The moderational role of anxiety sensitivity in flight phobia.

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the tendency to interpret anxiety-related bodily sensations in a threatening way. Previous research in a subclinical population identified AS as a vulnerability factor in flight phobia: AS moderates the relationship between somatic sensations and flight anxiety. The present study aimed at gaining further evidence for the moderational role of AS in a large clinical population with flight phobia. The data were obtained from 103 participants: 54 flight phobic participants and 49 controls. Just before taking a flight participants were asked to complete the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and to report their level of anxiety and bodily sensations. Results showed that AS moderates the relationship between somatic sensations and flight phobia: somatic sensations significantly predicted flight anxiety in subjects with higher AS scores, while this was not the case for subjects scoring lower on AS. Present findings implicate that treatment protocols should be supplemented by interventions specifically aimed at reducing AS, especially for individuals high in AS.