title: Alexithymia, fear of bodily sensations, and somatosensory amplification in young outpatients with panic disorder.
abstract: To elucidate the relationships between alexithymia, fear of bodily sensations, and somatosensory amplification in young patients with panic disorder (PD), authors evaluated 84 patients. Measures were the Panic Attack and Anticipatory Anxiety Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ), and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Alexithymic patients showed higher scores on all rating scales. Higher BSQ and ACQ scores, together with the Difficulty in Identifying Feelings and Difficulty in Describing Feelings subscales of the TAS-20 were predictors of severity of PD. Results of the present study do not support a direct role of somatosensory amplification in PD. Authors discuss study limitations and future research needs.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Oncology and Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, University G. D'Annunzio of Chieti, Palazzina SE.BI., Scuole di Specializzazione, via dei Vestini, 31-66013 Chieti Italy. dodebera@aliceposta.it
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Berardis
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Campanella
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gambi
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: La Rovere
authors.forename: Gianna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sepede
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Core
authors.forename: Gianferruccio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Canfora
authors.forename: Eustachio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Santilli
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valchera
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Rosa Maria
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.forename: Francesco Saverio
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Moschetta
authors.forename: Filippo Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ferro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires