Anxiety Sensitivity: Progress, Prospects, and Challenges

This book has shown that anxiety sensitivity (AS) appears to play an important role in many forms of psychopathology; it is especially important in identifying people at risk for panic attacks. Given the importance of AS, it com es as no surprise that it is attracting increasingly more attention from theorists, researchers, and clinicians. The construct of AS has become refined and elaborated over time. Herein, details of its structure have been elaborated (chap. 5) and its relationships to related variables have been clarified (chaps. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7). Thus, AS is not an immutable construct; it is an open concept (cf. Pap, 1958, 1962). That is, it is a work in progress, amenable to refinement, elaboration, and other changes. This concluding chapter considers what are seen as some of the most important issues for further research. Our understanding of AS may be enhanced by addressing the following: Is AS best regarded as an entirely dimensional construct or are there categorical (taxonic) forms of AS?