engleski

Evaluation of a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention for anxiety sensitivity: A prospective study

Introduction: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to concern over anxiety and related physiological arousal symptoms, stemming from the belief that such symptoms will result in aversive somatic, psychological, or social consequences. Many studies show that increased levels of AS may play a role in the development and maintenance of pathological anxiety, as well as other psychological disorders. Hence, aiming at reducing AS may be essential to the prevention and treatment of different psychopathological problems. AS is believed to be determined mostly by learning, so different behavioral and cognitive techniques seem to be very suitable for correcting these learning experiences. Recently, brief interventions became very popular and proved promising for decreasing AS. Objectives and methodology: The aim of the study is to examine the effects of a brief cognitive-behavioral (CB) intervention on the behavioral and emotional responding to fearful bodily sensations and to prospectively evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on the incidence of various psychological problems during a 1-year follow-up period (FU). The results of a 6-months FU, as a part of this broader study in progress, will be reported. A total of 45 high AS subjects were randomly assigned to one of 3 experimental conditions: a brief CB intervention designed to reduce AS, an education on stress and health control condition, and no-treatment control condition. Each intervention was delivered via computer and was completed in a single 45-minute session. Several self-report (ASI, STAI, SAM, CORE-OM) and behavioral measures were administered at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at FU. Both at posttreatment and FU, a semistructured interview on participants' reflections about intervention was also conducted. Results and discussion: We compared the results within and between groups and conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews. The findings are promising and suggest the effectiveness of a brief CB intervention in decreasing fearful responding to aversive stimulation, as well as in enhancing coping with similar challenges. Conclusion: These findings have important practical implications, which will be addressed.

anxiety sensistivity ; compuer-based treatemnt, CBT ; brief interventions

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