Department of Psychology, Ohio University.
Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University.
Emotion. 2019 Feb;19(1):70-83. doi: 10.1037/emo0000420. Epub 2018 Mar 19.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the fear of anxious arousal, is a transdiagnostic risk factor predictive of a wide variety of affective disorders. Whereas AS is widely studied via self-report, the neurophysiological correlates of AS are poorly understood. One specific issue this may help resolve is well-established gender differences in mean levels of AS. The current study evaluated late positive potential (LPP) for images designed to target AS during an emotional picture viewing paradigm. Structural equation modeling was used to examine convergent and discriminant validity for self-report AS and the LPP for AS images, considering gender as a potential moderator. Analyses were conducted in an at-risk sample of 251 community adults (M age = 35.47, SD = 15.95; 56.2% female; 53.6% meeting for a primary Axis I anxiety or related disorder). Findings indicated that the AS image LPP was significantly, uniquely associated with self-report AS, controlling for the LPP for unpleasant images, in females only. Mean levels of AS self-report as well as the AS image LPP were higher in females than in males. These findings provide initial support for the AS image LPP as a useful neurophysiological correlate of AS self-report in females. These findings also provide support for a biological cause for gender differences in AS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
焦虑敏感（AS），即对焦虑唤醒的恐惧，是一种预测各种情感障碍的跨诊断风险因素。尽管 AS 通过自我报告得到了广泛研究，但 AS 的神经生理相关性仍知之甚少。这可能有助于解决的一个具体问题是，AS 的平均水平存在既定的性别差异。本研究在情绪图片观看范式中，评估了针对 AS 设计的图像的晚正电位（LPP）。使用结构方程模型，考虑到性别作为一个潜在的调节因素，检验了自我报告的 AS 与 AS 图像的 LPP 的聚合和区分效度。分析是在一个有风险的 251 名社区成年人样本中进行的（M 年龄=35.47，SD=15.95；56.2%女性；53.6%符合主要 Axis I 焦虑或相关障碍）。结果表明，仅在女性中，AS 图像的 LPP 与自我报告的 AS 显著相关，而与不愉快图像的 LPP 无关。女性的 AS 自我报告水平以及 AS 图像的 LPP 均高于男性。这些发现初步支持 AS 图像 LPP 作为女性 AS 自我报告的有用神经生理相关性。这些发现也为 AS 中的性别差异的生物学原因提供了支持。（PsycINFO 数据库记录（c）2019 APA，保留所有权利）。
