Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder
<h4>Background and Objectives</h4> <p>One of the central assumptions of cognitive models of Panic Disorder (PD) is that automatic panic-related associations are a core feature of PD. However, empirical findings are mixed and inconsistent, rendering it difficult to evaluate the rol...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2016
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| _version_ | 1826284696235933696 |
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| author | Woud, M Becker, E Rinck, M Harmer, C Reinecke, A |
| author_facet | Woud, M Becker, E Rinck, M Harmer, C Reinecke, A |
| author_sort | Woud, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <h4>Background and Objectives</h4> <p>One of the central assumptions of cognitive models of Panic Disorder (PD) is that automatic panic-related associations are a core feature of PD. However, empirical findings are mixed and inconsistent, rendering it difficult to evaluate the role of panic-related associations adequately, particularly in relation to the relevant theories. The present study aimed to further advance our understanding of automatic associations in PD, and therefore applied a paradigm novel in this context, namely an Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST).</p> <h4>Methods</h4> <p>Participants involved treatment seeking, unmedicated panic patients (n=45) and healthy controls (n=38). The EAST was applied prior to treatment. It included the following stimuli as targets: panic-related bodily sensations and agoraphobia-related situations, and as attributes: pleasant versus unpleasant, fear-related words. </p> <h4>Results</h4> <p>Contrary to our expectations, panic patients did not show stronger negative than positive automatic associations for either panic-related symptoms or agoraphobia-related situations, compared to healthy controls. Moreover, EAST effects did not correlate with panic-related self-report measures. </p> <h4>Limitations</h4> <p>Although the present study involved patients who were actively seeking treatment, panic-related associations might not have been activated sufficiently. Hence, a brief activation procedure (e.g., hyperventilation) might have been needed to optimize the assessment condition.</p> <h4>Conclusions</h4> <p>The present findings do not support contemporary theories of panic-related associations. Therefore, follow-up work is needed to disentangle their functional and operational properties more thoroughly. </p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:17:43Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:8f45e81d-7fdf-4089-a140-6f21279cf6d6 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:17:43Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:8f45e81d-7fdf-4089-a140-6f21279cf6d62022-03-26T23:03:09ZAssessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorderJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:8f45e81d-7fdf-4089-a140-6f21279cf6d6EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2016Woud, MBecker, ERinck, MHarmer, CReinecke, A <h4>Background and Objectives</h4> <p>One of the central assumptions of cognitive models of Panic Disorder (PD) is that automatic panic-related associations are a core feature of PD. However, empirical findings are mixed and inconsistent, rendering it difficult to evaluate the role of panic-related associations adequately, particularly in relation to the relevant theories. The present study aimed to further advance our understanding of automatic associations in PD, and therefore applied a paradigm novel in this context, namely an Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST).</p> <h4>Methods</h4> <p>Participants involved treatment seeking, unmedicated panic patients (n=45) and healthy controls (n=38). The EAST was applied prior to treatment. It included the following stimuli as targets: panic-related bodily sensations and agoraphobia-related situations, and as attributes: pleasant versus unpleasant, fear-related words. </p> <h4>Results</h4> <p>Contrary to our expectations, panic patients did not show stronger negative than positive automatic associations for either panic-related symptoms or agoraphobia-related situations, compared to healthy controls. Moreover, EAST effects did not correlate with panic-related self-report measures. </p> <h4>Limitations</h4> <p>Although the present study involved patients who were actively seeking treatment, panic-related associations might not have been activated sufficiently. Hence, a brief activation procedure (e.g., hyperventilation) might have been needed to optimize the assessment condition.</p> <h4>Conclusions</h4> <p>The present findings do not support contemporary theories of panic-related associations. Therefore, follow-up work is needed to disentangle their functional and operational properties more thoroughly. </p> |
| spellingShingle | Woud, M Becker, E Rinck, M Harmer, C Reinecke, A Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
| title | Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
| title_full | Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
| title_short | Assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
| title_sort | assessment of automatic associations with bodily sensations and agoraphobic situations in panic disorder |
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