The concept of “Anxiety sensitivity” in social anxiety disorder presentations, symptomatology, and treatment: A theoretical perspective

Cogent Psychology

Omid Saed¹  Sahel Khakpoor²  Azim Shahsavar³ 

[1] Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Ira;Master of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Ira;Psychiatrist, Shepherd Pratt Hospital, Baltimore, MD, US;

关键词: Anxiety sensitivity;    social anxiety disorder;    theoretical perspective;   

DOI  :  10.1080/23311908.2019.1617658

来源: Taylor & Francis

【 摘 要 】

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is considered as prevalent, chronic, and debilitating, with complex symptomatology. Various theories and psychopathological models have been purposed to explain SAD. This article will try to focus and emphasis on the concept of Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) and its role in perceiving anxiety and its treatment. The AS refers to the fear of “somatic sensations” related to anxiety and seems to play an important role in the onset and maintenance of anxiety disorders, including SAD. It seems that AS can play a role in various ways, such as fear of showing anxiety related somatic symptoms, fear of cognitive dyscontrol, and fear of losing control of mental abilities. Considering the SAD etiological models, they generally emphasize on the role of cognitive processing and underlying vulnerabilities in the development of this disorder. However, these models have not considered the role of AS directly, but the precise investigation of etiological models showed that the core elements of these models have implicitly regarded this construct. Altogether, incorporating Anxiety Sensitivity into the treatment model could further enhance the understanding of the symptomatology, as well as its dynamic and treatment modality.

【 授权许可】

CC BY