Parenting-related childhood learning history and panic vulnerability: A test using a laboratory-based biological challenge procedure

Biological sex and panic-relevant anxious reactivity to abrupt increases in bodily arousal as a function of biological challenge intensity

“…Men and women did not significantly differ in terms of SUDS-rated anxiety or DSQ-rated panic symptoms to a 10-min administration of 10% CO 2 among 80 (40 women) healthy young adults (Spira, Zvolensky, Eifert, & Feldner, 2004). Similarly, among a healthy sample of 93 young adults (39 women), women did not report significantly greater post-5-min 10% CO 2 challenge SUDS-rated anxiety or DSQ-rated panic symptoms than men (Leen-Feldner, Blumenthal, Babson, Bunaciu, & Feldner, 2008). However, in a separate study that employed a 4-min 10% CO 2 challenge among 229 (124 women) community-recruited participants, subjective anxiety increased significantly from baseline to post-challenge across participants and women reported greater SUDS-rated post-challenge anxiety and more DSQ-rated panic symptoms than men (Gregor & Zvolensky, 2008).…”

“…Socialization processes may underlie the noted pattern of sex differences (McLean & Anderson, 2009). Women (compared to men) report more frequent parental reinforcement of sick role behaviour upon acknowledging somatic symptoms (e.g., nausea, dizziness; Ehlers, 1993;Leen-Feldner et al, 2008), and these parenting behaviours correlate with increased vulnerability to panic development as measured via reactivity to a CO 2 challenge (Leen-Feldner et al, 2008). Consequently, the relatively greater avoidance of panic-relevant situations observed among nonclinical women (Gregor & Zvolensky, 2008) may limit habituation that would result from repeated exposure to panic-relevant situations characterized by particularly abrupt increases in bodily arousal.…”

“…However, no single study has specifically assessed sex differences as a function of the intensity of the biological challenges employed and many of the studies in this domain have not examined the link between biological sex and self-reported anxious reactivity (i.e., change from pre-to post-challenge; Gregor & Zvolensky, 2008;Leen-Feldner et al, 2008;Spira et al, 2004;Vujanovic et al, 2006;Zvolensky, Feldner, Eifert, & Stewart, 2001). The current study uniquely extended this area of research by examining the relation between biological sex and pre-to post-challenge selfreported anxious reactivity to biological challenge paradigms of varying intensity.…”

“…This scale was administered at baseline (i.e., prior to the experimental tasks) as well as directly following each of the biological challenge procedures. This type of scale is well-established in biological challenge research involving both hyperventilation (Craske & Barlow, 1990;Craske, Lang, Tsao, Mystkowski, & Rowe, 2001;Rapee et al, 1992) as well as CO 2 -enriched air challenges (e.g., Babson et al, 2009;Craske & Barlow, 1990;Eifert, Zvolensky, Sorrell, Hopko, & Lejuez, 1999;Feldner et al, 2003;Leen-Feldner et al, 2008;Rapee et al, 1992).…”

Parental educational practices in relation to children's anxiety disorder-related behavior

“…A common feature of these two dimensions, which were strongly correlated (r s = .61) in the present sample, is the unusually frequent expression of somatic complaints and related worries by the child. Several studies have indicated that parents of children who frequently complain of illness or apprehension often model and select socalled "illness" or "anxious" behavior for differential reinforcement (e.g., Burstein & Ginsburg, 2010;Ehlers, 1993;Feldner, Blumenthal, Babson, Bunaciu, & Feldner, 2008;Turkat, 1982); this practice, of course, would not be incompatible with the parental use of aversive control in, or avoidance of, educational interactions with their children.…”