Suicidal ideation is associated with safety behavior usage among trauma-exposed individuals.

BACKGROUND: Long-standing theoretical perspectives on suicidal ideation (SI) have posited that SI arises, in part, as a way to obtain relief from intense emotional pain. Yet, little research has examined whether SI is linked with other relief-driven behaviors. The present study sought to provide preliminary support for the link between SI and relief-driven safety behavior usage, a commonly used strategy for managing distress among trauma-exposed individuals. METHODS: Trauma-exposed participants (n = 95) recruited for a larger study assessing mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder symptomology and completed a battery of self-report measures, including SI and their use of safety behaviors. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions were utilized to examine the association of safety behavior usage with the presence/absence of SI (i.e., zero-inflation) and SI severity. RESULTS: In bivariate models, safety behaviors were associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing any SI and reporting more severe SI. When covariates were added to the model, safety behavior usage remained significantly and positively associated with SI severity. LIMITATIONS: The present study employed cross-sectional analyses of self-report data. Future research should use neurobehavioral tasks and intensive longitudinal data to test whether an underlying sensitivity to, or propensity to engage in, relief-driven behaviors contributes to SI. DISCUSSION: Among trauma-exposed individuals, those who more frequently engage in negatively reinforced safety behaviors also report more severe SI. These findings dovetail with theoretical foundations of suicide linking SI with relief-driven motivations and provide further support that a propensity to engage in relief-driven behaviors is associated with SI.

The interactive effects of AS and trauma exposure on suicide capability and suicide risk.

BACKGROUND: Trauma exposure has been linked with heightened suicide risk purportedly through habituation to threatening stimuli, thereby reducing fear of suicide. However, no research has examined variables that may influence this process. Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is one cognitive-affective factor that may strengthen the relationship between trauma exposure and reduced fear of suicide by amplifying traumatic reactivity. The present study evaluated this by examining the interaction of AS and trauma exposure type (e.g., direct vs. witnessed) predicting fear of suicide and self-reported suicide risk. METHODS: Participants (n = 124) were recruited for a long-term (∼3-4 years) follow-up after participation in a clinical trial targeting suicide risk factors and were asked to complete self-report measures of trauma history, AS, fear of suicide, and suicide risk. RESULTS: Significant interactions emerged such that a greater number of direct traumasexperienced predicted lower fear of suicide and greater suicide risk among those with greater AS. The interactive effect of witnessed traumas and AS predicting suicidality was insignificant. Results remained even after including relevant covariates. DISCUSSION: The current findings suggest that AS augments the effects of repeated trauma exposure on fear of suicide and suicide risk. It is plausible these painful and provocative events are more potent among those with high AS due to the amplification of traumatic affective responses, though future research examining the longitudinal relations is needed to confirm this process.

Reduced working memory performance in PTSD and suicide among veterans presenting for treatment.

Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States, underscoring the continued need to understand the mechanisms underlying suicide risk. A growing body of research has examined the role of working memory deficits in suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), yet little research has evaluated putative pathways via which working memory impairments may heighten suicide risk. Elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) represent one plausible mechanism through which poor working memory performance may increase STBs. The present study utilized data from 140 treatment-seeking veterans who presented for an intake evaluation in the PTSD Clinical Team of a large VA Medical Center. Veterans completed self-report measures, a semi-structured PTSD evaluation, and a digit span working memory test. In addition to concurrent suicidal ideation assessed during the intake, additional information regarding past suicide attempts, presence of a safety plan, documentation of past suicidal behaviors, and engagement with suicide crisis lines were collected via electronic medical records. Consistent with hypotheses, a significant indirect path emerged such that poor working memory performance predicted greater suicidal ideation, greater likelihood of a past suicide attempt, and greater latent suicide risk via increased PTSS. However, no direct effect of working memory on STBs or indirect paths of PTSS on STBs via working memory emerged. These findings suggest that the relation between working memory and STBs may be explained by PTSS severity.

Toward an integrative model of transdiagnostic risk factors and suicide: A network comparison of psychiatric outpatients.

Predictive models using traditional statistical methods have largely failed to describe suicide etiology. Network theory, which conceptualizes factors as mutually interacting, reinforcing elements of a complex outcome, can model relationships between transdiagnostic and neurocognitive vulnerability factors. The present study used a network approach to produce an atheoretical model of psychological factors and their interrelationships within a population of ideators and non-ideators. We developed two network models (i.e., suicidal ideators and psychiatric controls) describing the relationships between a diverse set of risk factors and symptom measures for a population of psychiatric outpatients. We compared networks using three measures of network structure (i.e., network structure invariance, global strength invariance, edge invariance) and described the differences. Network structures for ideators (N = 229) and non-ideators (N = 454) were stable and accurate. In non-ideators, cognitive-affective depression symptoms (Expected Influence [EI]: 2.06), trauma avoidance (EI: 1.08), and negative affect (EI: 0.81) were most influential to the psychological network. In ideators, cognitive-affective depression symptoms (EI: 1.77), intolerance of uncertainty-negative self-referent implications (EI: 1.29), and negative affect (EI: 1.19) were most influential. Invariance testing did not indicate significant differences in overall network structure between ideators and non-ideators (p = .111), but did indicate significant differences in node strength (p = .013). Significant differences in node EI were detected for intolerance of uncertainty-negative self-referent implications, anxiety sensitivity physical concerns, thwarted belongingness, worry, and negative affect. These findings indicated differences in network structures for suicidal psychiatric outpatients and provide crucial directions for future research on therapeutic targets for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Impact of acute stress on neural indices of positive and negative reinforcement processing in cannabis users.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic cannabis use is maintained in part through dysregulated stress and reward response systems. Specifically, stress-related negative affect is thought to act as a salient motivator for chronic substance use. Models of addiction posit that the transition from positive to negative reinforcement motives for substance use is a key mechanism of disordered use. However, research in substance-using samples has not assessed stress-related neural processing of both positive and negative reinforcement. METHOD: Therefore, the present study utilized laboratory stress induction to examine how stress affects the reward positivity, an event-related potential sensitive to both positive (RewP) and negative (relief-RewP) reinforcement, in 87 cannabis users (58.10% female, Mage = 19.40) varying in cannabis use disorder (CUD) severity and, as part of larger study aims, history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). We predicted greater CUD severity would be associated with a blunted RewP and enhanced relief-RewP, particularly after stress induction, independent of TBI status. RESULTS: Findings indicated that CUD severity was not associated with RewP/relief-RewP amplitude regardless of acute stress. Exploratory analyses revealed, however, that among those with history of TBI +, CUD severity was associated with greater stress-elicited blunting of the RewP and enhancement of the relief-RewP. CONCLUSION: Although initial findings contradict current allostatic models of addiction, exploratory findings suggest that history of TBI, and potentially other confounding variables related to increased risk of TBI experience, may influence the extent to which stressful experiences modulate the neurophysiology of both positive and negative reinforcement reward processing in CUD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and event-related potentials: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are thought to result from, at least in part, abnormalities in various neural systems. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are a useful method for studying neural activity and can be leveraged to study neural deficits related to STBs; however, it is unknown how effective ERPs are at differentiating various STB groups. The present meta-analysis examined how well ERPs can differentiate (a) those with and without suicidal ideation, (b) those with and without suicide attempts, (c) those with different levels of suicide risk, and (d) differences between those with suicide attempts versus those with suicidal ideation only. This meta-analysis included 208 effect sizes from 2,517 participants from 27 studies. We used a random-effects meta-analysis using a restricted maximum likelihood estimator with robust variance estimation. We meta-analyzed ERP-STB combinations that had at least three effect sizes across two or more studies. A qualitative review found that for each ERP and STB combination, the literature is highly mixed. Our meta-analyses largely did not find significant relationships between STBs and ERPs. We also found that the literature is likely severely underpowered, with most studies only being sufficiently powered to detect unrealistically large effect sizes. Our results provided little-to-no support for a reliable relationship between the ERPs assessed and STBs. However, the current literature is severely underpowered, and there are many methodological weaknesses that must be resolved before making this determination. We recommend large-scale collaboration and improvements in measurement practices to combat the issues in this literature.

Diminished responses to external threat as a possible link between chronic/severe posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide.

OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is linked with suicide attempt history, but the neurobehavioral mechanisms explaining this association are unclear. The narrative review presented here proposes that blunted neurobehavioral responses to acute external threat represent one pathway via which chronic, severe, and/or multitrauma PTSD may increase risk for a suicide attempt among those with suicidal desire. METHOD: A brief review of theoretical perspectives on diminished responding to external threats in suicide and PTSD is provided (Part 1) followed by the presentation of existing evidence using neurophysiological (Part 2), startle reflex and autonomic (Part 3), and behavioral (Part 4) measures of threat reactivity among individuals with past suicide attempts and PTSD. RESULTS: Findings generally support the proposal that blunted neurobehavioral responses to threat may link chronic and severe PTSD with suicide, though more evidence from all levels of analysis is needed. Additional questions also remain, including the relative influences of multiple traumatic events and PTSD severity as well as the directionality of the associations among PTSD, suicide, and blunted threat responses. CONCLUSIONS: Blunted neurobehavioral responses to external threats appear to be one plausible mechanism via which chronic, severe, and/or multitrauma PTSD may elevate risk for a suicide attempt when combined with suicidal desire. Future research should seek to use intensive longitudinal designs to evaluate the directionality of relations between PTSD, suicide, and threat reactivity across multiple levels of analysis, including the behavioral freeze response. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Thwarted belongingness predicts greater neural reactivity to a novel social exclusion image set: Evidence from the late positive potential.

INTRODUCTION: Thwarted belongingness (TB) is among the most well-researched risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI). Yet, there is little research examining neural mechanisms underlying this construct. The present study used a novel social exclusion image set in concert with the late positive potential (LPP) to test the role of neural reactivity social exclusion in TB and SI. METHODS: Participants (n = 243) were recruited based on elevated suicide risk and completed an emotional picture viewing task. The LPP was used to index neural reactivity to a novel set of social exclusion images and international affective picture system (IAPS) neutral, positive, and negative images. RESULTS: Greater TB predicted a larger social exclusion ΔLPP (social exclusion LPP relative to neutral LPP) and social exclusion LPP even when accounting for SI, biological sex, age, negative affect, and perceived burdensomeness. Moreover, the social exclusion LPP was uniquely related to TB beyond the LPP to other images. Last, a larger social exclusion LPP predicted greater SI via elevations in TB. CONCLUSION: Reactivity to social exclusion stimuli may play an important role in SI via elevated TB, but not perceived burdensomeness. Future research should further explore the neural mechanisms underlying other IPT constructs.

Impact of a computerized intervention for high distress intolerance on cannabis use outcomes: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Prevalence of regular cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) have increased in the past two decades, but treatment-seeking is low and extant brief interventions do not target causal risk factors implicated in etiological models of addiction. Elevated distress intolerance (DI) is one risk factor that has been empirically linked with greater CUD severity and maintenance in regular users, but, to our knowledge, research has never targeted it in a brief intervention among cannabis users with CUD or at high risk. The current RCT evaluated the impact of a DI intervention (i.e., Distress Tolerance Intervention [DTI]) compared to a healthy habits control intervention (i.e., Healthy Video Control [HVC]) on DI and cannabis use outcomes. METHOD: We randomized cannabis users with high DI (N = 60) to the DTI or HVC condition and they received two computerized intervention sessions. We assessed relief cannabis craving at pre- and post-treatment; and we assessed DI, cannabis use coping motives, use-related problems, and use frequency at pre- and post-treatment as well as one- and four-month follow-ups. We assessed CUD symptoms via interviews at pre-treatment and four-month follow-up. RESULTS: Significant, durable reductions in DI and all cannabis use outcomes occurred in both conditions. Compared to the HVC condition, the DTI led to greater reductions in use frequency during the treatment period. Reductions in self-reported DI were correlated with reductions in coping motives and CUD symptoms. CONCLUSION: The DTI's impact on all outcomes was largely comparable to the control condition, though it may have utility as an adjunctive intervention.

Acceptability of cognitive anxiety sensitivity treatment among veterans with mTBI.

OBJECTIVE: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a transdiagnostic risk factor for persistent physical and psychological symptoms relevant to veterans, such as postconcussive symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The Cognitive Anxiety Sensitivity Treatment (CAST) computerized intervention has been shown to reduce AS but has not been widely used among veterans. The purpose of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of CAST among veterans with elevated AS and mTBI eligible to receive Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care. DESIGN: Twenty-two veterans with mTBI, elevated cognitive AS, and history of deployment to Iraq and/or Afghanistan completed a single assessment and intervention session. Acceptability was assessed with the Client Satisfaction Quesitonnaire-8 (CSQ-8) and a qualitative interview. Measures of feasibility included study enrollment, ease of participation, and intervention completion. AS was assessed pre- and post-CAST completion. RESULTS: Consistent with interview responses, 77.3% of participants' CSQ-8 scores indicated that veterans found the intervention acceptable. Technological issues, such as internet connectivity, decreased feasibility of consistently delivering the intervention in the research setting readily available to the study team. Decreases on pre-to-post intervention AS outcomes were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Acceptability of the CAST intervention in this sample was generally supported. Feasibility of implementing CAST in this study was limited by technological issues. Data did not indicate a critical need to revise content of the CAST intervention. Identified strategies for increasing the feasibility of future research and clinical implementation of CAST are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Distress intolerance mediates attentional control on posttraumatic stress symptoms: Evidence from two clinical samples.

Theoretical models emphasize the importance of both affective and cognitive risk factors in the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Two such factors predicting PTSS have been studied extensively: distress intolerance (DI) - an affective factor indicative of the ability to tolerate negative affective states - and attentional control (AC), a cognitive factor reflecting the ability to flexibly shift and maintain attention to goal-relevant tasks. Previous work primarily highlights the independent contributions of DI and AC and their interaction to predict PTSS. Some models, however, suggest a mediational pathway such that AC indirectly affects PTSS via diminished DI. The current paper addressed this gap by first attempting to replicate prior findings, while also exploring this mediation model. Results were examined in two clinical samples - a trauma-exposed sample of adults (study 1; N = 73) and trauma-exposed treatment-seeking adults (study 2; N = 204). Results partially supported our hypotheses; both studies failed to replicate prior moderation findings, but our mediational hypothesis was supported in both samples. Low AC appears to decrease an individual's tolerance for distressing situations, which in turn increases the severity of PTSS. Results suggest that PTSD treatments may benefit by incorporating components of AC, DI, or a combination of the two to mitigate PTSS. Taken together, this study provides a novel examination of how cognitive and affective risk factors, namely AC and DI, work in tandem to increase PTSS.

Emotion dysregulation as a maintenance factor for posttraumatic stress symptoms: The role of anxiety sensitivity.

OBJECTIVES: The current study tested whether emotion dysregulation, assessed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), would predict posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) through anxiety sensitivity (AS). Alternate cognitive-affective mediators (i.e., distress tolerance and intolerance of uncertainty) were explored. METHOD: A total of 259 trauma-exposed community members (ages averaging 37.39; evenly distributed by gender) from a larger clinical trial targeting suicide risk factors completed a clinical interview and self-report questionnaires at baseline, Week-3, and 1-month follow-up appointments. RESULTS: AS at Week 3 significantly mediated the relationship between initial emotion dysregulation and 1-month follow-up posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) after controlling for condition and baseline symptoms (ß = .07; standard error = 0.03; 95% confidence interval = [0.01, 0.14]). Effects held for one out of six emotion dysregulation subscales. Distress tolerance and intolerance of uncertainty were not significant mediators (ps > .05). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that emotion dysregulation may confer maintenance of PTSS through AS. Findings highlight potentially malleable targets for interventions.

A multimethod investigation of the impact of attentional control on a brief intervention for anxiety and depression.

OBJECTIVE: Anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of anxiety) is a malleable risk factor for anxiety and depression. Brief computerized interventions, including elements of psychoeducation, interoceptive exposure, and cognitive bias modification (CBM) can reduce anxiety and depression through AS reductions. These interventions are not equally efficacious for all who receive them, suggesting the need to explore moderators. Attentional control (AC), the ability to regulate attentional processes by focusing and shifting attention as needed, has been linked to AS, anxiety, and depression suggesting that it may moderate treatment efficacy. The moderating effects of self-report and neurophysiological (i.e., theta/beta ratio, occipital alpha power) indices associated with AC processes on a brief AS-focused intervention were examined. METHOD: Participants (M age = 36.43, SD = 16.47; 57.5% female) were randomized to cognitive AS treatment (n = 67) or a repeated contact control (n = 60). RESULTS: Occipital alpha power moderated the rate of change in AS across three weekly treatment sessions as well as the effects of the intervention on anxiety and depression symptoms at the 1-month follow-up. Lower alpha power was associated with a swifter reduction in AS symptoms and marginally lower levels of anxiety and depression at follow-up. AC indices were not correlated with each other. CONCLUSIONS: These findings present a novel hypothesis that lower AC as indexed by occipital alpha power might increase treatment gains in the context of a brief transdiagnostic treatment for anxiety and depression. These findings also highlight the need for external validity studies of AC indices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Repeated Exposure to Perceptual Illusion Challenges Reduces Anxiety Sensitivity Cognitive Concerns: Evidence From a Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns (ASCC), or fear of cognitive dyscontrol sensations, confers risk for anxiety and mood psychopathology. Recent work demonstrated that novel perceptual challenges generated by a head mounted display can elicit fear among those with elevated ASCC. This suggests that interoceptive exposure to perceptual challenges may offer a means to mitigate ASCC. This study was designed to evaluate whether repeated exposure to novel perceptual challenges can reduce ASCC, and if these effects are stronger among those experiencing greater negative emotionality as a proxy for individuals likely to present for treatment. METHODS: Participants with elevated ASCC (N = 57) were randomized to one of three experimental conditions utilizing a head-mounted display. In the rotations condition (n = 20), participants viewed themselves spinning in a circle. In the opposite directions condition (n = 20), participants turned their head while the camera moved in the opposite direction creating dissonance in their visual field. In the control condition (n = 17), participants completed a series of simple arithmetic problems. RESULTS: Participants in the rotation condition, relative to control, reported significant reductions in ASCC from pre- to post-exposure and these effects were strongest for those with elevated negative affect. The main effect of the opposite directions exposure on post-treatment ASCC was non-significant, but follow-up analyses revealed that reductions in ASCC were observed among those with elevated negative affectivity. DISCUSSION: Perceptual illusion challenges appear to have utility for reducing ASCC through repeated exposure. There was evidence for the perceptual illusion exercises, particularly the rotations condition, specifically reducing ASCC, making this challenge the first we are aware of that specifically targets ASCC-related concerns. LIMITATIONS: As a proof-of-concept study, the present sample was not recruited for clinically-significant psychopathology, and only a brief follow-up was utilized. Future research should utilize a longer follow-up and test if these exposures mitigate ASCC-relevant psychopathology among clinical samples.

Impaired Conflict Detection Differentiates Suicide Attempters From Ideating Nonattempters: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials.

BACKGROUND: Existing research suggests that inhibitory control deficits may differentiate individuals who think about suicide from those who make a suicide attempt. However, no available research, to our knowledge, has examined whether suicidal behaviors are associated with disruptions in the ability to determine when inhibitory control is needed or the ability to engage inhibition of an inappropriate or maladaptive behavior. The current study utilized event-related potentials to investigate specific facets of inhibitory control and their associations with suicide attempt history among a heterogeneous clinical sample who reported current suicidal ideation. METHODS: Ideators with no past suicide attempts (n = 46) and those with a history of suicide attempts (n = 22) completed a complex go/no-go task. Raw waveforms and temporospatial principal components analysis were used to index conflict detection (i.e., ΔN2) and motor inhibition (i.e., ΔP3a). Behavioral performance indices were also examined. RESULTS: Suicide attempters exhibited deficits in detecting the need for inhibitory control, as indexed by a more positive ΔN2 factor, than did ideating nonattempters, even when accounting for psychiatric comorbidity and age. However, these results only emerged in the principal components analysis-derived latent factor. No differences in behavioral performance or ΔP3a amplitude emerged. CONCLUSIONS: A relative inability to detect when to inhibit a maladaptive behavior, but not the ability to engage motor inhibition to stop that behavior, may distinguish suicide ideators who make a suicide attempt from those who do not. However, future research with prospective designs are needed to determine how conflict detection deficits may contribute to the emergence or escalation of a suicidal crisis.

Differentiating suicide attempts and suicidal ideation using neural markers of emotion regulation.

BACKGROUND: Theories of suicide posit distinct etiological pathways for suicide attempts (SA) and suicidal ideation (SI) that are marked, in part, by disruptions in the ability to regulate reactions to threat/mutilation and interpersonally-relevant emotional stimuli. However, little research has specifically tested these associations. To address this gap, the present study extracted the Late Positive Potential (LPP) during an emotion regulation task to evaluate the independent associations that SA history and SI share with initial responsivity to, and regulation of, these distinct emotional contents. METHODS: A clinical sample (N = 257) were recruited based on elevations in suicide risk factors. Participants completed a picture viewing and regulation task that included threat/mutilation, reward, and neutral images from the International Affective Picture System. Immediately prior to picture onset, participants were instructed to passively view the image, increase their emotional reaction to the image, or decrease their emotional reaction to the image. RESULTS: Differential patterns of LPP amplitudes only emerged in the context of attempts to regulate emotional responses such that SA history predicted a superior ability to volitionally mitigate responses to threat/mutilation while SI was related to a worse ability to increase responses to reward. Effect sizes were in the small and small-to-medium range. LIMITATIONS: The present data were cross-sectional and included low trial counts. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these findings support existing theories of suicide suggesting that distinct mechanisms underlie suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Future research should seek to determine if these mechanisms may serve as a viable intervention targets.

Fear reactivity to head-mounted display perceptual illusion challenges is associated with suicidality.

Suicide remains a public health concern with suicide rates showing a consistent increase over the last 20 years. Recent studies have found a relationship between anxiety sensitivity (i.e., the fear of anxiety related symptoms) and suicidality. Specifically, a relationship has been found between anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns (ASCC) and suicidality. The knowledge around this relationship, however, has relied mostly on self-report measures. This study seeks to expand on the current literature by exploring the association between ASCC and suicidality, through the use of head-mounted display perceptual illusion challenges (e.g., using tactile sensations and mannequins to create illusions that the participant has switched bodies). A head-mounted display was used to elicit symptoms (e.g., depersonalization, derealization) related to ASCC in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 54). Suicidality and depression were measured by the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-2 (IDAS-II), anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), and distress by the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS). Findings indicated that suicidality was associated with self-reported ASCC as well as the fear generated from the challenges. Furthermore, our results found that challenge-induced fear predicted suicidality scores above and beyond the traditional self-report measures of ASCC. The small sample size and low suicide risk of the current sample limits generalizations to more severe populations.

Intolerance of uncertainty and responsibility for harm predict nocturnal panic attacks.

Nocturnal panic involves waking suddenly from sleep in a state of panic, with no apparent cause, and affects more than half of patients with panic disorder. The Fear of Loss of Vigilance theory is the only proposed model for nocturnal panic, suggesting nocturnal panickers fear states in which they are unable to react to danger or protect themselves from threats. Prior work using a self-report questionnaire designed to test the theory (i.e., Fear of Loss of Vigilance Questionnaire; FLOVQ) was unsuccessful at differentiating nocturnal from daytime panickers. This study tested the theory using alternative measures to the FLOVQ. We predicted nocturnal panickers would show elevated responses to measures assessing fears of being unable to respond to or protect themselves from threats. A diverse community sample (N = 218) completed self-report measures related to panic attacks, intolerance of uncertainty, responsibility for harm, and anxiety sensitivity dimensions. Nocturnal panickers endorsed greater inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty and responsibility for harm, but not prospective intolerance of uncertainty, or anxiety sensitivity physical or cognitive concerns. This study provides support for the fear of loss of vigilance theory and suggests intolerance of uncertainty and responsibility for harm reduction be targeted in treatment for nocturnal panic attacks.

Gender differences in the relation between the late positive potential in response to anxiety sensitivity images and self-reported anxiety sensitivity.

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the fear of anxious arousal, is a transdiagnostic risk factor predictive of a wide variety of affective disorders. Whereas AS is widely studied via self-report, the neurophysiological correlates of AS are poorly understood. One specific issue this may help resolve is well-established gender differences in mean levels of AS. The current study evaluated late positive potential (LPP) for images designed to target AS during an emotional picture viewing paradigm. Structural equation modeling was used to examine convergent and discriminant validity for self-report AS and the LPP for AS images, considering gender as a potential moderator. Analyses were conducted in an at-risk sample of 251 community adults (M age = 35.47, SD = 15.95; 56.2% female; 53.6% meeting for a primary Axis I anxiety or related disorder). Findings indicated that the AS image LPP was significantly, uniquely associated with self-report AS, controlling for the LPP for unpleasant images, in females only. Mean levels of AS self-report as well as the AS image LPP were higher in females than in males. These findings provide initial support for the AS image LPP as a useful neurophysiological correlate of AS self-report in females. These findings also provide support for a biological cause for gender differences in AS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).