불안민감도가 과제 수행과 스트레스 반응에 미치는 영향: 우울감의 조절효과

The Influence of Anxiety Sensitivity on Task Performance and Stress Response: The Moderating Effect of Depression

본 연구는 불안민감도가 과제수행과 스트레스 반응에 미치는 영향을 살펴보고, 이 과정에 우울감은 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 확인하였다. 참가자들은 제한된 시간에 암산 문제를 완수하였고, 불안민감도지수와 우울증 선별도구에 응답하였다. 더불어, 실험 전후 참가자들의 코르티졸(Cortisol) 변화량을 확인하였다. 그 결과, 불안민감도가 높은 사람은 과제수행의 정확도가 떨어지고 코르티졸 수치가 유의미하게 상승하였다. 또한, 불안민감도와 우울감이 모두 높은 참가자들이 코르티졸 수치가 가장 크게 상승하였다. 본 연구는 자기보고식 응답에 근거하여 임상증상을 기술하는 것을 넘어 과제수행의 정확도와 생화학적 지표를 함께 제시함으로써, 보다 안정적으로 개인의 불안민감도와 우울감의 관계를 논의하였다는 의의를 지닌다.

Backgoround: This study aimed to examine the influence of anxiety sensitivity on task performance and physiological stress response, and to assess the effect of depression in this process for the youth population. Methods: We presented participants with an uncontrollable stress situation where they were required to perform mental arithmetic, based on the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST). A total of 29 participants volunteered for this study. They completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to measure their levels of anxiety sensitivity and depression. Two saliva samples, one before and one after the experiment, were collected to assess the change in cortisol levels as an index of physiological stress response. Results: Participants with high anxiety sensitivity showed lower performance on the mental arithmetic tasks and a significant increase in a salivary cortisol level, compared to those with low anxiety sensitivity. Furthermore, cortisol levels showed a remarkable increase where high anxiety sensitivity was coupled with depressed mood. In other hands, the levels of cortisol remained unchanged despite high anxiety sensitivity with low depressed mood. Conclusions: Our results confirm that the interaction between anxiety sensitivity and depression affects participants' task performance and stress response, as measured through behavioral tasks and physiological data with self-report indices. Also, through the physiological data, we examined that those who have a high level of anxiety sensitivity showed maladaptive responses under high stressful situation.