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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1441664
This article is part of the Research Topic Navigating the Storm: Addressing Mental and Behavioral Health Challenges in Disadvantaged Children, Adolescents and Young Adults (CAYA) View all 5 articles

The Mediating Role of Neuroticism and Anxiety Sensitivity in the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Panic Disorder Severity

Provisionally accepted
Fang He Fang He Xiangyun Yang Xiangyun Yang Jia Luo Jia Luo Pengchong Wang Pengchong Wang Lijuan Yang Lijuan Yang Zhanjiang Li Zhanjiang Li *
  • Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Despite advancements in understanding panic disorder (PD), its etiology and pathogenesis remain elusive, particularly concerning the influence of psychosocial factors. This study aims to explore the mediating roles of neuroticism and anxiety sensitivity (AS) in the relationship between childhood trauma and PD severity.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis involving 84 individuals diagnosed with PD and 112 age-and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). Childhood trauma was assessed using the validated Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), while anxiety sensitivity levels were measured using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3). Neuroticism was evaluated using the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory (CBF-PI-B). The severity of PD was determined using the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). Statistical analysis encompassed both correlation and mediation techniques to thoroughly examine the relationships among childhood trauma, neuroticism, AS, and PD severity.Results: Individuals with PD exhibited significantly higher CTQ, ASI-3, and neuroticism scores compared to HC (all P<0.05). Within the PD group, strong positive correlations were found between CTQ scores, ASI-3 scores, neuroticism levels, and PDSS scores, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.336 to 0.504 (all P<0.001). Additionally, our results indicated that neuroticism and AS acted as mediating factors in the relationship between childhood trauma and the severity of PD, with the 95% confidence interval for the indirect effects ranging from 0.028 to 0.116.This study highlights that PD patients exhibit significantly higher levels of childhood trauma, neuroticism, and AS compared to HC. Furthermore, childhood trauma indirectly influences PD severity through a chain mediation involving neuroticism and AS. These findings suggest the importance of psychological factors in moderating the impact of early adverse experiences on the development and progression of PD.

    Keywords: childhood trauma, Panic Disorder, neuroticism, Anxiety Sensitivity, Mediating effect

    Received: 31 May 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 He, Yang, Luo, Wang, Yang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhanjiang Li, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.