Higher Trait Anxiety Scores Research Articles

Influence of trait anxiety on inhibitory control in alcohol-dependent patients: Simultaneous acquisition of ERPs and BOLD responses

Alcohol-dependence is often associated with comorbid psychiatric symptoms. However, the results concerning the influence of these symptoms on cognitive functioning in alcoholism are still inconsistent. The aim of this study was to determine performance monitoring in healthy volunteers and alcohol-dependent patients, and to assess the influence of trait anxiety on these processes. Sixteen healthy volunteers and 16 detoxified alcohol-dependent patients completed an auditory go/nogo paradigm. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, event-related potentials and behavioral data were acquired simultaneously. The patients were classified by median split based on level of self-rated trait anxiety (state-trait anxiety inventory; STAI). The results showed no significant differences regarding inhibition-associated electrophysiological and behavioral responses between alcohol-dependent patients with high-trait anxiety scores and alcohol-addicts with low-STAI scores. However, the functional MRI data revealed elevated activations during the response inhibition task especially in the middle frontal gyrus (BA 6/9), the superior frontal gyrus (BA 6/8/9) and the right inferior frontal gyrus, as well as temporo-parietal brain regions in patients with high-trait anxiety compared to non-anxious alcohol-addicts. Patients and healthy controls showed comparable results with regard to neural and behavioral responses. These results suggest that inhibitory control capacities of alcohol-dependent patients are not consistent: alcohol-addicts with high-trait anxiety ratings showed elevated neural responses compared to patients without any comorbid psychiatric symptoms. This may indicate that comorbid psychiatric symptoms need to be considered when assessing brain responses in alcohol-dependent patients.

Risk factors for the development of PTSD and depression among child and adolescent victims following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake

Objective. PTSD and major depression occur frequently following traumatic exposure, both as separate disorders and concurrently. Although much of Turkey is under threat of severe earthquakes, risk factors for developing psychiatric disorders among Turkish children have not yet been studied. The aim of the study was to examine risk factors for PTSD and depression develpoment in children. Method. A total of 160 survivors (102 girls and 58 boys) severely impacted by Turkey's 7.4-magnitude quake participated in a psychiatric interview 6–20 weeks after the disaster. The mean age was 14.43. Logistic regression was used to test effects of pre-disaster, disaster-related and post-disaster factors on diagnoses, yielding odds ratios (OR). Results. CAPS indicated that 96 (60%) had PTSD, and psychiatric interview found 49 (31%) with depression. Children diagnosed with PTSD were more likely to have witnessed death (OR=2.47) and experienced an extreme parental reaction (OR=3.45). Children with depression were more likely to be male (OR=4.48), have a higher trait anxiety score (OR=1.12 for every additional point), sustain injury (OR=4.29), and have lost a family member in the quake (OR=10.96). Focusing on the 96 children with PTSD, those with comorbid depression were more likely male, have a higher trait anxiety score, and have lost of family member. Conclusions. Mental health professionals should offer support to children witnessing death or losing a family member in a disaster. The ability of the family to remain calm and reassuring also may be a key factor in preventing PTSD.

State Anxiety during Watchful Waiting for Urinary Lithiasis

Guidelines on many disorders recommend a variable period of watchful waiting between diagnosis and indicated action. In this study, we assessed stress during the watchful waiting period for urinary lithiasis, a benign disorder treated with minimally invasive procedures, without the pitfall of the emotional burden of a terminal or debilitating disease or fear of impending major surgery and to assess the distress caused by waiting per se. Furthermore, we attempt to identify individual patients at risk of prolonged or debilitating psychological distress. A total of 112 lithiasis patients with stones < or =5 mm completed the study. State and trait anxiety were assessed both at baseline and after the end of watchful waiting using STAI, and then they were informed of the indicated action for their case. During the 30 days of watchful waiting, patients experienced a significant increase in state anxiety scores, especially if they were male, had high state or trait anxiety scores at baseline, or if they had experienced more than one episode of colicky pain during the waiting period. Clinicians should be more flexible when they face the above group of patients, as far as the duration of watchful waiting period is concerned, because a long waiting sets those patients under significant emotional burden.

Smoking and education: Do psychosocial variables explain the relationship between education and smoking behavior?

The effect of education, depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and coping traits (approach-belief, monitoring-creating-executing, and self-regulating) were tested on smoking behavior among 574 young adult males. We hypothesized that depression, anxiety, and coping traits were mediators in the relationship between education and smoking. Univariate analyses showed a significant association between smoking behavior and depressive symptoms, higher trait anxiety score, and lower scores on approach-belief and self-regulating traits. Education was significantly associated with depressive symptoms and coping traits. Although we found significant associations between smoking and education, smoking and depression, and education and depression, the hypothesis was not supported. A similar pattern was found in the case of coping traits. A multivariate logistic regression showed that low education (OR = 4.29), severe depression (OR = 1.84), and low self-regulating coping traits (OR = 2.19) were independent risk factors for smoking. The relationship between education and smoking cannot be explained by these individual variables.

Are There Gender Differences in Pain Perception?

Chronic pain conditions are increasingly prevalent. However, very little is known about the relationship between pain and gender. The purposes of this study were to determine gender differences in pain threshold and tolerance among Chinese adults in Hong Kong and to examine the role of anxiety in pain perception. One hundred seventy-eight healthy, pain-free adults (89 men and 89 women) were recruited from a local university by convenience sampling to participate in the study. All participants completed the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and underwent a laboratory pain task to determine their pain threshold and tolerance levels. Pain was assessed by using the Pain Intensity Verbal Rating Scale-Chinese version. Compared to men, women had a lower threshold (p < .001) and tolerance (p < .001) for pressure pain, and women reported more pain (p < .01) at the pain tolerance level. Higher trait anxiety scores were associated with higher pain report in men only (r [89] = .22, p = .04). The study indicated that gender differences in pain perception exist among the Chinese population in Hong Kong. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to gender differences in pain perception could reduce gender bias in pain management.

Depression and anxiety in coronary artery bypass grafting patients

Purpose. – Heart surgery is a factor triggering off specific emotional and physiological responses of a patient. In spite of positive somatic effects of surgery, depression and anxiety can persist or appear for the first time after the operation worsening the patient’s psychosocial functioning and quality of life. The aim of this study is to offer a prospective view on the incidence and course of self-reported depression and anxiety in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients. Subject and methods. – After informed consent, 53 patients who submitted to CABG were examined a few days before and after the operation and 3 months after CABG. They completed the Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory. Results. – Approximately 55% of the patients had high a level of anxiety preoperatively. Shortly after the surgery, 34% of patients and after 3 months 32% of them had clinically relevant level of anxiety. Thirty-two percent of patients before the surgery, 28% immediately after CABG and 26% at follow-up were depressed. Conclusions. – High preoperative depression, state and trait anxiety scores appear to be predictors of postoperative psychological outcome. Preoperative assessment can identify patients at risk for clinical levels of postoperative anxiety and depression. Psychological preventive counseling and psychiatric intervention can reduce patients’ emotional distress, medical and economic costs.

The relationship of stress and anxiety with chronic periodontitis.

This case-control study investigates the relationship of stress and anxiety with periodontal clinical characteristics. Seventy-nine selected patients (mean age 46.8+/-8 years) were assigned to three groups in accordance with their levels of probing pocket depth (PPD): control group (PPD< or =3 mm, n=22), test group 1 (at least four sites with PPD > or =4 mm and < or =6 mm, n=27) and test group 2 (at least four sites with PPD >6 mm, n=30). An inclusion criterion of the study required that patients presented a plaque index (PI) with a value equal to or larger than 2 in at least 50% of dental surfaces. All subjects were submitted to stress and anxiety evaluations. Stress was measured by the Stress Symptom Inventory (SSI) and the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), while the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to assess anxiety. Clinical measures such as PI, gingival index (GI), PPD and clinical attachment level (CAL) were collected. Patient's medical history and socioeconomic data were also recorded. The mean clinical measures (PI, GI, PPD and CAL) obtained for the three groups, were: control group, 1.56+/-0.32, 0.68+/-0.49, 1.72+/-0.54 and 2.04+/-0.64 mm; group 1, 1.56+/-0.39, 1.13+/-0.58, 2.67+/-0.67 and 3.10+/-0.76 mm, group 2, 1.65+/-0.37, 1.54+/-0.46, 4.14+/-1.23 and 5.01+/-1.60 mm. The three groups did not differ with respect to percentage of clinical stress, scores of the SRRS, trait and state anxiety. Frequency of moderate CAL (4-6 mm) and moderate PPD (4-6 mm) were found to be significantly associated with higher trait anxiety scores after adjusting for socioeconomic data and cigarette consumption (p<0.05). Based on the obtained results, individuals with high levels of trait anxiety appeared to be more prone to periodontal disease.

Maternal anxiety in late pregnancy: effect on fetal movements and fetal heart rate

To determine whether maternal state and trait anxiety levels affect fetal movements or fetal heart rate (FHR) in the third trimester. Forty-one healthy pregnant nulliparous women not on medication and with a singleton pregnancy. Maternal anxiety was assessed using the Spielberger State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y) at 36 gestational weeks. The fetuses of the women were examined at 37-40 gestational weeks with ultrasound observation of fetal movements and cardiotocography (CTG). The results of the fetal examinations were compared between women with low and high anxiety scores (low scores being defined as scores below the median and high scores as scores equal to or above the median of the study population), and correlation analyses between anxiety scores and the outcome variables were performed. The presence and duration (expressed as a percentage of the total examination time) of FHR patterns A, B, C, and D, the percentage duration of fetal movements in each FHR pattern, baseline FHR and FHR variability in each FHR pattern. The presence of FHR patterns A, B, C, and D, the duration of FHR patterns A, B, and C, FHR variability in FHR patterns A, B, and C, baseline FHR and the percentage duration of fetal movements in each FHR pattern did not differ between women with low and high state and trait anxiety scores. In fetuses with FHR pattern D, the duration of FHR pattern D increased with increasing maternal trait anxiety scores, (rho=0.88; p=0.008), and FHR variability in FHR pattern D increased with maternal state and trait anxiety scores (r=0.86, p=0.01; r=0.96, p=0.001). Maternal anxiety does not seem to affect fetal movements or baseline FHR in late pregnancy, but there is a possible association between maternal anxiety and the duration of FHR pattern D and FHR variability in FHR pattern D.

Predictors of mental distress in early adulthood: a five-year follow-up of 709 high-school students

Mental health risk factors in adolescence were examined as predictors of mental distress in early adulthood. A cohort of 709 Finnish adolescents was studied in 1990 (mean age 16.8) and in 1995. Trait anxiety, defence styles, life events, self-esteem and somatic symptoms were evaluated as predictors of high scores in the General Health Questionnaire in adulthood. Females (36%) were more likely to be distressed than males (23%). High trait anxiety and somatic symptom scores among adolescent females, and high immature defence style scores among males predicted mental distress. Males with low trait anxiety in adolescence had less distress. The results indicate trait anxiety as an important predictor of mental distress. Gender differences in other predictors suggest gender differences in coping.

Selective attention to unmasked and masked threatening words: relationships to trait anger and anxiety

Abstract In two experiments, unmasked and masked versions of emotional Stroop tasks were used to investigate the relationships between trait anger, trait anxiety and selective attention to threatening words. For the masked tasks individual neutral-emotional recognition thresholds were determined. In Experiment 1, participants were selected on low and high trait anger scores. Results showed a significant interaction between GROUP (low vs. high anger) and WORD-TYPE (neutral vs. threat) in the unmasked task exclusively, due to interference in the high trait anger group and facilitation in the low trait anger group. In Experiment 2, participants were selected on low and high trait anxiety scores. Here, a significant GROUP×WORD-TYPE interaction was restricted to the masked task, with the high trait anxiety group showing an attentional bias for threatening words. Theoretical and methodological issues are discussed.

Maternal anxiety in late pregnancy and fetal hemodynamics

The aim of this study was to investigate if fetal circulation is affected by maternal anxiety, 37 nulliparous women were studied prospectively in the third trimester of pregnancy, with self-rate tests of anxiety (STAI). Doppler ultrasound examination of the umbilical artery and fetal middle cerebral artery was performed at 37–40 gestational weeks. The pulsatility index (PI) was calculated and corrected for heart rate. The women were divided into groups of increasing levels of anxiety. The fetuses of women with high trait anxiety scores had significantly higher PI values in the umbilical artery ( p = 0.0056), significantly lower PI values in the fetal middle cerebral artery ( p = 0.0029) and significantly lower cerebro-umbilical PI ratios ( p = 0.0002), suggesting a change in blood distribution in favor of brain circulation in the fetuses. Maternal weight, weight-increase, height, age, marital status, smoking habits, drinking habits and socioeconomic factors known to affect fetal well-being did not interfere with these findings. No significant differences in birth-weight, length and head circumference were found between infants born to mothers with higher trait anxiety levels compared to mothers with lower trait anxiety levels. Our results suggest that maternal stress, in terms of trait anxiety, influences fetal cerebral circulation.

Maternal Anxiety During Pregnancy

Groome, Lynn J.; Swiber, Matthew J.; Bentz, Lynn S.; Holland, Scherri B.; Atterbury, Jana L.Author Information

Maternal Anxiety During Pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between fetal behavior and maternal anxiety during pregnancy. The study population consisted of 18 uncomplicated human pregnancies at 38 to 40 weeks gestation. Maternal anxiety was assessed one time using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. After an overnight fast, each mother was given a standard meal on arrival to the fetal testing unit. Each fetus was examined for 4 hours using heart rate monitoring and real-time sonography. Fetal behavioral states were assigned based on heart rate pattern and the presence or absence of eye and gross body movements. We found that, compared with fetuses of mothers with low trait anxiety scores, fetuses of mothers with relatively high trait anxiety scores spent significantly more time in quiet sleep and exhibited less gross body movement when in active sleep. The results of this pilot study raise the possibility that maternal anxiety during pregnancy may have a significant effect on fetal behavior.

A new inventory to assess childhood social anxiety and phobia: The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children.

The development, reliability, and validity of a new instrument, the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), is described. The results indicate that the SPAI-C has high test-retest reliability and internal consistency. In addition, an assessment of concurrent and external validity indicates statistically significant correlations with commonly used self-report measures of general anxiety and fears and parental reports of children's anxiety and social competence. The results of a factor analysis indicate that the scale consists of three factors: Assertiveness/ General Conversation, Traditional Social Encounters, and Public Performance. Finally, scores on the SPAI-C successfully differentiate socially anxious and non-socially-anxious children. The instrument appears to be a reliable and valid measure for childhood social anxiety and fear and may prove useful for improving clinical assessment and documenting treatment outcome. Social phobia is a marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Among children, epidemiological data suggest that the prevalence rate is between 1% and 2% (Anderson, Williams, McGee, & Silva, 1987; Kashani & Orvaschel, 1990). On the basis of adult retrospective reports, the average age of onset is midadolescenc e. Among child and adolescent samples, Strauss and Last (1993) reported a mean age of onset of 12.3 years, and children as young as 8 years of age have been diagnosed with this disorder (Beidel & Turner, 1988). Therefore, although some individuals will not develop social phobia until midadolescence or later, many younger children suffer from the condition. During the past decade, understanding of the clinical manifestations of social phobia in adult populations has increased dramatically. However, empirical data on the course and treatment of social phobia in children are limited. In one of the few extant studies, Beidel (1991) reported that children with social phobia had higher trait anxiety scores, had significantly poorer perceptions of their cognitive and academic abilities, and reported significantly more anxiety when taking an age-appropriate vocabulary test or reading aloud in front of a small audience. In addition to its clinical correlates, the detrimental effects of childhood social phobia are beginning to emerge. For example, some school refusers do so because of social fears (Last, Hersen, Kazdin, Orvaschel, & Perrin, 1991). Clark (1993) re

Epilepsy and anxiety

We have analyzed 155 subjects with STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory): 75 epileptic patients and 80 normal subjects used as a control group. A higher trait-anxiety score (chronic anxiety) than that of controls was found for the epileptic group. For the epileptic group higher levels of the A-trait occurred in patients with EEG abnormalities with left temporal localization. We have also observed that the shorter the epilepsy lasts (less than two years), the higher the trait-anxiety levels. Convulsions and awareness loss during epileptic seizures do not modify state and trait-anxiety scores.

Anxiety and medical diagnostic procedures: Results with patients “at risk” for huntington's disease undergoing pet scan

Abstract Twenty-nine patients genetically at risk for Huntington's Disease and 64 volunteer controls underwent positron emission tomography (PET) scanning of ″FDG metabolism. These persons were also evaluated for anxiety immediately before and after the PET-Scan procedure with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The State anxiety measures for the at-risk patients were significantly higher than were those for the volunteers both before and after the scan, although the effect was no longer significant when age was included as a covariate. For both groups, subjects having higher Trait anxiety scores also had significantly higher State anxiety measures. Females were significantly higher than males on State anxiety, although this effect may be derived from less of a willingness on the part of males to report emotional apprehension or fear. Furthermore, subjects' State anxiety decreased significantly once the PET procedure was finished. Individual differences on factors such as those noted above should be...

Personality and anxiety in temporomandibular joint syndrome patients

Much research has suggested that anxiety is involved in the temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), but it is not clear whether it is a cause or a consequence of the disorder. The present study attempts to resolve this issue. Thirty-two patients suffering from temporomandibular joint syndrome and 32 sex- and age-matched dental clinic controls completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and a standardized inventory of bodily symptomatology. TMJ patients scored significantly higher on Eysenck's neuroticism and introversion scales (both P less than 0.05) and had higher trait anxiety scores (P less than 0.005) when compared with controls. These results suggest that TMJ patients have personalities that are vulnerable to life stresses, but that they are not more anxious than controls at any given time. Such a personality profile is similar to that found in other 'functional' syndrome patient groups, such as individuals with globus pharyngis. We suggest that certain stress prone personalities express anxiety in the form of a predictable set of physical syndromes which may be subject to changes with time.

Geophysical Variables and Behavior: LX. Lonquimay and Alhué, Chile: Tension from Volcanic and Earthquake Hazard

This study assesses the effect of trait anxiety scores on subjects' responses to volcanic eruption hazard and earthquake hazard in Lonquimay and Alhué, respectively. Lonquimay is located in the southern Chilean Andes and Alhué is located in central Chile in the Coastal Range. The former was afflicted by a volcanic eruption which commenced on Christmas Day 1988 and the latter by an earthquake on March 3, 1985. Expectations of high damage and fear from a radio hazard prediction were associated with high trait-anxiety scores in the Alhué sample while positive adjustments to extenuate the hazard effect reached significance for the Lonquimay sample.

The effects of experimentally provided social support on stress buffering and task performance

This study examined the effects of experimentally provided social support on stress reactions and task performance in alone and co-acting problem solving situations. The reconstructed social support questionnaire and trait anxiety scale were administered to 264 female junior college students. Fifty-four of them, with low assessed social support scores and high trait anxiety scores, were selected as subjects. A2 (support: provided vs. not-provided) ×2 (task situation: alone vs. co-acting) factorial design was used. Dependent variables were physical state anxiety (pulse rate), cognitive state anxiety and cognitive interference as stress reactions, and correct word puzzle solutions.Though neither main effects of the two factors nor their interaction were significant for any dependent variables, re-analysis of perceived social support based on subjects' impression ratings to the experimenter who offered support suggested that perceived support might reduce cognitive state anxiety and facilitate task performance, while provided support might increase cognitive interference. These findings and suggestions were discussed from the viewpoint of support exchanges between provider and recipient.

The effect of school entrance age on academic achievement and social-emotional adjustment of children: Follow-up study of fourth graders

One hundred and thirty-seven fourth-grade pupils participated in a follow-up study of the effect of school-entrance age on academic achievement and social-emotional functioning. The sample included 73 oldest pupils, born in the months of January to March, and 64 youngest pupils, born in October to December of the same calendar year. Results indicated that differences between the two groups in academic and social-emotional measures, found when the subjects were in first grade, persisted in part to the fourth grade. The youngest subjects continued to score lowest in mathematics and in oral and silent reading comprehension; they were slower readers; and they had higher trait anxiety scores. In addition, the differences between the groups in oral and silent reading comprehension performance were found to increase over the years.