Safiye Bahar Ölmez, Ahmet Ataoglu, Adnan Özçetin
Department of Psychiatry, Duzce University School of Medicine, Duzce, Turkey.
SÇengül Cangür
Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Duzce University School of Medicine, Duzce, Turkey.
Zehra Basar Kocagöz, Neslihan Yazar
Department of Psychiatry, Duzce University School of Medicine, Duzce, Turkey.
Büsra Bahar Ataoglu
Department of Clinical Psychology, Duzce University Health Sciences Institute, Duzce, Turkey.
Abstract:
Background: The relationship between impulsivity and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been revealed in several mental disorders other than phobias. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, and NSSI characteristics in patients with phobias, and to compare these relationships with healthy controls. Methods: The sample of this study consisted of outpatients (n = 109) who had been diagnosed with social phobia, agoraphobia or simple phobia in addition to healthy individuals (n = 51) serving as the control group. Data collection tools were the socio-demographic form, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11), the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury (ISAS), and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-3). Results: Mean BIS-11 and ASI-3 scores in the social phobia and agoraphobia groups were found to be significantly higher than those in the control group. In addition, a positive correlation was found between ISAS and cognitive anxiety sensitivity scores in the agoraphobia and simple phobia groups. Discussion: The study revealed a positive correlation between cognitive anxiety sensitivity and NSSI in both the agoraphobia and simple phobia groups. The results of this study indicate that anxiety sensitivity may play a regulatory role between impulsivity and NSSI in some sub-groups of phobia.
Keywords:Agoraphobia, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, nonsuicidal self-injury, phobia.