Abstract
Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 has become a risk factor for identifying anxiety and depressive conditions across both clinical and nonclinical samples. Distress tolerance has been a strong predictor of anxiety, mood disorders, and personality disorders. This study evaluated the predictive ability of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) and the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) to identify generalized anxiety symptoms and worry. A cross-sectional design evaluated the ability of ASI-3 lower order factors and distress tolerance to predict generalized anxiety symptoms and worry, while controlling for gender and trait anxiety. Two hundred twenty-five students completed the measures online. It was hypothesized that Physical, Cognitive, and Social Concerns subscales of the ASI-3 and total DTS scores would predict worry and generalized anxiety symptoms. Regression analyses showed that the ASI-3 Social Concerns factor significantly predicted worry and generalized anxiety symptoms (R2 = .546; R2 = .503, respectively). DTS did not significantly predict worry or generalized anxiety symptoms when added to the regression models. These results suggest that interpretation of ASI-3 subscale scores must be made within the context of an individual’s trait anxiety level and gender.
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We would like to acknowledge the efforts of those individual that generously gave their time to complete the research protocol. We thank Dr. Paige Goodwin for her editorial review of the manuscript.
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Intrieri, R.C., Newell, C.B. Anxiety sensitivity not distress tolerance as a predictor of generalized anxiety symptoms and worry. Curr Psychol 41, 1148–1158 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00636-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00636-0