodily arousal on the relation between the physical and mental AS factors and coping motives for cigarette smoking were examined within a sample of 108 adolescent cigarette smokers. Gender was examined as a moderator. Results suggested significant indirect effects of self-reported anxiety in response to bodily arousal on the relation between physical AS and coping motives for cigarette smoking. This indirect effect was moderated by gender, such that it was significant for females but not males. Models examining AS mental concerns and psychophysiological responding to the challenge were not significant. These results suggest that, relative to their low AS counterparts, female adolescents high in physical concerns respond with elevated anxiety in response to interoceptive arousal and, in turn, endorse elevated coping-related smoking motives. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding the nature and origins of coping-related smoking motives and how such information can be used to inform intervention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record