Isolated sleep paralysis and fearful isolated sleep paralysis in outpatients with panic attacksb
Brian A Sharpless, Kevin S. McCarthy, Dianne L. Chambless, Barbara L. Milrod, Shabad‐Ratan Khalsa, Jacques P. Barber
Journal of Clinical Psychology December 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20724 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAmong 133 patients seeking treatment for panic disorder, 29.3% had experienced isolated sleep paralysis (ISP) at some point in their lives, 20.3% met criteria for fearful ISP (FISP), and 12.8% had recurrent FISP. Both ISP and FISP were more common among minority patients and those with comorbid conditions. Only FISP was linked to posttraumatic stress disorder, higher body mass, anxiety sensitivity, and greater mood and anxiety disorder symptoms. A new semistructured interview, the Fearful Isolated Sleep Paralysis Interview, was developed to assess these episodes reliably.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 133 |
| Population | Patients presenting for panic disorder treatment |
| Key finding | 29.3% of panic disorder patients had lifetime ISP, 20.3% had lifetime FISP, and FISP was significantly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, body mass, anxiety sensitivity, and mood and anxiety disorder symptomatology. |
Abstract
AbstractIsolated sleep paralysis (ISP) has received scant attention in clinical populations, and there has been little empirical consideration of the role of fear in ISP episodes. To facilitate research and clinical work in this area, the authors developed a reliable semistructured interview (the Fearful Isolated Sleep Paralysis Interview) to assess ISP and their proposed fearful ISP (FISP) episode criteria in 133 patients presenting for panic disorder treatment. Of these, 29.3% met lifetime ISP episode criteria, 20.3% met the authors' lifetime FISP episode criteria, and 12.8% met their recurrent FISP criteria. Both ISP and FISP were associated with minority status and comorbidity. However, only FISP was significantly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, body mass, anxiety sensitivity, and mood and anxiety disorder symptomatology. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 66:1–15, 2010.