The relation between anxious personality traits and fear generalization in healthy subjects: A systematic review and meta-analysis

NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS

卷:107

Review

Sep, Milou S. C.^1,2  Steenmeijer, Anna^1,3  Kennis, Mitzy⁴ 

[1] Minist Def, Brain Res & Innovat Ctr, Utrecht, Netherlands

[2] Univ Utrecht, Dept Translat Neurosci, UMC Utrecht Brain Ctr, Utrecht, Netherlands

[3] Minist Def, Ctr North West, Mil Mental Healthcare, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[4] Univ Utrecht, Fac Social & Behav Sci, Dept Clin Psychol, Utrecht, Netherlands

关键词: Fear conditioning;    Fear generalization;    Trait anxiety;    Personality;    Meta-analysis;    Anxiety disorders;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.029

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Background: Anxious personality characteristics form a risk factor for anxiety disorders. A proposed mechanistic pathway is that anxious personality could lead to greater vulnerability by increasing fear generalization. Here, we investigate if there is evidence for this relationship before the onset of pathological anxiety, with a metaanalysis in healthy subjects. Methods: Our search (anxious personality & fear generalization) was performed in PubMed, PsychInfo, and Embase and via snowballing. Results: In total, 4892 studies were screened and 19 studies (1348 participants) were included in the current review (meta-analysis: 18 studies, 1310 participants). The meta-analysis showed a significant, small, positive relationship between anxious personality and fear generalization (r g .19, 95%CI [.126, .260], p < .001). No moderators of the relationship were identified. Conclusions: The identified robust relation suggests that people who score high on anxious personality have a somewhat stronger tendency to generalize fear to safe or novel situations. This might explain their vulnerability to anxiety disorders mechanistically, yet future (prospective) studies are warranted to confirm the hypothesized directionality of this effect.

【 授权许可】

Free