Reciprocal and Indirect Effects Among Intervention, Perceived Social Support, and Anxiety Sensitivity Within a Randomized Controlled Trial for Anxiety Disorders

Social support may facilitate adaptive reappraisal of stressors, including somatic symptoms. Anxiety sensitivity refers to negative beliefs about somatic symptoms of anxiety, which may influence one’s perception of social support. Evidence-based treatment may impact these associations. The current longitudinal study evaluated reciprocal relationships between perceived social support and anxiety sensitivity, and explored indirect intervention effects, in a randomized controlled trial for anxiety disorders that compared cognitive behavioral therapy with or without medications (CALM) to usual care. Data collected over 18 months from 940 primary care patients were examined in random intercept cross-lagged panel models. There were significant reciprocal associations between perceived social support increases and anxiety sensitivity decreases over time. There were significant indirect effects from intervention to perceived social support increases through anxiety sensitivity decreases and from intervention to anxiety sensitivity decreases through perceived social support increases. These data suggest that, relative to usual care, CALM predicted changes in one construct, which predicted subsequent changes in the other. Secondary analyses revealed an influence of anxiety and depressive symptoms on reciprocal associations and indirect effects. Findings suggest that future treatments could specifically address perceived social support to enhance reappraisal of somatic symptoms, and vice versa.