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Anxiety sensitivity is a known precursor to panic attacks and panic disorder, and involves the misinterpretation of anxiety-related sensations. Aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce generalized anxiety, and may also reduce anxiety sensitivity through exposure to feared physiological sensations. Accordingly, 54 participants with elevated anxiety sensitivity scores completed six 20-min treadmill exercise sessions at either a high-intensity aerobic (n=29) or low-intensity (n=25) level. Self-ratings of anxiety sensitivity, fear of physiological sensations associated with anxiety, and generalized anxiety were obtained at pre-treatment, posttreatment, and one-week follow-up. Results indicated that both high-and low-intensity exercise reduced anxiety sensitivity. However, high-intensity exercise caused more rapid reductions in a global measure of anxiety sensitivity and produced more treatment responders than lowintensity exercise. Only high-intensity exercise reduced fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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The purpose of the present study was to experimentally examine the influence of a self‐aggressive model on self‐aggressive behavior under controlled laboratory conditions. Participants (N= 94) were given the opportunity to self‐administer electric shock while competing with a fictitious opponent in a reaction‐time task. Participants observed the opponent self‐administer either increasingly intense shock (a self‐aggressive model) or constant low shocks (a non‐self‐aggressive model). Self‐aggression was defined as the intensity of shock that was self‐administered by participants. Results provide support for the notion that social information can influence the expression of self‐aggressive behavior. Specifically, participants attended to the opponent's shock choices in both model conditions, and chose shocks consistent with those of the observed model.

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BackgroundNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major concern in both clinical and non-clinical populations. It has been approximated that 65-80% of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) engage in some form of NSSI. Despite such high co-morbidity, much still remains unknown about the relationship between NSSI and BPD symptomatology. The goal of the current study was to identify individual BPD symptoms and higher order BPD factors that increase one’s vulnerability of NSSI engagement among a college sample. It was hypothesized that the BPD factor of emotion dysregulation and the BPD symptoms of affect instability and intense anger/aggression would be associated with the presence and frequency of NSSI.MethodSeven hundred twenty four undergraduates (61.2% female) completed self-report measures of BPD symptomology and NSSI history.ResultsRegression analyses revealed that among the individual BPD symptoms, past suicidality, impulsivity, chronic emptiness, and identity disturbance were each significantly, positively associated with lifetime history of NSSI, whereas unstable relationships were negatively associated with lifetime history of NSSI. The BPD symptom associated with NSSI frequency was dissociation. Among the BPD factors, emotion dysregulation and disturbed relatedness were both associated with NSSI history, but only disturbed relatedness was associated with NSSI frequency.ConclusionFindings show partial support for the importance of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between NSSI and BPD symptomatology, but also suggest that the relationship may be more complex and not solely based on emotion dysregulation.