The Roles of State and Trait Anxieties on Severity and Frequency of Asthma Attacks Among University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the roles of individual’s state and trait anxieties on the severity and frequency of asthma attacks among students of Madonna University Okija Nigeria. Fifty participants (30 males and 20 females) were used for the study. They were already diagnosed asthma patients that consented to be studied. Their mean age was 23.60 and SD age was 3.45. State –Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) developed by Spielberger (1983) was used in assessing the anxiety states, an Objective Rating Scale was used to determine the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. Multiple analysis of variance, regression analysis, chi-square and person correlation statistics was all used in data analysis. The result showed significant differences on the number of asthmatics with trait anxiety and those without. Conversely, significant interaction effect of state and trait anxiety on number of asthma attacks F(1,50)= 3.89 at p< 0.05 level of testing.