| The study examined the relationship between the use of within-situation safety-seeking behaviors and depression in patients with panic disorder. Within-situation safety-seeking behaviors are often subtle strategies that occur within the context of anxiety-provoking situations. They are sometimes undetected and deleterious behaviors that are responsible for blocking the effects of exposure therapy. Although individuals intend that the behaviors will protect them from harm, the behaviors are actually maladaptive because they block the disconfirmation of catastrophic predictions and maintain anxiety. Safety-seeking behaviors as a general category are linked to depression, and there is speculation that learned helplessness plays a role in this connection. There is a dearth of information on the relationship between the increased use of within-situation safety-seeking behaviors and depression in patients with panic disorder. The purposes of the study were to identify the strength and direction of this relationship as well as determine if the decreased use of relaxation and breathing coping strategies and increased levels of phobic anxiety, somatization, and anxiety can predict the increased use of within-situation safety-seeking behaviors. The methodology featured a quantitative correlational design and multiple regression analysis with ex post facto archival data; the sample comprised 51 patients with panic disorder. Measures included the Texas Safety Maneuver Scale (TSMS) and the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). The findings indicated a significant and positive correlation between the increased use of within-situation safety-seeking behaviors and an increased level of depression. Increased phobic anxiety and, surprisingly, the increased use of relaxation and breathing coping strategies predicted the increased use of within-situation safety-seeking behaviors. These results supported the maladaptive nature of the behaviors and the theory of learned helplessness. Safety-seeking behaviors appear to be embedded in cognitive, behavioral, and epidemiological approaches as well as symptom-progression models. Clinically, recognition of within-situation safety-seeking behaviors will lead to efficacious treatment plans. Socially, increased awareness of their maladaptive nature will undercut the stigma, demoralization, and attribution errors about personal weakness in patients with panic disorder. |
