ANXIETY SENSITIVITY AMONG ANXIOUS CHILDREN

Employed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children to show that c hildren diagnosed with an anxiety disorder score significantly higher on the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) than nondiagnosed ch ildren. Interviews and self-report measures regarding the child were c ompleted by 201 children and their parents from a metropolitan area mi litary community who were participating in a National Institute of Men tal Health epidemiological survey. An analysis of variance was used to compare CASI scoring across three groups: children receiving anxiety diagnoses, children receiving externalizing diagnoses but no anxiety d iagnosis, and children receiving no diagnoses. Although scoring on the CASI differentiated anxious children from the no-diagnosis control gr oup, it did not differentiate anxious children from those receiving ex ternalizing diagnoses. Implications of the findings for the validity o f the CASI, the issue of anxiety sensitivity as a component of some ex ternalizing disorders, and suggestions for further investigation are d iscussed.