Gender differences in anxiety-related traits in patients with panic disorder

This study examined gender differences in anxiety-related personality traits in patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD+/-AG). Outpatients (101 total) with SCID confirmed PD+/-AG completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), the Trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), the NEO Personality Inventory Revised (NEO PI-R), and the Retrospective Self-Report of Inhibition (RSRI) as part of their assessment. Significant gender differences were not detected for the total ASI scores. Females scored significantly higher than males on the Physical Concerns subscale of the ASI, whereas males scored significantly higher than women on the Social Concerns subscale. Women scored higher than men on the Extraversion scale of the NEO PI-R as well as on certain subscales of this domain. Although a significant gender difference was not detected on the Neuroticism subscale, men scored higher on the angry hostility and depression facets of this trait. Significant gender differences were not found for the STAI-T or the RSRI. These findings suggest that gender differences exist among patients with PD+/-AG in the feared consequences of anxiety symptoms as well as in the personality characteristics of extraversion.