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Anxiety sensitivity and aspects of alexithymia are independently and uniquely associated with posttraumatic distress
Author(s) -
Zahradnik Marc,
Stewart Sherry H.,
Marshall Grant N.,
Schell Terry L.,
Jaycox Lisa H.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20397
Subject(s) - alexithymia , anxiety sensitivity , anxiety , psychology , clinical psychology , feeling , distress , anxiety disorder , psychiatry , social psychology
Using a sample of adult survivors of physical trauma requiring hospitalization ( N = 677), we examined the relationship of aspects of alexithymia and anxiety sensitivity to symptoms of posttraumatic distress (PTD). At the bivariate level, both aspects of alexithymia and anxiety sensitivity were positively associated with acute PTD symptomatology, but anxiety sensitivity was more strongly related to PTD symptoms. At the multivariate level, both anxiety sensitivity and aspects of alexithymia made unique and independent contributions to both total PTD symptoms and the majority of PTD symptom clusters. At the facet level, anxiety sensitivity–physical concerns and anxiety sensitivity–psychological concerns, and the alexithymic dimension of difficulty identifying feelings, were uniquely associated with acute PTD symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of potential clinical implications.