Abstract
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), namely the fear of anxiety symptoms, has been described as a precursor of sub-threshold anxiety levels. Sexton et al. (2003) posited that increased AS would arise from an elevated neuroticism and that both would act as vulnerability factors for panic disorder (PD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms. Accordingly, this study aimed to (1) evaluate the applicability of this model to a pediatric population and (2) examine the influences of the other Big-Five personality dimensions on the four lower-order dimensions of AS (cognitive, physical, control, and physical) and on social phobia (SP), separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and depression symptoms. 200 children (104 girls) aged between 8 and 12 years old (mean age = 132.52 months, SD = 14.5) completed the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Silverman et al., 1991), the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (Barbaranelli et al., 2003), and the Revised’s Children Anxiety and Depression Scale (Chorpita et al., 2000). Regression analyses confirmed that AS and neuroticism together significantly predicted the presence of PD, OCD, and GAD symptoms but also SP, SAD, and depression symptoms. Moreover, neuroticism interacted with extraversion, conscientiousness and agreeableness to significantly predict SP, GAD, and depression. Surprisingly, the global AS score was only predicted by agreeableness, while AS dimensions also specifically related to openness. Finally, AS dimensions did not predict the presence of specific anxiety symptoms. To conclude, the predicting model of anxiety symptoms in children sets neuroticism and AS on the same level, with an unexpected influence of agreeableness on AS, raising the importance of other trait-like factors in the definition of such models. Moreover, AS should be considered as a unitary construct when predicting the presence of anxiety symptoms in children. Future interventions must consider these associations to help children detect and recognize the symptoms of their anxiety and help them to interpret them correctly.
Highlights
While a large number of youths report excessive anxiety-related emotional and behavioral responses and anxietyrelated cognitive patterns (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), only up to 20% of them meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder diagnosis (Costello et al, 2004)
Analyses have shown that high levels of neuroticism and high levels of Anxiety sensitivity (AS) had significant direct effects on the presence of panic disorder (PD) symptoms [F(2,169) = 25.20; p =< 0.001; R2 = 0.297; β = 0.260]
Previous studies conducted in adults (Brown et al, 1998; Taylor, 1998; Barlow, 2000; Sexton et al, 2003) suggested that anxiety disorders and anxiety symptoms are supposed to arise from hierarchical influences of trait-like factors as personality traits and AS
Summary
While a large number of youths report excessive anxiety-related emotional and behavioral responses (e.g., avoidance) and anxietyrelated cognitive patterns (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), only up to 20% of them meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder diagnosis (Costello et al, 2004). Subthreshold anxiety levels interfere with children’s general wellbeing, developmental social skills and social life (Pine et al, 1998; Kendall et al, 2001; Kendall and Treadwell, 2007; Mazzone et al, 2007; Kessler et al, 2012) They are associated with impaired memory and cognitive performances (Bulbena and Berrios, 1993; Daleiden, 1998) and have precarious impacts on the academic adjustment of children (Fergusson and Woodward, 2002; Wittchen and Fehm, 2003; Mazzone et al, 2007; Beesdo et al, 2009; Thapar et al, 2012). This can be done by gaining a better understanding of the etiological factors of sub-threshold anxiety levels
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