State And Trait Anxiety Inventory Research Articles

Evaluation of anxiety and hopelessness levels in emergency service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

Background/Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant threat to the lives of individuals, particularly frontline healthcare workers. This brought about negative emotions, such as anxiety and hopelessness. Despite the existence of research evaluating psychiatric symptoms among healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study is also significant in terms of evaluating and emphasizing the common negative emotions experienced by frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate anxiety and hopelessness levels in emergency service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine these levels in terms of specific variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among emergency service healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and healthcare officers working in a training and research hospital from July 10 to August 10, 2020 during the pandemic. Participants completed a survey that included a sociodemographic information form, the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). A total of 135 personnel without a history of psychiatric illness or use of psychiatric medication were included in the study. Results: Of the 135 participants in the study, 67 were female, and 68 were male. The mean state anxiety score for all participants was 44.5 (12.6), trait anxiety score was 44.2 (7.3) and hopelessness score was 7.1 (5.2). It was found that the anxiety of emergency service workers during the pandemic was at a moderate level and their hopelessness was at a mild level. In the study, higher scores were found in hopelessness and state-trait anxiety measurements in married individuals compared to single participants (P=0.040, P=0.003, P=0.001, respectively). Trait anxiety scores were significantly higher among those with chronic diseases compared to those without chronic diseases, and in those living with families compared to those living alone (P=0.039 and P=0.017, respectively). A positive and moderate relationship was observed between hopelessness levels and state-trait anxiety levels (P<0.001 for all, r=0.457, r=0.425, respectively). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, increased levels of anxiety and hopelessness were detected among healthcare workers in emergency services. It was observed that as the working time in the emergency department increased, hopelessness and state anxiety levels of the employees also increased.

Sleep duration has a limited impact on the prevalence of menstrual irregularities in athletes: a cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of menstrual irregularities, energy intake, and sleep deprivation among female athletes. A total of 128 female athletes, with an average age of 19.2 ± 1.2 years, participated in the study and tracked their food intake over a three-day period. Menstrual status and sleep duration were assessed using a questionnaire, and psychological anxiety was evaluated using the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). These were measured once during the investigation. The impact of sleep status on state anxiety and daily energy intake was examined using the T-test. A generalized linear model (GLM) with a log link function was employed to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation on the presence of menstrual irregularities. As the results of the present study, sleep deprivation significant increased both state and trait anxiety (p < 0.05), as well as affecting energy intake (p < 0.05), particularly protein and carbohydrate intakes (p < 0.05). However, GLM analysis indicated that while sleep deprivation did not directly influence the prevalence of menstrual irregularities (p > 0.05), state anxiety emerged as a significant factor impacting the prevalence of menstrual irregularities (p < 0.05). The results of the present study suggest a potential pathway wherein sleep deprivation might elevate state anxiety levels, consequently indirectly contributing to an increase the probability of menstrual irregularities. In conclusion, the results of the presents study provide novels insights suggesting that sleep deprivation might directly increase state anxiety and indirectly affect the prevalence of menstrual irregularities. Hence, decreased sleep duration might be related to mental health issues and the prevalence of menstrual irregularities both significant concerns among female athletes. Future studies will play a crucial role in further elucidating how sleep patterns impact the health and well-being of female athletes.

Life quality, depression, and anxiety levels in parents of children with primary immunodeficiency.

Primary immune deficiencies (PID) encompasses genetic disorders that result in recurrent infections and immune dysregulation, often increasing the risk of malignancies. The aim of this study is to determine the quality of life, depression, and anxiety in parents of children with PID. Various validated assessment tools, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36), and a demographic form, were employed to gather data from 85 parents of 64 PID patients and 85 parents of 75 healthy children. The findings reveal that parents of PID patients exhibited higher BDI, STAI-S, STAI-T, and fatigue subdomain of SF-36 (p = .013, p = .013, p = .027, p = .000). Both parents had lower energy levels than the normal population, but mothers experienced higher levels of anxiety and depression. PID mothers' had higher scores than fathers of PID patients with healthy children in BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p = .002, p = .010, p = .001). Mothers of PID patients reported lower scores in RLEP, E/F, EWB, P, and GH compared to fathers (p = .009, p = .005, p = .034, p = .001, p = .003). Additionally, the study found that STAI-T influenced all subdimensions of HRQOL. These results highlight the substantial emotional and psychological burden placed on parents caring for children with PID. The study underscores the importance of supporting caregivers to enhance the overall well-being of both parents and children with PID. Such support can potentially alleviate depression and anxiety levels among parents, ultimately improving their quality of life and aiding in the management of children with PID.

Stress and anxiety levels and factors affecting coping mechanisms in patients hospitalised with COVID-19

Introduction and objective: The purpose of the present study was to assess stress and anxiety levels during hospitalisation due to COVID-19 and the relationship between them and personality traits, and coping strategies among women and men, and assessment of stress predictors. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in a reference single-name hospital in Warsaw. The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), the BRIEF-COPE Questionnaire, the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI-PL) were used. Results: The study involved 60 patients (30 women and 30 men) aged 24 to 82 years (M = 52.42, standard deviation, SD = 12.94). Elevated stress levels were found in half of the subjects studied; state anxiety levels were increased in 70% of the participants, and trait anxiety in 77% of them. Compared to men, women had significantly higher levels of state anxiety, and lower levels of openness to new experiences. It was shown that reducing stress levels during hospitalisation depends on the use of either an Active Coping strategy or an avoidance of the Helplessness strategy, with the level of state anxiety being the moderator in both models. Conclusions: Half of the patients hospitalised with COVID-19 did not experience elevated stress levels; women felt state anxiety more intensely as a condition during their hospital stay than men, and 40% of the subjects had an increased level of trait anxiety. For lower stress levels and/or state anxiety, adaptive coping strategies and personality traits were crucial: conscientiousness and agreeableness for women, and openness to experiences and agreeableness for men.

The level of depression, anxiety and job satisfaction among young Contact Centre employees during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim of the studyThe aim of the study is to determined the relationships between symptoms of depression,and the levels of stress,anxiety and job satisfaction among ContactCentre employees and internal employees.The study also examines whether the place of work(remote work vs.office work)differentiates these participants regarding experienced anxiety, depression symptoms,job satisfaction.Subject or material and methodsThe study was conducted from October2021 to March2022.It included a total of 61 people aged between 18-45,employed at a Polish bank. Mental state and job satisfaction were assessed using the Job Satisfaction Scale(SSP),PerceivedStressScale(PSS-10),State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and BeckDepressionInventor(BDI).ResultsNo statistically significant differences in the intensity of perceived stress or symptoms of depression and anxiety were found between the Internal and Contact Centre employees;however, poorer mental functioning was noted in the latter group.The level of job satisfaction in the studied groups significantly correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms(R=-0.427;p&lt;0.001),intensity of perceived stress(R=-0.484,p&lt;0.001),level of anxiety as a state(R=-0.468;p&lt;0.001) and as a trait(R=-0.423,p&lt;0.001).DiscussionPeople working in the home office mode obtained significantly higher scores for experienced stress, state and trait anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to people working in the hybrid mode, and significantly higher scores in terms of state anxiety than office workers.Conclusions1.Contact Centre employees did not differ from internal employees in terms of experienced levels of stress or symptoms of depression and anxiety.2.Working from home can increase the level of perceived stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety among employees.3.More severe depressive and anxiety symptoms and greater perceived stress are associated with a lower perceived level of job satisfaction among young adults.

Daytime impulsiveness, attention, and learning in the restless legs syndrome.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor condition characterized by disturbing sensations and the desire to move, often localized in the legs. Cognitive changes and impulsivity can be present in RLS, although the potential effect of commonly co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) or dopamine agonist (DA) use on these are unclear. Twenty-three RLS patients and 22 healthy controls were included. Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Continuous Performance Test (CPT), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Adult Attention Deficit Self-Evaluation Scale (ASRS) were administered. Performance was compared between RLS patients and controls accounting for the presence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and DA use. Age, education, BDI, ESS, STAI, and ASRS scores were similar for control and RLS groups. Control and RLS groups performed similarly on auditory verbal learning and general attention tests. In the CPT, commission error was significantly higher and response time was significantly shorter in the RLS group compared to controls (p = .014 and p = .010, respectively). These significant differences persisted after adjusting for ADHD and DA usage. In this study, RLS patients were more impulsive than the healthy individuals independent of ADHD and DA use. However, learning and attention performances of the patients are not affected.

Psychometric Properties of the Polish Version of the Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2).

The main aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Sports Anxiety scale-2 (SAS-2). The study covered 396 athletes, ages ranging from 18 years to 35 years. The task and ego orientation in sport questionnaire (TEOSQ) and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used for validation of the scale. Cronbach's alpha for the somatic anxiety subscale was 0.88, for the worry subscale was 0.95, and for the concentration disruption was 0.86, respectively. The three-factor model and hierarchical model fits perfectly as CFI > 0.95, TLI > 0.95, and RMSEA < 0.08. Satisfactory results in measurement invariance show the use of the tool for any gender or athlete (high-performance, recreational) group. The internal consistency (α = 0.86-0.95) and the test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87-0.90) were satisfactory. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between task orientation and total anxiety along with its three subscales, and a weak positive correlation between ego orientation and worry subscale. Meanwhile, a weak to moderate positive correlation was exhibited between total anxiety and its subscales with the STAI-T and STAI-S. Additionally, female, recreational, and female recreational athletes' groups had weak negative associations between worry and concentration disruption trait anxiety and task orientation, and a weak positive association between somatic anxiety and ego orientation.

Fetal echocardiography: Is an anxiety and stress factor for mother and fetus?

Purpose: There are conflicting data about the effects of fetal echocardiography (fECHO) on the psychiatric symptoms of the mother and cardiac evaluation of the fetus. &#x0D; Methods: This study included 119 pregnant women who evaluated using fECHO as the study group and 65 healthy pregnant women who evaluated using ultrasonography for routine screening as the control group. All participants filled out State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) before assessment. &#x0D; Results: Mitral flow velocity, Tricuspid flow velocity, Aorta flow velocity (AFV), Pulmonary artery flow velocity, Fetal heart rate (FHR) was evaluated by fECHO. STAI-S, STAI-T and PSS scores of women who evaluated by using fECHO were higher than the control group. In fECHO group, AFV values of pregnant women with high STAI-S scores were higher than those with low STAI-S scores. FHR was higher in pregnant women with low STAI-T scores compared to pregnant women with high STAI-T scores. Correlation analyses showed that STAI-S scores and AFV values and number of pregnancies were positively correlated. FHR was found to be negatively correlated with STAI-S, STAI-T and PSS scores. &#x0D; Conclusion: fECHO can cause anxiety and stress in pregnant women and may have negative effects on fetal cardiac evaluation.

The Effect of Video Streaming With Virtual Reality on Anxiety and Pain During Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy Procedure

BackgroundPain and anxiety are among the most common symptoms in patients undergoing invasive procedures. Increased pain levels tend to worsen anxiety, and anxiety often leads to more frequent or severe pain. AimsThe study was conducted to determine the efficacy of virtual reality goggles (VRG) on pain and anxiety during bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (BMAB) procedure. DesignA randomized controlled experimental study. SettingsThe outpatient unit of an adult hematology clinic of a tertiary care university hospital. Participants/SubjectsThe study was conducted in patients aged 18 years and older who underwent a BMAB procedure. Thirty-five patients in the experimental (VRG) group and 40 patients in the control group. MethodsPatient identification form, visual analogue scale (VAS), state and trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and VRG were used to collect the data. ResultsPostprocedural state anxiety mean scores were found to be statistically significantly higher in the control group than in the VRG group (p = .022). A statistically significant difference was found between groups in terms of procedure-related pain (p = .002). The postprocedural mean pain scores were found to be statistically significantly higher in the control group than in the VRG group (p < .001). A statistically significant but moderate positive correlation was found between the postprocedural pain and preprocedural state anxiety variable (r = 0.477). A statistically significant and strong positive correlation was found between the postprocedural pain and the postprocedural state anxiety variable (r = 0.657). A statistically significant but moderate positive relationship was found between preprocedural and postprocedural state anxiety variables (r = 0.519). ConclusionsWe determined that video streaming with VRG reduces pain and anxiety felt by adult patients during the BMAB procedure. VRG can be recommended to use in controlling pain and anxiety in patients undergoing a BMAB procedure.

Depressive and anxiety symptoms, and neural correlates of reward and punishment anticipation in female athletes with amenorrhea.

Studies in estrogen deficiency states such as primary ovarian insufficiency and Turner syndrome suggest that estrogen status may be an important modulator of mood and emotions. In this study we compared depressive and anxiety symptoms between adolescent and young adult female oligo-amenorrheic athletes (AA) and eumenorrheic females (EM), and explored structural, and functional changes in related brain areas during reward processing, a behavioral construct that is altered in depression and anxiety. We included (i) 24 AA participating in ≥4 hours/week of aerobic exercise or running ≥20 miles/week for ≥6 months in the preceding year, with lack of menstrual cycles for ≥3 months within at least 6 preceding months of oligo-amenorrhea, OR in premenarchal girls, absence of menses at >15 years), and (ii) 27 EM aged 14-25 years. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire (MASQ). Structural MRI and brain activation during a functional MRI (fMRI) task that probes reward and punishment processing was examined in a subset of 10 AA and 23 EM. Median (IQR) age and BMI of AA and EM groups were 20.6 (19.0-22.6) vs. 20.6 (19.2-23.7) years, p=0.6 and v 20.3 (18.8-21.5) vs. 21.9 (19.6-23.5) kg/m2, p=0.005, respectively. While groups did not differ for BDI-II scores, AA had higher anhedonic depression MASQ scores (p=0.04), and STAI (p=0.03) scores vs. EM. In the fMRI subset, AA had higher caudate volumes vs. EM [F(1, 29)=9.930, p=0.004]. Lower activation observed in the right caudate during reward anticipation in AA compared with EM (p=0.036) suggests blunted reward processing in the striatum in estrogen deficient states. Athletes with amenorrhea had higher depressive and anxiety symptomatology compared to eumenorrheic young women. Exploratory analyses demonstrated increased caudate volumes and decreased caudate activation during reward processing in athletes with amenorrhea suggesting that estrogen may play a role in reward processing.

The impact of the second COVID-19 lockdown on anxiety and depressive symptoms in pregnant women: A case study of pregnant women in northern Italy

Backgroundthe different lockdown phases due to COVID-19 may have negatively impacted pregnant women's mental health. Concerning antenatal stress, most studies focused more on the effect of pandemic onset than on the impact of the following phases and restrictions. Aimthe present study aimed to assess levels of anxiety and depression in a group of Italian pregnant women during the second COVID-19 phase and possible risk factors. MethodWe recruited 156 pregnant women through our Perinatal Psychology Outpatient Clinic. We divided the sample into women recruited before the pandemic (N = 88) through a face-to-face antenatal class and pregnant women recruited during the second lockdown (Covid-19 study group) (November 2020–April 2021) through the same antenatal class via Skype (N = 68). To investigate depressive and anxiety symptoms, we administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) scales; women's medical history and obstetric data were collected. Findingswomen belonging to the Covid-19 study group reported higher depressive and anxious levels than the pre-pandemic group. Moreover, during the second lockdown previous psychopathology and being close to childbirth were related to increased depression; a history of abortion was related to higher levels of trait anxiety instead. Conclusionrecurrent restrictive measures due to COVID-19 negatively affected the antenatal mental well-being of pregnant women, particularly worsening depressive and anxious feelings. Pregnant women during the pandemic represented a vulnerable population to be monitored more closely and timely to prevent psychological problems in the postpartum period and their consequences on the child. Keywordsanxiety, depression, pregnancy, COVID-19, mental health, lockdown.

An Unguided Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program for Test Anxiety

Test anxiety, a particular manifestation of performance anxiety similar to sports anxiety or the anxiety experienced during public speaking, is characterized by emotional, behavioral, and physiological responses that lead to diminished performance and academic attainment. The primary objective of this paper is to scrutinize the effectiveness of the "No More Test Anxiety" program, an Unguided Computerized Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) for Test Anxiety, an intervention not yet implemented in Turkey. The study was conducted in two phases: a pilot study and the main study. The pilot study examined the accessibility and feasibility of the program with 11 participants, while the main study evaluated the efficacy of the program with 34 participants using a pre-test post-test control group design. Participants were assigned to groups via convenience sampling, and the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used for analysis. The results demonstrated significant reductions in TAI, STAI-State, and STAI-Trait scores in the treatment group at the end of the intervention (respectively, p &lt; 0.001). Power analysis revealed that the study achieved sufficient power to detect these effects, and effect size calculations highlighted the clinical significance of the findings. The unguided cCBT program for test anxiety was determined to be both feasible and effective, offering insights into the innovative and evolving field of digital psychotherapy

Physical and mental health at high altitude of individuals doing yogic practices.

There is an increase trend in the past few years, in the number of people traveling to high altitude for recreational activities such as pilgrims, mountaineering, and climbing and for occupational purposes such as defense and mining which have resulted in increasing in hypoxia conditions and anxiety-related medical problems at high altitude. As it is known that mental stress affects brain and heart functions, a recent research performed on Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) further validated the effectiveness of SKY on participants (practicing SKY) as compared to control after quantifying mental stress. To study the physiological effect of SKY advance breathing technique when immediately ascends to high altitude, we wanted to study the level of stress and mental well-being of lowlanders at high altitude. It is an interventional study performed at high altitudes, with low landers as participants where their biochemical and psychological parameters are being assessed. The result for biochemical parameter cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), very low-density lipoproteins, LDL-HDL ratio, and cholesterol-HDL ratio showed a significant decrease in the pre- and post-analyses values with P ≤ 0.001. Acute mountain sickness (AMS), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) also show a decreasing trend with significant result in AMS, mental well-being, and non-significant in STAI p value is P = 0.016, P = 0.055, and P = 0.125, respectively. We observed positive outcome both in for biochemical and stress-related parameters with SKY advance program practitioners who have rapidly ascend to high altitude.

Psychological Profile in Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain.

(1) Background: Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) is a prevalent medical condition with a complex treatment due to different variables that influence its clinical course. (2) Methods: Psychological variables such as depression, anxiety, catastrophizing or neuroticism have been described as influencing CPP. This is a cross-sectional study of 63 patients with CPP sent for a psychological evaluation due to participation in group therapy for CPP. The main purpose of this study was to characterize the baseline psychological characteristics of women with CPP. The NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ) were performed. (3) Results: The personality profile of patients (NEO FFI) shows high neuroticism, low extraversion and low conscientiousness. The 25.4% of patients had moderate or severe depression according to BDI-FS results, almost half of the patients had high levels of anxiety trait (>P75, 49.2%) and more than half the patients had high levels of anxiety state (>P75, 59.5%). Punctuations of PCS and CPAQ are similar to patients with fibromyalgia. (4) Conclusions: CPP is associated with high levels of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, catastrophizing and low pain acceptance. It is important to develop interventions that can modify these psychological factors in order to improve the clinical course of CPP.

Hubungan Antara Efikasi Diri Dan Kecemasan Pada Mahasiswa Yang Sedang Mengerjakan Skripsi

Undergraduate thesis is one of the requirements for students to obtain an academic degree. To complete the task, the student must believe in their ability to achieve certain goals which is known as self-efficacy. The study’s objective was to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and anxiety in college students who are working on their undergraduate thesis. The sample in this study was 218 students of the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, chosen with the accidental sampling technique. Data were collected using an online questionnaire in the form of a Google Form. Self-efficacy was measured using the modified General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) from Schwarzer &amp; Jerusalem (1993, 2010) and anxiety was measured using the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) form YI anxiety scale modified from Spielberger (1989) and Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, &amp; Jacobs (1983). Researchers then used Spearman's correlation technique to analyze the data. There was a negative correlation between self-efficacy and anxiety among college students working on their undergraduate theses (r = -0.223, p&lt;0.05). The study concluded that it is necessary to support improvement in self-efficacy in undergraduate students.

Validation of the Numerical Anxiety Rating Scale in postpartum females: a prospective observational study.

Perinatal anxiety is important for the quality of life of mothers and their offspring. The Numerical Anxiety Rating Scale (NRS-A) allows the level of anxiety in patients to be quickly assessed. Until now, the NRS-A has not been validated in the postpartum female population. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and reliability of the NRS-A when compared with the reference methods for measuring anxiety. The observational prospective study included a group of 200 adult postpartum females of a hospital maternity ward. The validity between the Numerical Rating Scale for Anxiety (NRS-A) and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and between the NRS-A and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A), was determined. The detection thresholds for high anxiety were examined. Both measurements showed a positive high correlation between the NRS and STAI-S (in T1 rho = 0.807, in T2 rho = 0.778; p < 0.001), and a comparable relationship of both scales (STAI-S and NRS-A) with the STAI-T and HADS-A. The analysis of the ROC curve indicated that the value of the NRS-A equal to 3.5/10 can be considered the threshold that allows for a differentiation of patients with high anxiety from those without high anxiety in the studied population. The NRS-A is an accurate tool for measuring anxiety in Polish postpartum females. Routine anxiety measurements using the NRS-A can be used to identify people with high anxiety in order to provide emotional support to patients in the early postpartum period.

Anxiety, Stress Coping Styles and Hope for Success among Graduate Students and High School Graduates during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role of Remote Learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the area of education, in terms of both teaching and learning effectiveness. The aim of the study was to compare groups of high school graduates and graduate students. The Coping Inventory in Stressful Situations (CISS), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Hope for Success Questionnaire (KNS), and our own questionnaire were used in the study. The results of the research show that the group of high school graduates, compared to the graduate students, was characterized by a higher level of anxiety, a style focused on emotions and a lower level of hope for success. People who passed the exam in the online form were characterized by a higher level of anxiety compared to the respondents who passed the exam in the stationary form. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that the styles of coping and the level of hope for success may be both protective and risk factors related to the level of anxiety during distance learning.

Reproduced correlations between integrity of white matter tracts and self-reported anxiety

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows us to evaluate the structural properties of white matter tracts which are associated with trait anxiety. However, in recent DTI studies of anxiety, research was focused mainly on selected white matter tracts, e.g. the uncinate fasciculus. At the same time, whole-brain structural connectivity has been rarely investigated in non-clinical populations. The present study aimed to explore correlations between white matter tract characteristics evaluated with the generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) measure and state and trait anxiety inventory (STAI) scores at the whole-brain scale using the connectometry approach. In addition, we conducted psychological testing twice and examined the within-study reproducibility of these correlations. The results indicate reproduced correlations between both trait and state anxiety scores and GFA in the corpus callosum and association fibers predominantly in the right hemisphere, including the inferior, superior, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and cingulum bundle. The associations with state anxiety are the same as with trait anxiety except for the negative one with GFA in the left cingulum. The findings point to the role of the integrity of these white matter tracts in susceptibility to high trait and state anxiety. The defined local connectome correlations with anxiety ratings could serve as targets for anxiety disorders preventive diagnostics.

Generalizability theory distinguishes between state and trait anxiety.

Accurate distinction between state and trait anxiety is necessary for assessment and monitoring of individual anxiety levels over time and developing effective interventions to reduce anxiety. Generalizability theory (G-theory) is a suitable method to distinguish between state and trait and to evaluate reliability of test scores and sources of measurement error in the assessment of affective conditions. We applied G-theory to the widely used 40-item State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) completed by 139 participants on three occasions separated by 2-week intervals. The results show that both subscales of the STAI demonstrated excellent reliability for test scores in measuring trait anxiety with high generalizability of scores across occasions and persons (G = 0.84-0.92). The most dynamic aspects of state anxiety were identified in both subscales including satisfaction, nervousness, feelings of pleasure, perceived failure, calmness, feeling inadequate, and sensitivity to disappointments and this informed the development of a more sensitive state anxiety scale presented here. The STAI trait subscale and the proposed sensitive state subscale can be used to more accurately distinguish between state and trait anxiety. The most dynamic aspects of anxiety identified using G-theory are more amenable and need to be considered as the primary target of interventions aiming at reducing anxiety. More comprehensive assessment of state anxiety may benefit from the development of a longer scale informed by G-theory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of Anxiety Statuso Adolescents with COVID 19

Objective: Adolescents with COVID-19 are usually asymptomatic or they have milder symptoms, but the psychological effects of the disease on adolescents is unknown. In our knowledge, to date no published studies have evaluated the anxiety status of adolescents with COVID-19 infection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anxiety status of adolescents with COVID-19. Material and Methods: Eighteen adolescents hospitalized with moderate symptoms of COVID-19 and seventeen adolescents non hospitalized with mild symptoms of COVID-19 and 29 healthy adolescents were enrolled in the study. The State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire was performed to both groups and scores were compared. Results: The adolescents with COVID-19 had significantly higher anxiety scores in the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) (p:0.019) and the Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI) (p:0.048) than healthy adolescents. Comparison of adolescents with mild and moderate symptoms showed no significant difference both in SAI (p:1.0) and TAI (p:0.98) scores. Conclusion: COVID-19 has a psychological impact on adolescents causing higher anxiety scores independent from the disease severity.