The role of experiential avoidance in the relation between anxiety disorder diagnoses and future physical health symptoms in a community sample of young adult women

Abstract

Individuals diagnosed with an anxiety disorder report more physical health problems than those without an anxiety disorder. Few studies have examined the relation of anxiety disorders to later physical health symptoms, or the processes that may explain this relation. One process of interest is experiential avoidance (EA), which is commonly reported in populations characterized by high anxiety and often leads to health-compromising behaviors. The present study examined the relations between anxiety disorder diagnostic status, EA, and physical health symptoms in a community sample of young adult women. Results revealed a significant association between an anxiety disorder diagnosis and physical health problems four months later. Furthermore, levels of EA accounted for this relation. Findings highlight the potential utility of targeting EA as a method for improving health outcomes among individuals with anxiety disorders.

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia moderates the association between social phobia symptoms and self‐reported physical symptoms

“…The present study first examined the association between social phobia symptoms and self‐reported physical symptoms among healthy undergraduate students. The findings showed that individuals with higher levels of social phobia symptoms reported more severe and frequent physical symptoms, which is consistent with previous findings obtained in clinical anxiety disorder samples (Berghoff et al, ; Kariuki‐Nyuthe & Stein, ; Kingery, Ginsburg, & Alfano, ; Kroenke et al, ; Niles et al, ). This finding provides evidence that social phobia symptoms are closely associated with self‐reported physical symptoms, suggesting that individuals with high social phobia symptoms might have more physical health problems.…”

“…This scale is widely used to assess the experience of physical symptoms in different populations (e.g., Smolderen, Vingerhoets, Croon, & Denollet, ; Stevenson & Williams, ; Williams, Abbott, & Kerr, ). A recent study showed that the mean score on CHIPS of women with anxiety diagnosis was 30.18 ( SD = 25.60) and that of women without anxiety diagnosis was 14.56 ( SD = 15.47; Berghoff et al, ). In the present study, the mean score on CHIPS of participants with social phobia scores above cut‐off was 20.72 ( SD = 16.53) and that of participants with social phobia scores below cut‐off was 14.47 ( SD = 13.91).…”

“…Previous studies have found that social phobia is associated with somatic complaints or symptoms (May et al, ; Sackl‐Pammer et al, ). Correspondingly, it might be also associated with physical symptoms that refer to a wide range of physical health sensations and discomforts (Berghoff, Tull, Dilillo, Messmanmoore, & Gratz, ; Kariuki‐Nyuthe & Stein, ). Moreover, extant researches suggest that resting RSA is a marker of individuals' physiological self‐regulation capacity and that resting RSA could moderate the relationships between individual factors and outcomes (Diamond, Hicks, & Otter‐Henderson, ; Fagundes, Jaremka, Malarkey, & Kiecolt‐Glaser, ).…”

“…These self‐reported physical symptoms have also been found to be associated with anxiety disorders (Kariuki‐Nyuthe & Stein, ; Kroenke, Spitzer, Williams, Monahan, & Lowe, ; Zijlema et al, ). For example, Berghoff et al () showed that young females diagnosed with anxiety disorders, including social phobia, reported much higher incidence of physical symptoms than did healthy controls at both baseline and several months later. Nile et al (2015) showed that individuals with high anxiety symptoms tended to have poorer physical health and reported more physical symptoms as anxiety symptom severity increased.…”

Cross-sectional study of aggression against Spanish nursing personnel and effects on somatisation of physical symptoms

“…The presence of such stressors promotes psychophysiological responses which can affect their health 30. In spite of the importance of research related to anxiety, there are few studies analysing the nature and strength of the relationship between anxiety and physical health problems in adulthood 31. Some of the most intense physical symptoms associated with anxiety are respiratory and stomach problems, cardiac alterations, migraine, menstrual pain, thyroid and psoriasis 32–35.…”