EFFECTS OF HIGH AND LOW ANXIETY-PROVOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE RESPONSES TO THE HYPERVENTILATION PROVOCATION TEST

This study examined the effect of high and low anxiety provoking instr uctions in subjects submitted to a Hyperventilation Provocation Test ( HVPT). Subjects were 43 out-patients referred to our clinic for a diag nostic examination of Hyperventilation Syndrome (HVS). Results showed that anxiety levels were affected by the instruction manipulation, but the magnitude of this effect was less than expected and the instructi on manipulation had no effect on intensity and type of reproduced symp toms, nor on symptom recognition. Subjects who met Diagnostic and Stat istical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatri c Association, 1987) criteria for Panic Disorder (PD) were not more re sponsive to the instruction manipulation than non-PD patients. It is a rgued that the small effect of the manipulation is probably not due to the solidity of the HVPT but to the pervasiveness of pretest cognitio ns and expectations. In line with this, the report of HVS symptoms app eared highly related to psychological trait measures like anxiety, fea r of bodily sensations, and a general tendency to report somatic sympt oms.