Symptoms Specificity of Anxiety Sensitivity Dimensions in Korean Adults

CONTEXT: Relation of three dimensions of anxiety sensitivity (AS) (physical concerns [PC], cognitive concerns [CC] and social concerns [SC]) with anxiety or depression has been inconsistently reported. One possible explanation on the mixed findings is the lack of reliable measurement that assesses AS dimensions. AIMS: This study was aimed to examine the specificity of dimensions of AS to anxiety and depression in a sample of Korean adults. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Participants included 426 Korean adults who were recruited by means of advertisements requesting volunteers for the psychological assessments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants completed measures of AS, anxious symptoms and depressive symptoms. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Linear regression equations were constructed. RESULTS: It was found that PC and SC showed specificity to anxiety after adjusting for depression, while CC showed specificity to depression after controlling for anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest specificity of PC and SC to anxiety and of CC to depression when their relationship was explored with the more reliable measurement. The present findings clarify the nature of dimensions of AS in Korean adults.