High-Risk Feedback: A Brief Intervention to Increase Motivation to Change Anxiety

Elevated levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS), the fear of anxiety and its consequences, places individuals at an increased risk for the development of anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder. Research has shown that treating AS may reduce the future development of anxiety psychopathology. However, individuals high in AS may be unaware of the risks associated with this risk factor and, therefore, may tend to be unaware or unmotivated to change AS. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of providing high-risk feedback in those at-risk for developing anxiety psychopathology. Participants consisted of 55 non-treatment seeking individuals with clinically significant levels of AS. Participants completed a battery of baseline questionnaires, received high-risk feedback about their level of anxiety sensitivity, and completed post-study questionnaires. Results revealed significant increases in motivation. Specifically, there were significant increases in the importance and confidence to change anxiety after receiving the high-risk feedback. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.