Familial association of anxiety sensitivity and psychopathology.
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between parental (biological mother and father) and adult-offspring anxiety sensitivity (AS), and to determine whether parental AS is related to psychopathology in offspring. We obtained offspring (N=174) self-ratings of anxiety, mood, and stress symptoms, and assigned psychiatric diagnoses using a semistructured clinical interview. Biological mothers, fathers, and offspring independently completed a self-report measure of AS. We hypothesized that (1) there would be a positive relation between parental and offspring AS, and (2) AS in parents would be positively associated with psychopathology in offspring. Results indicated that paternal (but not maternal) AS was associated with offspring AS and psychopathology.
East
Allison J
AJ
Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, USA.
Berman
Mitchell E
ME
Stoppelbein
Laura
L
D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology