Cluster analyses determine the presence of 3 psychological phenotypes
body/emotional awareness’.Cluster 2 (n = 21), Anxiety, anxiety, Non-Reactivity
DISORDER
To determine the presence of clusters in self-report questionnaire data, we used a hierarchical agglomerative approach (Ward’s method, see Supplementary Materials section for complete data analysis procedure details) to determine the number of clusters present. Results from the hierarchical agglomerative clustering approach revealed the presence of 3 clusters (Fig. Psychological phenotypic clustering in individuals seeking treatment for anxiety. Dendrogram illustrating the hierarchical agglomerative clustering analysis of questionnaire items from the GAD-7, PSWQ, FFMQ Non-Reactivity Scale, and MAIA questionnaires in Study 1. Different clusters are illustrated in distinct colors (red, green or blue) on the dendrogram (dashed line indicates stopping rule according to the maximal linkage distance).To determine items which were significantly distinct between clusters, we conducted one-way ANOVAs with CLUSTER as a between-subjects factor on each questionnaire item’s z-score. Only significantly distinct items are included in cluster description.Figure Differential treatment response based on psychological phenotype. (Study 1 cluster description of individual questionnaire items.Questionnaires’ subscales are listed in parentheses when applicable. Items significantly contributing to cluster formation are included (see results from one-way ANOVA on questionnaire item z-scores with Cluster as a between-group factor, Table S2). 95% confidence intervals for each item’s within-cluster average were computed:Upward arrows indicate that the within-cluster z-score average for the scale/subscale’s items was positive and that > 50% of items had confidence intervals that exceeded the group mean (full upward arrows) or did not exceed the group mean (light upward arrows).Downward arrows indicate that the within-cluster z-score average for the scale/subscale’s items was negative and that > 50% of items had confidence intervals that preceded the group mean (full downward arrows) or did not precede the group mean (light downward arrows).PSWQ: Penn State Worry Questionnaire; GAD-7: Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale; FFMQ: Non-Reactivity Subscale of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire; MAIA: Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness##Indicate that the direction of > 50% scale/subscale’s items relative to the group mean was distinct between Studies 1 and 2.Cluster 1 (n = 13) demonstrated the highest scores among all phenotypes on mechanistic and outcome-related variables, and below average scores on mindfulness-related intervention features (FFMQ). Awareness-related intervention features were mixed (MAIA subscales): above-average scores were observed on the majority of features assessing the ability to notice body sensations, emotional awareness, attention regulation, self-regulation, and listening to the body for insight. In contrast, we found below average scores on a subset of items: assessing tendencies to worry about body discomfort and to feel distrustful of or unsafe in their bodies. Bringing these features together, cluster 1 can be summarized as ‘severely anxious with body/emotional awareness’.Cluster 2 (n = 21) demonstrated scores at or above average on mechanism and outcome-related features, and average scores on mindfulness-related intervention features (FFMQ). This cluster also demonstrated below average scores and lowest of all phenotypes on the majority of awareness-related intervention features (MAIA). Cluster 2 can be summarized as ‘body/emotionally unaware.’Cluster 3 (n = 29) exhibited the lowest scores of mechanism and outcome-related features, yet the highest scores on intervention-related features of all phenotypes. Cluster 3 can be summarized as ‘aware and non-reactive’.Table S2 (Supplementary Materials) displays the result of the ANOVAs for each questionnaire item as well as items’ z-scores averages and SDs for each cluster. Cluster composition is more fully described in the Supplementary Materials section.