How distinct is anxiety sensitivity from trait anxiety? A re-examination from a multidimensional perspective

Significant positive correlations between the Anxiety Sensitivity Index [AS I; Reiss., S., Peterson, R. A., Gursky, D. M. & McNally, R. J. (1986). Anxi ety sensitivity, anxiety frequency and the prediction of fearfulness. Behav iour Research and Therapy, 24, 1-8.] and the Trait subscale of the State-Tr ait Anxiety Inventory [STAI-T; Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R. E., Vagg, P. R. & Jacobs, G. A. (1983). The state-trait anxiety invento ry, for adults manual. Palo Alto, CA: Mind Garden.] have been characterized as "moderate" and have been taken to indicate that Anxiety Sensitivity (AS ) and Trait Anxiety (TA) are related but distinct constructs [e.g. McNally, R. J. (1999). Theoretical approaches to the fear of anxiety. In S. Taylor Anxiety sensitivity: theory, research, and treatment of the fear of anxiety (pp. 3-16). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.]. The present study was designed to provi de a more accurate assessment of the distinction between AS and TA by takin g into account the multidimensional nature and the differing symptom focus of the ASI and the STAI-T. University students (n = 317) completed both the se measures and subscales representing the lower-order constructs of the ST AI-T (i.e. Anxiety and Depression) and the ASI (i.e. Physical, Psychologica l, and Social Concerns) were created. Several comparisons were made regardi ng the correlations between these measures. Collectively, the results sugge st that previous estimates regarding the distinction between AS and TA were reduced due to the use of a measure of TA that is best conceptualized as a ssessing cognitive symptoms associated with general negative affect and by the failure to consider the different content focus and multidimensional na ture of the ASI. Additionally, disattenuated correlations, in which an adju stment is made for the reliability of the measures, were calculated to prov ide an assessment of the relationship between AS and TA rather than the mea sures used to operationalize them. These disattenuated correlations indicat ed the overlap between AS and TA is greater than previously thought. The im plications of these findings are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.