Evaluation of a pathoplastic relationship between anxiety sensitivity and panic disorder

A growing body of research suggests that anxiety sensitivity (AS) acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the development of anxiety pathology. More recently, attention has turned to other relationships between AS and anxiety pathology. The present study explores a patholplasty model of AS. A pathoplasty model posits that a dispositional factor (e.g., AS) will affect the expression and/or course of the clinical condition (e.g., panic disorder). In other words, individual differences in AS among patients with panic disorder may be relevant to how the disorder is expressed or how it progresses over time regardless of the role of AS in the genesis of the disorder. The relationships among AS and the clinical facets of a sample of patients with panic disorder (N = 147) were evaluated. Findings were consistent with the pathoplasty model and suggested: (1) significant variability in AS among patients, (2) AS variation was related to variability in symptom domains, co-occurring diagnoses, and medication use, and (3) variation in AS following treatment was predictive of clinical status at 6-month follow-up.