title: Anxiety sensitivity and treatment outcome in panic disorder.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between change in anxiety sensitivity, as measured by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), and treatment outcome in a sample of 106 subjects with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) who were participants in an evaluation study of cognitive-behavioral treatment. Results revealed that subjects who received active treatment had significantly lower anxiety sensitivity scores at post-treatment than the wait-list control group. We also examined change in anxiety sensitivity from pre- to post-treatment in reference to Clinical Global Improvement (CGI) ratings and with the effect size statistic. Subjects who showed improvement based on CGI ratings also demonstrated a reduction in anxiety sensitivity. Furthermore, the effect sizes obtained with the ASI were greater in magnitude than those obtained with other widely used anxiety self-report measures. Taken together, the finds supported the use of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index as a treatment outcome measure in panic disorder research.
authors.affiliation: Anxiety Disorders Research Program, St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hazen
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Eldridge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001143:Arousal; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011380:Programmed Instructions as Topic; D011594:Psychometrics; D016896:Treatment Outcome