Anxiety sensitivity and the five-factor model of personality
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Updated: Oct 19, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
B J Cox1, S C Borger, S Taylor
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. coxbj@cc.umanitoba.ca
Abstract:
Relations between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and the higher-order and lower-order dimensions of the 'Big Five' model of personality were examined in 317 university students. AS was significantly associated with a number of personality domains and facets of the NEO-PI-R. Regression analyses indicated that only the higher-order domains of neuroticism and extraversion (negatively) and the lower-order N facets of anxiety and self-consciousness, significantly predicted AS. Three lower-order factors within AS were identified and were also compared to NEO-PI-R domains and facets. In a hierarchical regression, the three AS factors significantly predicted variance in a measure of panic-related anxiety after the effects of the six N facets were statistically controlled. Results are discussed in the context of previous work with a Big Three taxonomy of personality and implications for understanding the nature and possible origins of AS are outlined.
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