The current study investigated the main and interactive effects of a nonclinical panic attack history and distress tolerance in relation to PTSD symptoms. The sample consisted of 91 adults (62.6% women; M age = 23.45, SD = 9.56) who met DSM-IV criteria for trauma exposure, 53.8% of whom met criteria for a recent (past two years) history of nonclinical panic attacks. Results indicated that distress tolerance, as measured by the Distress Tolerance Scale (Simons & Gaher, 2005), was significantly related to all PTSD symptom clusters, and a nonclinical panic attack history was significantly related to PTSD re-experiencing and hyperarousal symptoms. The interaction of a nonclinical panic attack history and distress tolerance significantly predicted unique variance in only PTSD hyperarousal symptoms. Implications and future directions are discussed for the role of nonclinical panic attacks and distress tolerance in PTSD symptom expression.
KeywordsPTSD; distress tolerance; panic attacks; anxiety Panic attacks, which reflect a discrete fear response (Barlow, 2002), play an important role in understanding various anxiety and other psychological disorders. For example, in addition to being a defining feature of panic disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), panic attacks are a risk marker for a relatively broad range of psychopathological conditions, such as anxiety disorders (Reed & Wittchen, 1998), major depressive disorder (Bittner et al., 2004), substance use disorders (Baillie & Rapee, 2005), and psychotic disorders (Goodwin, Fergusson, & Horwood, 2004). Furthermore, panic attacks, even those that are "nonclinical" ũ 2010Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael J. Zvolensky, Ph.D. Dr. Zvolensky can be contacted at The University of Vermont, Department of Psychology, 2 Colchester Avenue, John Dewey Hall, Burlington,. Electronic mail may be sent to Michael.Zvolensky@uvm.edu.. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript (i.e., experienced out of the context of panic disorder), can be personally distressing and are associated with significant levels of life disruption (Norton, Cox, & Malan, 1992).One growing line of scientific inquiry has sought to explicate the role of panic attacks in regard to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) sequale (Falsetti & Resnick, 1997). Specifically, numerous scholars have suggested that trauma exposure can result in an increased propensity to experience panic attacks, which...