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Anxiety sensitivity and bodily kinematics
Jafar Bakhshaie1, Eli R Lebowitz2, Norman B Schmidt3
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger, Houston, TX, USA.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
|August 2, 2020
Summary
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), the fear of anxiety sensations, is linked to how people move their bodies. This study found that higher AS correlated with specific body movements when viewing anxiety-related images.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a significant risk factor for psychopathology, characterized by the fear of anxiety-related sensations.
- Previous research on AS predominantly utilized self-report or interview methods, neglecting objective behavioral measures like body kinematics.
- No prior studies have investigated the relationship between AS and body movement patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and body kinematics.
- To explore how AS influences behavioral engagement with anxiety-specific stimuli using motion-tracking technology.
- To investigate AS within a dual-task attentional control paradigm assessing approach versus avoidance behaviors.
Main Methods:
- 108 young adults participated in a ball-catching game designed to measure behavioral engagement with anxiety-specific and neutral visual stimuli.
- Motion-tracking technology was employed to capture body kinematics during the task.
- Anxiety sensitivity was assessed using self-report measures, with statistical adjustments for demographic and psychological covariates.
Main Results:
- Self-reported anxiety sensitivity was significantly associated with biokinematically-driven behavioral engagement towards anxiety-specific stimuli.
- These findings remained significant after controlling for age, gender, race, handedness, physical functioning, and negative affectivity.
- The study demonstrates a link between subjective anxiety sensitivity and objective bodily kinematics.
Conclusions:
- This research provides novel empirical evidence connecting anxiety sensitivity to anxiety-related bodily kinematics.
- The findings suggest that body movement patterns may serve as an objective correlate of anxiety sensitivity.
- Further research is warranted to explore these relationships in clinical populations.
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