The anxiety sensitivity index: Item analysis and suggestions for refinement

Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of anxiety-related sensations, and is measu red by the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss, Peterson, Gursky, & McNally, 1986). Despite the popularity and utility of the ASI in researc h, a number of studies have provided evidence for the inadequacy of several items, and item-to-scale correlations for the ASI have not been published. In this study, a converging set of analyses to evaluate the item adequacy and factor structure of the ASI was used. The results of these multiple ana lyses converged nicely suggesting that Items 1, 5, 7, 8, and 13 should be c onsidered for removal from the instrument. The impact of removing these pro blematic items from the scale was explored through the reanalysis of data f rom 3 previously published studies that compared the original ASI with the new 11-item version (the ASI minus the 5 problematic items). The results of these analyses suggest that the 2 scales function comparably in many respe cts but that the new version maybe a more precise measure of anxiety sensit ivity. The 11-item ASI appears to tap 2 primary aspects of anxiety sensitiv ity: fears of somatic sensations of anxiety and fears of loss of mental con trol. Suggestions for further development of the ASI are offered.