Is anxiety sensitivity a predictor of PTSD in children and adolescents?

• Published in: Journal of psychosomatic research 2008-07, Vol.65 (1), p.81-86
• Main Authors: KILIC, Emine Zinnur, KIHC, Cengiz, YILMAZ, Savas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age Factors; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - psychology; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Anxiety sensitivity; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child clinical studies; Children; Control Groups; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Disasters - statistics & numerical data; Earthquakes; Female; Humans; Life Change Events; Male; Medical sciences; Personality - classification; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Predictive Value of Tests; Prognosis; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; PTSD; Regression Analysis; Sensitivity; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survivors - psychology; Trait anxiety; Turkey - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0022-3999; 1879-1360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.02.013

Abstract Objective Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of the physical symptoms of anxiety and related symptoms. Longitudinal studies support AS as a vulnerability factor for development of anxiety disorders. This study aimed to investigate AS as a vulnerability factor in the development of childhood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following traumatic experiences. Methods The study included 81 children 8–15 years of age who experienced the 1999 earthquake in Bolu, Turkey. The earthquake survivors were compared to a randomized group of age- and sex-matched controls 5 years after the earthquake. Both the subject and control groups were administered the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C), and Child Depression Inventory (CDI), while the PTSD symptoms of the subjects were assessed using the Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI). Results Subjects and controls did not differ significantly in CASI, STAI-C, or CDI scores. Multiple regression analysis showed that both trait anxiety and CASI scores predicted CPTS-RI scores of the subjects; the prediction by CASI scores was over and above the effect of trait anxiety. Conclusion The results of this study support the hypothesis that AS may be a constitutional factor, which might increase the risk of PTSD following traumatic experiences.