Perceived Emotion Control Moderates the Relationship between Neuroticism and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The relationships between neuroticism, perceived emotion control, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) severity were examined in 293 individuals diagnosed with GAD at a specialty anxiety disorders clinic. Hierarchical regression analyses performed within a structural equation modeling framework revealed that (1) neuroticism and perceived emotion control both predicted a latent variable of GAD in the expected direction, and (2) perceived emotion control moderated the relationship between neuroticism and GAD severity, such that lower levels of perceived emotion control were associated with a stronger relationship between neuroticism and GAD severity. The other dimensions of perceived control (i.e., stress and threat control) did not moderate the effect of neuroticism on GAD severity. The findings are discussed with regard to their implications to conceptual models of the psychopathology of GAD, and theory-based differential relationships between dimensions of vulnerability, perceived control, and anxiety disorders.