The Contribution of Experiential Avoidance and Anxiety Sensitivity in the Prediction of Health Anxiety

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to a fear of arousal-related body sensations based on beliefs that such sensations are dangerous. Experiential (emotional) avoidance (EA) involves an unwillingness to endure upsetting emotions, thoughts, memories, and other private experiences. As both of these constructs are thought to be predictive of health anxiety, the present study examined their relative contribution in the prediction of health anxiety symptoms. A large sample of nontreatment-seeking participants completed measures of AS, EA, and health anxiety. An analogue sample of participants with clinical levels of health anxiety endorsed more AS and EA relative those with less health anxiety. Within the analogue sample, both AS and EA predicted health anxiety symptoms. However, whereas AS (specifically, the physical concerns domain) uniquely predicted health anxiety, EA did not contribute significantly over and above the contributions of AS. Results are also discussed in terms of the conceptualization and treatment of health anxiety.