RISK PERCEPTION AND ANXIETY

Cognitive approaches to psychopathology assert that an individual's fe elings and behaviours are determined by the way they perceive and stru cture their experiences. Beck's (1976) cognitive model of anxiety prop oses that pathological anxiety results from unrealistic perceptions of the danger inherent in a given situation. This elevated sense of dang er is presumed to occur through one or more of the following cognitive errors: a) overestimating the probability (risk) of a dangerous event ; b) overestimating the severity (threat) of a feared event; c) undere stimating coping resources; or d) underestimating rescue factors, Stud ies of individuals with a range of anxiety disorders confirm the prese nce of threat and danger related cognitions. However, there is little empirical research to show that the cognitive errors described above a re associated with anxiety. The results from two studies examining the role of risk and threat perception in anxiety are presented. Both stu dies used the Risk Perception Questionnaire (RPQ) to assess risk and t hreat perception of positive and negative life events and daily uplift s and stressors. In the first study university students and community residents completed the RPQ and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STA I). Correlations between the two measures showed increased anxiety was associated with decreased expectations of positive life events and da ily uplifts and increased risk perception for negative life events and daily stressors. Increased threat scores (risk X cost) for negative l ife events and daily stressors were associated with increased anxiety in the community subjects. Mean scores on the four risk perception sub scales and the two negative threat scales differed significantly betwe en subjects with high and low levels of trait anxiety. In the second s tudy, risk and threat perception scores for subjects with DSM-III-R an xiety disorders were compared with those of a non-anxious clinical sam ple and community subjects. Increased risk perception of negative life events differentiated the anxious from the community subjects (non-an xious clinical subjects showed a nonsignificant elevation on this scal e). Threat ratings of negative life events discriminated the two clini c groups from the community subjects. Increased risk perception for da ily stressors was unique to the anxiety disordered group. Results from the second study suggest increased risk perception of daily stressors may be unique to individuals suffering from anxiety disorders, while increased risk and threat perception of negative life events may be as sociated with psychopathology generally. The implications of these fin dings for Beck's model are discussed.