Examination of the convergent validity of looming vulnerability in the anxiety disorders

► The looming vulnerability model proposes that anxiety disorder patients generate dynamic mental scenarios of threats as rapidly rising in risk. ► The present study assessed disorder-specific looming content in a treatment-seeking sample of 172 individuals with DSM-IV anxiety disorders. ► We examined disorder-specific content in social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. ► We found that social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder were each associated with disorder-specific looming content. ► Generalized anxiety disorder had the same level of looming social threat as social phobia.