Ghent University, Gent, Belgium.
J Anxiety Disord. 2011 Apr;25(3):422-6. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.11.005. Epub 2010 Nov 13.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the tendency to interpret anxiety-related bodily sensations in a threatening way. Previous research in a subclinical population identified AS as a vulnerability factor in flight phobia: AS moderates the relationship between somatic sensations and flight anxiety. The present study aimed at gaining further evidence for the moderational role of AS in a large clinical population with flight phobia. The data were obtained from 103 participants: 54 flight phobic participants and 49 controls. Just before taking a flight participants were asked to complete the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and to report their level of anxiety and bodily sensations. Results showed that AS moderates the relationship between somatic sensations and flight phobia: somatic sensations significantly predicted flight anxiety in subjects with higher AS scores, while this was not the case for subjects scoring lower on AS. Present findings implicate that treatment protocols should be supplemented by interventions specifically aimed at reducing AS, especially for individuals high in AS.
焦虑敏感（AS）是一种倾向，即倾向于以威胁的方式来解释与焦虑相关的身体感觉。先前在亚临床人群中的研究发现，AS 是飞行恐惧症的一个脆弱性因素：AS 调节了躯体感觉与飞行焦虑之间的关系。本研究旨在为飞行恐惧症的大临床人群中 AS 的调节作用提供更多证据。该数据来自 103 名参与者：54 名飞行恐惧症参与者和 49 名对照组。在乘坐飞机之前，参与者被要求完成焦虑敏感指数，并报告他们的焦虑水平和身体感觉。结果表明，AS 调节了躯体感觉与飞行恐惧症之间的关系：在 AS 得分较高的受试者中，躯体感觉显著预测了飞行焦虑，而在 AS 得分较低的受试者中则不是这样。目前的研究结果表明，治疗方案应该辅以专门针对降低 AS 的干预措施，特别是对于 AS 得分较高的个体。
