ABSTRACT
Most investigations of anxiety sensitivity (AS) have focused on the role that it plays in panic attacks, panic disorder, and the other anxiety disorders. Over the past few years, however, the AS construct has made its way into investigations dealing with other conditions that have close association to panic. For example, AS has been studied in conditions such as asthma (Carr, Lehrer, Rausch, & Hochron, 1994), alcohol abuse (Stewart, Peterson, & Pihl, 1995; chap. 13, this volume), depression (Taylor, Koch, Woody, & McLean, 1996; chap. 6, this volume), and hypochondriasis (Cox, Fuentes, Ross, Borger, & Taylor, 1996). This chapter examines a new and emerging field of investigation that implicates AS in the maintenance of chronic pain and the exacerbation of pain-related suffering.
