The influence of anxiety sensitivity on mindfulness

Although many individuals who engage in mindfulness endorse less anxiety, others experience heightened anxiety when focusing on particular sensations. This study aimed to determine whether specific mindfulness items related to observing internally or externally differ in individuals with panic disorder (PD) or elevated anxiety sensitivity (AS). We examined a clinical sample of 1521 Japanese individuals who completed online self-report questionnaires. Several multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) models investigated differential item functioning among the items in the Observe facet of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), based on PD and/or AS. This process was repeated to examine the relationship between the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) subscales and particular items of the Observe facet. Increased AS correlated with increased observing generally, and increased AS was associated with greater scores on observing internal items and lower scores on external items. When PD and AS were analyzed simultaneously, only AS remained significant. The cognitive subscale showed the same pattern of results as the total ASI-3 subscale. We conclude that AS modulates the mindfulness experience.