Publication year
2002
Citation Title
Anxiety sensitivity in adolescents at risk for psychopathology.
Journal Name
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
Journal Volume
31
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
343-353
DOI
10.1207/S15374424JCCP3103_06
Summary
Adolescents were assessed to determine the associations between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety symptoms, anxiety disorders, and anxiety comorbidity. Both a control group and a group of adolescents whose parent or parents had an anxiety diagnosis and/or a substance use disorder were assessed to determine if the latter group was at risk for anxiety, substance abuse, or both. Anxiety sensitivity was associated with anxiety, but not depression symptoms. Adolescents of parents with a history of anxiety disorders were at increased risk for anxiety symptoms or disorders.
Key Findings
Anxiety sensitivity was specifically associated with the presence or absence of an anxiety disorder; it was not associated with depressive symptoms.
The associations between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety symptoms were moderated by risk status, with adolescents who were at familial risk for anxiety evidencing an association that was not apparent for low-risk adolescents (those with parents without anxiety and/or substance disorders).
Parental substance abuse was significantly associated with comorbid anxiety disorders, anxiety diagnoses, and depression symptoms in adolescents.
Implications for Military Professionals
Facilitate support groups for Service members and their families who are struggling with mental health issues
Educate military parents about how their mental health can influence the mental health of their children
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer courses for military youth about the dangers of excessive alcohol abuse, and how to deal with peer pressure to engage in addictive behavior
Provide classes for military adolescents on effective methods of dealing with worry and anxiety (e.g., breathing exercises, imagery, relaxation techniques)
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend that military personnel are assessed for substance abuse problems periodically throughout their military service
Provide professional development to military family workers about how to recognize and work with people dealing with substance abuse and anxiety disorders
Methods
Parents diagnosed with lifetime anxiety and/or substance use disorder and control parents who participated in a large family study of comorbidity of substance-use and anxiety disorders and their adolescent children (12-17) were recruited for this study.
Parents completed a semi-structured interview for affective disorders and schizophrenia.
Adolescents completed a semi-structured interview for affective disorders and schizophrenia and anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and worry self-report measures.
Participants
Participants included 121 adolescents (12-17 years in age) and their parents also participated.
The racial/ethnic composition of participants was 100% White.
No additional demographic data were reported.
Limitations
Few adolescents met criteria for anxiety disorders which restricted the ability to examine anxiety sensitivity across diagnostic subtype.
There was very little demographic information presented; it is unknown how these findings may generalize to other youth.
The study was correlational, and causal conclusions can not be made.
The sample was selected for its risk of psychopathology, so results may not generalize to the general population.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the risks of youth whose parents have depressive disorders
Investigate high-risk adolescents over time to monitor the development of anxiety disorders or symptoms
Examine how parental deployment and military service influence children's mental health, including anxiety sensitivity
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Examined the associations of adolescents' self-reported anxiety sensitivity with semistructured, interview-based anxiety and depressive symptoms and anxiety disorders. The sample included 121 adolescents and their parents who participated in a larger epidemiological, high-risk family study of substance abuse and anxiety disorders (Merikangas, Dierker, Szatmari, 1998). A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the incremental validity of anxiety sensitivity, beyond the contribution of self-rated anxiety, to anxiety symptoms and comorbid anxiety disorders. Furthermore, familial risk for anxiety moderated the association between anxiety sensitivity and number of anxiety symptoms as well as number of comorbid anxiety disorders. Analyses of high- and low-risk groups demonstrated that the association between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety symptoms and disorders was evident in high-risk adolescents only. Although self-reported anxiety was associated with depressive symptoms, anxiety sensitivity was not. Results from this investigation further support the utility of assessing anxiety sensitivity in an adolescent population and suggest it as a trait marker of anxiety among at-risk individuals.
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