The moderating role of distress tolerance in the association between anxiety sensitivity physical concerns and panic and PTSD-related re-experiencing symptoms.

The present investigation evaluated the moderating role of distress tolerance (DT) in the relation between the physical concerns (PC) dimension of anxiety sensitivity (AS-PC) and panic and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related re-experiencing symptoms in a nonclinical, undergraduate sample (n = 416; 300 females; M age=20.3 years, SD = 4.8). Consistent with prediction, there was a significant interactive effect between AS-PC and DT in regard to panic symptoms, such that greater AS-PC and low DT was associated with greater panic symptoms after controlling for the variance accounted for by negative affectivity and the respective main effects. However, contrary to prediction, AS-PC and DT did not significantly interact to predict PTSD-related re-experiencing symptoms. Also consistent with prediction, there was no interactive effect apparent for symptoms of depression or general anxiety, suggesting that the interaction between AS-PC and DT is specific to panic psychopathology.