Project Director

Teaford, Max

Department Examiner

Howell, Ashley

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Previous research indicates that vestibular dysfunction is associated with symptoms of anxiety, panic, and dissociation. The present study will investigate anxiety, panic, and dissociation symptoms and identify the connections between reported symptom severity and vestibular functionality. This study will focus on three different hypotheses: 1) higher levels of dissociation will correlate with increased vestibular disruption; 2) higher levels of anxiety will correlate with increased vestibular disruption; 3) higher levels of panic will correlate with increased vestibular disruption. Six virtually administered self-report measurements were used to identify the variables: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Depersonalization Derealization Inventory (DDI), Dissociation Experiences Scale-II (DES-II), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Severity Measure for Panic Disorder (SMPD), and Vestibular Activities and Participation measure (VAP). The results of this study reported that the three hypotheses were supported by the data, and higher levels of dissociation, anxiety, and panic symptoms had a positive relationship with vestibular disruption.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my thesis director, Dr. Max Teaford, for his guidance and dedication that motivated me to push for this project. His studies in the vestibular system brought out my interest in pursuing this research, and I would not have been able to collect the questionnaires and analyze the data without him. I would also like to thank Dr. Ashley Howell for her time as a committee member and for influencing the course of the project. Her work in anxiety-related disorders brought me intrigue to studying anxiety and panic symptoms alongside dissociative symptoms. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family who read, supported, and encouraged me to move forward with my project.

IRB Number

IRB#: 25-203

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

5-2026

Subject

Anxiety; Vestibular apparatus--Diseases; Dissociation (Psychology)

Keyword

dissociation; depersonalization; derealization; vestibular; panic; anxiety

Discipline

Somatic Psychology

Document Type

Theses

Extent

ii, 27 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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