Anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, and breath-holding duration as predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge.
Predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge (i.e., breathing deeply and rapidly into a paper bag for 5 min) were evaluated in 78 college students. Zero-order correlations revealed that scores on the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS; S. Rachman & S. Taylor, 1994) and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (S. Reiss, R. A. Peterson, D. M. Gursky, & R. J. McNally, 1986) predicted anxiety and self-reported bodily sensations, whereas a behavioral measure of carbon dioxide sensitivity (i.e., maximum breath-holding duration) did not. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the SFS was the only significant predictor of anxiety and bodily sensations. Just as anxiety sensitivity is a better predictor than trait anxiety of the response to biological challenges in general, suffocation fear is a better predictor than anxiety sensitivity for challenges that increase carbon dioxide.
McNally
R J
RJ
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Eke
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001143:Arousal; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000523:psychology*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory
D002245:Carbon Dioxide