Miljus,
Jonathan (5/08) Cognitive vulnerability to anxiety: Content specificity vs. the
process of worry (David Castro Blanco, Ph.D.; Barry Ritzler, Ph.D.; Gary Kose, Ph.D.)
Two theorists have put forth competing
hypotheses regarding the manner in which worry may lead to later anxiety
pathology. Borkovec, Alcaine, and Behar (2004) have suggested that the specific
content of worries and the tendency of worry prone individuals to perceive
situations as threatening leads to the development of pathological anxiety.
Alternately, Wells (1999a) has suggested that the process of becoming
sensitized to worry itself serves as an impetus to the development of anxiety
symptoms. This study conducted an experiment to ascertain whether the content
or process of worry may cause a vulnerability to anxiety using an analogue
sample of 76 undergraduate students. The methodology consisted of partially
replicating an earlier study conducted by Borkovec, Robinson, Pruzinsky, and
DePree (1983). Participants underwent a nine stage procedure that assessed
their ability to focus their attention on a breathing task before and after two
separate worry inductions. Participants' scores on the General Negative Beliefs
Subscale of the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire and Beliefs About Controllability
and Danger subscale of the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire were compared to
breathing task success scores. Breathing task success scores were not
significantly related to either of the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire subscales.
Participants' breathing task success scores after the highly salient worry
topic induction significantly differed from their breathing task success scores
after the low salience worry topic induction. Results indicate that in an
analogue undergraduate population it is the content rather than the process of
worry that may create a vulnerability to later anxiety pathology. The
implication of these findings can be found in the discussion section of this
paper.
