Cognitive vulnerability to anxiety in the stress generation process: Interaction between the Looming Cognitive Style and Anxiety Sensitivity

Abstract

This study sought to extend the investigation of cognitive-personality vulnerability in the stress generation process to the field of anxiety. We examined two well documented cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety: the Looming Cognitive Style (LCS) and Anxiety Sensitivity (ASI). Investigating 72 undergraduates who were assessed twice over a 4-month interval, we found support for the hypothesis that the two cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety augment each other's stress generating effect. Results indicated that combination of LCS and ASI together had a far stronger stress generation effect that would just one factor alone. Each factor was positively associated with Time 2 stressful events under high levels of the other, but not under low levels. Thus findings revealed that the joint combination of the two cognitive vulnerabilities seemed to play a particularly marked role over a 4-month time interval. These findings are important because they are among the first to show stress generation effects for anxiety-related cognitive styles.