Symptom provocation in dental anxiety using cross-phobic video stimulation.
Although video stimulation has been successfully employed in dental phobia, conclusions regarding the specificity of reactions are limited. A novel, video-based paradigm using cross-phobic video stimulation was validated based on subjective and autonomic responses. Forty subjects were stratified according to dental anxiety as measured by the Dental Fear Survey (DFS) using a median-split procedure (high-DFS and low-DFS groups). Anxiety stimuli comprised dental-anxiety scenes and non-dental-anxiety control scenes (snake stimuli). Neutral scenes were tailored to each anxiety stimulus. Dental, but not snake, stimuli were rated as more anxiety provoking only in the high-DFS group. Elevated skin-conductance amplitudes were observed in the high-DFS group for dental anxiety vs. neutral videos, but not for snake anxiety vs. neutral videos. State and trait anxiety and autonomic reactivity were correlated according to expectations. Using cross-phobic video stimulation, it was demonstrated that phobogenic reactions in dental anxiety are specific to the respective stimulus material and do not generalize to other non-dental-anxiety control conditions. The validation of the paradigm may support and stimulate future research on the characterization of dental anxiety on different response systems, including its underlying neural substrates.
Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. lueken@psychologie.tu-dresden.de
Ulrike
U
Lueken
Jürgen
J
Hoyer
Jens
J
Siegert
Andrew T
AT
Gloster
Hans-Ulrich
HU
Wittchen
D000818:Animals; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008347:Manifest Anxiety Scale; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012911:Snakes; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014743:Videotape Recording