Negative content of thinking in panic disorder and major depression--a self-report study

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the character and extent of negative thought content in panic disorder (PD) and the relation between thinking and bodily sensations. Content of thinking was explored in several areas, some of which are not exclusively related to anxiety. A structured diagnostic interview (SCID), a self-rating scale (SCL-90R), a sentence construction test (The Incomplete Sentences Blank (ISB)), and an inventory of childhood memories of parental rearing (the EMBU) were administered to 47 PD patients, 15 patients with major depression (MD), and 30 normal subjects. Thus, measures of implicit as well as explicit thinking, measures of thinking on present as well as past issues, and methods allowing negative as well as positive thought content to be expressed, were used. We found that PD was characterized by more negative thinking of anxiogenic, depressive, and dependent nature and less neutral or positive thinking than the normal subjects, primarily in issues related to the present. These negative thoughts were correlated with bodily symptoms. Very few significant differences were found between PD and MD, but a subgroup of PD with comorbidity of MD exceeded the other groups on measures of negative thoughts as well as bodily symptoms.