Anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, trait anxiety, and breath-holding duration as predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge.
We investigated predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge (i.e. breathing deeply and rapidly into a paper bag for 5 min) in college students. Zero-order correlations indicated that scores on both the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI: Reiss, Peterson, Gursky & McNally, 1986) and the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS: Rachman & Taylor, 1994), predicted anxious response to challenge, whereas a behavioral measure of carbon dioxide sensitivity (i.e. maximum breath-holding duration) and scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory--Trait form (STAI-T: Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg & Jacobs, 1983) did not. Multiple regression revealed that all four variables remained in the model, entering in the following order: ASI, breath-holding duration, SFS, and STAI-T. These data suggest that psychological variables reflecting fears of bodily sensations are better predictors of response to challenge than either behavioral sensitivity to carbon dioxide or general trait anxiety.
Eke
M
M
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
McNally
R J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001049:Apnea / Q000523:psychology*; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000523:psychology*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology; D014836:Volition
D002245:Carbon Dioxide