Fearful responding to interoceptive exposure in social anxiety disorder

There is accumulating evidence suggesting that anxiety sensitivity (AS) may play a role in social anxiety disorder (SAD; e.g., Ball, Otto, Pollack, Uccello, & Rosenbaum, 1995). Precedent research has demonstrated the role of AS in panic disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, and subsequently, treatment techniques aimed at reducing AS (i.e., interoceptive exposure (IE)) have been studied in these populations (Schmidt & Trakowski, 2004; Wald & Taylor, 2008). The purpose of this study was to examine the types of responses elicited during IE exercises among individuals with SAD. This study describes the responses of individuals with SAD (n = 37) and nonclinical control participants (n = 28) to six IE exercises. Significant differences in responses to the IE exercises were found between participants with SAD and nonclinical controls. However, there were no significant differences in responses to the exercises among persons with SAD, depending on whether the exercises were completed in private versus group settings. Similarity to symptoms during naturally occurring anxiety significantly predicted fearful responding across all exercises in persons with SAD. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.