Measures Of State Anxiety Research Articles

A - 38 Examining Persisting State Anxiety and Concussion Clinical Outcomes across Concussion Recovery

Abstract Purpose Document changes in state anxiety over the course of recovery from concussion and examine the effect of persisting state anxiety on concussion clinical outcomes. Method Patients (ages 15–51 yrs) seeking care for a sport or non-sport-related concussion within 1–7 days post-injury were included in this study. Participants completed a self-report measure of state anxiety (STAI) at each clinical visit. Differences in STAI scores from visit 1 and visit 2 were calculated and used to categorize patients into a PERSIST (scores stayed the same or got worse) and an IMPROVE group (scores improved). Changes in STAI scores across two clinical visits were examined with a paired samples t-test, and a series of independent samples t-tests and chi-square analyses were used to examine between-group differences in clinical outcomes (symptom score, neurocognitive scores, vestibular/ocular motor symptoms and impairment, and recovery time). Results 187 participants (M = 22.37, SD = 10.67 yrs, 65% female) completed study measures at 4.25 (SD = 1.68) (visit 1) and 13.20 (SD = 28.65) (visit 2) post-injury. STAI scores significantly differed between first (M = 20.99, SD = 6.05) and second visit (M = 17.41, SD = 6.21, p < 0.001). The PERSIST group (n = 41, M = 25.90, SD = 20.03) had significantly higher total symptom scores at visit 2 compared to those in the IMPROVE group (n = 122, M = 16.23, SD = 16.17, p = 0.002). There were no significant differences in other clinical outcomes between those with and without persisting state anxiety. Conclusions State anxiety changes throughout concussion recovery and individuals with persisting state anxiety exhibit higher symptom scores at visit 2. Assessment, reassurance and recognition of anxiety is important for overall symptom recovery.

The Relationship between Coping Strategies and State Anxiety during COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Perceived Emotional Intelligence

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented and unexpected change all around the globe. The long-term effects are still ongoing, especially those related to the confinement measures. The study took place during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, where everyone was forced to stay home in order to reduce the spread of the virus. The aim was to investigate the role of perceived emotional intelligence abilities (PEI) in coping with COVID-19-related anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed, and this study used an online survey launched through social networks, inviting adults to participate. The participants anonymously completed a three-scale online measurement of self-reported emotional abilities, coping strategies (approach and avoidance), and state anxiety towards COVID-19. Results: perceived emotional intelligence and approach coping significantly predicted state anxiety. In addition, perceived emotional intelligence mediated the relationship between approach coping and state anxiety. Conclusions: the study highlights the positive role of perceived emotional abilities in dealing with the unprecedented event represented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular, in coping with anxiety related to lockdown and confinement. Their results highlight the importance of fostering emotional intelligence for navigating critical life events.

Painful Experiences in Social Contexts Facilitate Sensitivity to Emotional Signals of Pain from Conspecifics in Laboratory Rats.

Previous studies demonstrated that laboratory rats could visually receive emotional pain signals from conspecifics through pictorial stimuli. The present study examined whether a prior painful emotional experience of the receiver influenced the sensitivity of emotional expression recognition in laboratory rats. The experiment comprised four phases: the baseline preference test, pain manipulation test, post-manipulation preference test, and state anxiety test. In the baseline phase, the rats explored an apparatus comprising two boxes to which pictures of pain or neutral expressions of other conspecifics were attached. In the pain manipulation phase, each rat was allocated to one of three conditions: foot shock alone (pained-alone; PA), foot shock with other unfamiliar conspecifics (pained-with-other; PWO), or no foot shock (control). In the post-manipulation phase, the animals explored the apparatus in the same manner as they did in the baseline phase. Finally, an open-field test was used to measure state anxiety. These findings indicate that rats in the PWO group stayed longer per entry in a box with photographs depicting a neutral disposition than in a box with photographs depicting pain after manipulation. The results of the open-field test showed no significant differences between the groups, suggesting that the increased sensitivity to pain expression in other individuals due to pain experiences in social settings was not due to increased primary state anxiety. Furthermore, the results indicate that rats may use a combination of self-painful experiences and the states of other conspecifics to process the emotional signal of pain from other conspecifics. In addition, changes in the responses of rats to facial expressions in accordance with social experience suggest that the expression function of rats is not only used for emotional expressions but also for communication.

Rumination and Gender in the Relation Between Perceived Threat and State Anxiety During COVID-19.

Perception of and subsequent responses to counter threats by disease, such as COVID-19, are essential for engagement in self-protective behaviors. But, associated increases in anxiety that accompany the threat of disease may negatively impact well-being. Therefore, identifying variables that may modulate the association between perceived threat from COVID-19 and anxiety is important. We conducted a study to examine the moderating roles of two subtypes of rumination (brooding and reflection) in the association between perceived threat from COVID-19 and state anxiety. Additionally, as both COVID-19 outcomes and the tendency to ruminate differ across genders, we explored gender as a second moderator. Participants (N = 300; Men = 144) were recruited online in April 2020 and completed measures of state anxiety, brooding and reflective rumination, and perceived threat from COVID-19. Moderation regression analyses revealed that perceived threat and brooding were independently associated with increased state anxiety. Reflective rumination and gender, however, significantly moderated the relation between perceived threat and state anxiety. For men, reflective rumination strengthened the association between threat and anxiety. For women, reflective rumination weakened this association; women with the highest scores in reflective rumination also reported high state anxiety at low, medium, and high perceived threat levels. These findings illuminate gender differences in the relations between perceived threat, rumination, and experienced state anxiety during the pandemic.

Increases in stress and adverse childhood experiences are associated with the co-occurrence of anxiety and depression in oncology patients

Purpose Identify subgroups of patients with distinct joint anxiety AND depression profiles and evaluate for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as stress, resilience, and coping. Design Longitudinal study Participants Patients (n = 1328) receiving chemotherapy. Methods Measures of state anxiety and depression were done six times over two cycles of chemotherapy. All of the other measures were completed prior to second or third cycle of chemotherapy. Latent profile analysis was used to identify the distinct joint anxiety and depression profiles. Findings Three classes were identified (i.e. Low Anxiety and Low Depression (57.5%); Moderate Anxiety and Moderate Depression (33.7%), High Anxiety and High Depression (8.8%)). For all of the stress measures, a dose response effect was seen among the profiles. Two worst profiles reported higher occurrence rates for a number of adverse childhood experiences. Implications for providers Patients need referrals for stress reduction techniques and mental health and social services.

Higher Levels of Multiple Types of Stress Are Associated With Worse State Anxiety and Morning Fatigue Profiles in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Anxiety and fatigue are common problems in patients receiving chemotherapy. Unrelieved stress is a potential cause for the co-occurrence of these symptoms. The aims of this study were to identify subgroups of patients with distinct state anxiety and morning fatigue profiles and evaluate for differences among these subgroups in demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as measures of global, cancer-specific, and cumulative life stress and resilience and coping. Patients (n = 1335) completed measures of state anxiety and morning fatigue 6 times over 2 cycles of chemotherapy. All of the other measures were completed prior to the second or third cycle of chemotherapy. Latent profile analysis was used to identify the state anxiety and morning fatigue profiles. Three distinct joint profiles were identified: Low Anxiety and Low Morning Fatigue (59%), Moderate Anxiety and Moderate Morning Fatigue (33.4%), and High Anxiety and High Morning Fatigue (7.6%). Patients in the 2 highest classes were younger, were less likely to be married/partnered, and had a higher comorbidity burden. All of the stress scores demonstrated a dose-response effect (ie, as anxiety and morning fatigue profiles worsened, stress increased). Patients in the 2 highest classes reported higher rates of emotional abuse, physical neglect, physical abuse, and sexual harassment. More than 40% of these patients experienced moderate to high levels of both anxiety and morning fatigue. Higher levels of all 3 types of stress were associated with the 2 highest profiles. Clinicians need to perform comprehensive evaluations of patients' levels of stress and recommend referrals to psychosocial services.

Surgery-related anxiety regarding arthroscopic meniscectomy under general anesthesia: a retrospective observational study

BackgroundThe prevalence of anxiety among patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery and its association with postoperative function has been well documented; however, the level of anxiety and anxiety-related characteristics remain unclear. As such, the present study investigated the characteristics of state anxiety in patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscectomy.MethodsData from 75 patients, who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy under general anesthesia and completed an anxiety status questionnaire between April 2021 and March 2022, were retrospectively collected and reviewed. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-X was used to measure state anxiety; a total score ≥ 52 was defined as clinically meaningful state anxiety. STAI score, main cause of preoperative anxiety, most anxious period, and most helpful factors for reducing perioperative anxiety were investigated. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the main cause of preoperative anxiety; surgery or anesthesia (group I [n = 47]); and postoperative pain or rehabilitation (group II [n = 28]) Characteristics of state-anxiety between the two groups were compared using independent t-tests.ResultsThe mean STAI score of the total population was 39.1 points (range, 20–60 points). The mean STAI score was significantly higher in group I than in group II (41.9 vs. 34.4 points, respectively; P < 0.001). The proportion of patients with clinically meaningful state anxiety was significantly higher in group I than in group II (23.4% vs. 3.6%, respectively, P = 0.02). Most patients (66.0% in group I and 50.0% in group II) responded that trust in medical staff was the most helpful factor in overcoming preoperative anxiety. In group I, 63.8% reported that the surgeon’s explanation was the most helpful factor in reducing postoperative anxiety, whereas in group II, 71.4% reported that the natural course after surgery was the most helpful factor.ConclusionsSurgeons should be aware that anxiety related to arthroscopic meniscectomy differs according to patient characteristics, and a preoperative explanation of the postoperative process with the surgeon is important for patients who experience preoperative anxiety regarding anesthesia or the surgery itself.

Vigilance to Painful Laser Stimuli is Associated with Increased State Anxiety and Tense Arousal.

Pain is frequently accompanied by enhanced arousal and hypervigilance to painful sensations. Here, we describe our findings in an experimental vigilance task requiring healthy participants to indicate when randomly timed moderately painful stimuli occur in a long train of mildly painful stimuli. During a continuous performance task with painful laser stimuli (CPTpain), 18 participants rated pain intensity, unpleasantness, and salience. We tested for a vigilance decrement over time using classical metrics including correct targets (hits), incorrectly identified non-targets (false alarms), hit reaction time, and false alarm reaction time. We measured state anxiety and tense arousal before and after the task. We found a vigilance decrement across four 12.5-minute blocks of painful laser stimuli in hits [F3,51=2.91; p=0.043; time block 1>block 4 (t=2.77; p=0.035)]. Both self-report state anxiety (tpaired,17=3.34; p=0.0039) and tense arousal (tpaired,17=3.20; p=0.0053) increased after the task. We found a vigilance decrement during our laser pain vigilance task consistent with vigilance decrements found in other stimulus modalities. Furthermore, state anxiety positively correlated with tense arousal. CPTpain acutely increased tense arousal and state anxiety, consistent with previous results implicating the reciprocal interaction of state anxiety and acute painful sensations and the role of pain in augmenting tense arousal. These results may indicate a psychological process which predisposes the hypervigilant to developing greater acute pain, resulting in positive feedback, greater pain and anxiety.

Negative attributes of mixed-valence memories strengthen over long retention intervals and the degree of enhancement is predicted by individual differences in state anxiety.

Memories are multifaceted and can simultaneously contain positive and negative attributes. Here, we report that negative attributes of a mixed-valence memory dominate long-term recall. To induce a mixed-valence memory, running responses were randomly reinforced with either food (∼83% of trials) or footshock (∼17% of trials), or a noise conditioned stimulus (CS) was followed randomly with either food (∼80% of trials) or footshock (∼20% of trials). Control animals were consistently reinforced with only food. Mixed-valence training promoted unstable behavior (e.g., erratic approach and withdrawal from the food cup) and moderate levels of fear during the training regimens. After a 20-day retention interval, animals that were consistently reinforced with food exhibited intact approach responding, and similar responding was observed if animals were food deprived or satiated (i.e., the response was insensitive to motivation). However, animals that experienced the mixed-valence training expressed significantly enhanced and stable fear (consistent immobility) relative to the end of training, regardless of whether animals were food deprived or not, suggesting that fear transitioned to a state that was insensitive to motivation. The degree of fear expressed during long-term retention was predicted by measures of state anxiety obtained prior to the training, indicating that the enhancement of fear across the retention interval was related to individual differences in basal "anxiety." These results suggest that negative attributes of memories dominate long-term recall, particularly in animals expressing an anxious phenotype, and these observations have direct implications for the chronic nature of anxiety disorders and the exacerbation of fear that accompanies posttraumatic stress disorder. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing sickness behavior in the French: Validation of the French translation of the sickness questionnaire (SicknessQ) in a non-clinical French population

The Sickness Questionnaire (SicknessQ) is a questionnaire developed to assess symptoms of sickness behavior, including somatic, behavioral, and affective dimensions. To promote cross-cultural assessments of sickness behavior, we aim to expand the use of this questionnaire to other populations and languages. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the French translation of SicknessQ in a French-speaking general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred and thirty-nine individuals completed the SicknessQ online, along with the construct criteria measures of self-rated health, state anxiety (STAI-S), and depressive symptoms (PHQ-9). The principal component analyses revealed two components: the first component included seven items concerning mood, motivation and experiences of fatigue and pain; the second component included three items concerning somatic sickness symptoms. Higher scores on the total scale and the two component subscales were associated with poorer self-rated health and higher STAI-S and PHQ-9 scores. Since the associations with construct criteria variables were relatively similar between the single- and the two-dimensional solutions, both the total scale and the subscales of the two components of the French SicknessQ can be used in future studies to measure sickness behavior in French-speaking populations.

Effects of Psychological Interventions on Performance Anxiety in Performing Artists and Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Levels of state and trait anxiety are relevant for performing artists and professional athletes to obtain optimal performance outcomes. However, evidence-based knowledge regarding the effectiveness of psychological interventions on performance anxiety is currently minimal. Thus, the objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to characterize, aggregate, and quantify intervention effects on measures of state and trait performance anxiety in performing artists and professional athletes. A systematic search of the literature according to the PRISMA guidelines was conducted on the databases PubMed, Medline, SPORTDiscus, PsycInfo, Embase, and Web of Science from 1 January 1960 to 9 November 2022. The search only included controlled studies employing pre-post measures and excluded performing arts fields that do not depend on fine motor skills. Initially, 1022 articles were identified; after removing duplicates and assessing abstracts and full texts, 20 articles were used to calculate weighted standardized mean differences (SMDs). In terms of state performance anxiety, our results revealed a large overall effect (SMD = 0.88), a medium effect (SMD = 0.62) for studies using scales with total scores (i.e., MPAI-A, STAI), and large effects (cognitive anxiety: SMD = 0.93, somatic anxiety: SMD = 0.92, self-confidence: SMD = 0.97) for studies applying scales with sub-scores (i.e., CSAI-2R)-all in favour of the intervention groups. Regarding trait performance anxiety (e.g., SCAT), we detected a small effect (SMD = 0.32), also favouring the intervention groups. Interventions to reduce performance anxiety in performing artists and professional athletes revealed varying levels of effectiveness ranging from small (trait) to large (state). Therefore, future studies should investigate modalities to increase intervention efficacy, especially for the small-sized changes in trait performance anxiety.

Empowering the Victims of Bullying: The ‘Bullying: The Power to Cope’ Program

This study replicates an earlier study (Markopolous &amp; Bernard, 2015) that evaluated the impact of the program, Bullying: The Power to Cope (Bernard, 2019) on potential victim’s cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses. The program is aimed at teaching student rational beliefs and coping skills they can employ to cope with various types of bullying. In the present study, participating classes were randomly allocated to either an experimental or control condition. The study conducted in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, consisted 115 participants (n = 55, experimental group; n = 60 in the control group), 57 males and 58 females, aged 10 to 14 years of age. Self-report data was collected pre- and post-test, measuring children’s cognitive, behavioral and emotional coping responses to four written bullying vignettes. Measures of state and trait anxiety were also collected at pre- and post-tests. Results revealed students in the experimental group significantly improved in cognitive and emotional coping responses compared with students in the control group. Nonsignificant differences were found between males and females and between primary and secondary school students on their response to the program. State anxiety did not influence responsiveness to the program, but students with lower levels of trait anxiety (pre-test) made significantly greater improvements on emotional coping responses compared to students with higher levels of trait anxiety. Implications of these findings are discussed as well as limitations and considerations for future research.

Measuring State and Trait Anxiety: An Application of Multidimensional Item Response Theory.

The State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA) is a widely used measure of state and trait anxiety. Within the Classical Testing Theory model, consistent findings provide support for its multidimensional factor structure, discriminant, convergent, and nomological validity, as well as age and gender invariance, across healthy and clinical samples. Nevertheless, some issues regarding STICSA dimensionality and item-scale composition remain unresolved (e.g., both bifactor and two-factor models were found to fit data equally well). The goal of this study was to investigate the STICSA's dimensionality within the Item Response Theory, and to assess the tenability of the bifactor model as a plausible model over the multidimensional model. The sample consisted of 3338 Italian participants (58.21% females; 41.79% males) with an average age of 35.65 years (range: 18-99; SD = 20.25). Both bifactor and two-correlated dimensions of the STICSA scales were confirmed to fit data by applying the multidimensional Item Response Theory (mIRT). While the bifactor model showed better fit indices, the multidimensional model was more accurate and precise (0.86-0.88) in estimating state and trait latent anxiety. A further comparison between multidimensional item parameters revealed that the multidimensional and bifactor models were equivalent. Findings showed that the STICSA is an accurate and precise instrument for measuring somatic and cognitive symptomatology dimensions within state and trait anxiety. The use of the state/trait total score requires special attention from the clinicians and researchers to avoid bias in the psychodiagnostic assessment.

A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between Chinese counseling trainees’ anxiety and client symptom outcome

ABSTRACT Objective This study examined the reciprocal association between counseling trainees’ trait and state anxiety and their clients’ symptom distress and the mediating effects of working alliance. Method Data set included 6,888 sessions conducted by 211 master’s level beginning therapists with their 1,216 clients in China. Trainees completed a measure of trait anxiety at the beginning of practicum. Before each session, trainees completed the state anxiety measure and clients reported their symptom distress; and after every session, both the trainees and clients rated their perceived working alliance. Results Multilevel modeling showed that (a) Therapist trainees’ level of trait anxiety did not predict overall client outcome in terms of symptom reduction. (b) At the session-to-session level, higher therapist state anxiety before one session significantly predicted higher client distress before the next session, and higher client distress before one session significantly predicted higher therapist state anxiety before the subsequent session. (c) Therapist and client perceptions of working alliance were both significant mediators of the reciprocal relationship between therapist state anxiety and client distress. Conclusions Findings suggested that it was trainees’ state anxiety, instead of trait anxiety, that reciprocally related to client symptom outcome at the session-to-session level. Implications for clinical training were discussed. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS A generally more anxious therapist trainee does not seem to have worse overall clinical effectiveness compared with a generally less anxious trainee. From session to session, trainees who experience less state anxiety tend to establish a stronger working alliance with their clients, which leads to more client symptom relief. Evidence suggests against selecting trainees based on their trait anxiety level; but it is recommended that supervisors help trainees manage their state anxiety before a session.

Bottom-up transdiagnostic personality subtypes are associated with state psychopathology: A latent profile analysis.

Personality-based profiling helps elucidate associations between psychopathology symptoms and address shortcomings of current nosologies. The objective of this study was to bracket the assumption of a priori diagnostic class borders and apply the profiling approach to a transdiagnostic sample. Profiles resembling high-functioning, undercontrolled, and overcontrolled phenotypes were expected to emerge. We used latent profile analysis on data from a sample of women with mental disorders (n = 313) and healthy controls (n = 114). 3-5 profile solutions were compared based on impulsivity, perfectionism, anxiety, stress susceptibility, mistrust, detachment, irritability, and embitterment. The best-fitting solution was then related to measures of depression, state anxiety, disordered eating, and emotion regulation difficulties to establish clinical significance. A 5-profile solution proved best-fitting. Extracted profiles included a high-functioning, a well-adapted, an impulsive and interpersonally dysregulated, an anxious and perfectionistic, and an emotionally and behaviorally dysregulated class. Significant differences were found in all outcome state measures, with the emotionally and behaviorally dysregulated class exhibiting the most severe psychopathology. These results serve as preliminary evidence of the predictive nature and clinical utility of personality-based profiles. Selected personality traits should be considered in case formulation and treatment planning. Further research is warranted to replicate the profiles and assess classification stability and profiles' association with treatment outcome longitudinally.

Úzkosť a úzkostlivosť študentov, absolventov a profesionálnych tlmočníkov

This paper focuses on anxiety in interpreting. The main objective was to find out how anxiety differs among interpreting trainees, recent graduates, and professional interpreters with shorter and longer experience. The research instrument used was the STAI – the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The data indicated that the interpreting trainees and professional interpreters with both shorter and longer experience scored comparably on the X-1 form (state anxiety) and X-2 form (trait anxiety). The recent graduates differed substantially from the other groups, scoring much lower on both the state and trait anxiety measures. This could be due to the small group size, which could have caused skewing of the results. The majority of the groups were characterised by higher trait anxiety and lower state anxiety scores (the exception being the professional interpreters with longer experience, although the difference was minimal). In terms of gender, noticeable differences were only observed for the X-2 form, with females appearing more anxious than males. These findings, although they only apply to a small research sample, suggest a similarity between skilful interpreting trainees and professional interpreters.

The Joy of birds: the effect of rating for joy or counting garden bird species on wellbeing, anxiety, and nature connection

The feeding of garden birds is a popular and accessible means of connecting with wildlife in urban environments in the United Kingdom. Past research has found that the main motivations for feeding birds are psychological benefits, concern for bird welfare, and connecting to nature. This study explores whether a brief birdwatching activity impacts on wellbeing, anxiety, and nature connection. One hundred and fifty-six participants took part in a birdwatching activity, identifying the species that entered their garden during a thirty-minute period. Participants were randomly allocated to the ‘joy’ group, who rated their feeling of joy on seeing each species, or the ‘count’ group, who counted the number of birds of each species. Measures of wellbeing, state anxiety and nature connection were completed before and after the observation period. Both groups had improved wellbeing, anxiety, and nature connection, though decreases in anxiety were greatest for those in the joy group. These results suggest that activating a sense of joy heightens the psychological benefits of watching garden birds. These benefits and the strengthening of nature connections highlight the reciprocal relationship between humans and birds and the importance of actions towards healthy, sustainable urban ecosystems.

Exploring the acute cardiovascular effects of Floatation-REST.

[https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT03051074], identifier [NCT03051074].

Development of Dynamic Measures to Assess Balance Confidence and State Anxiety While Walking at Increasing Speeds in Young and Older Adults.

The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of tools to assess how balance confidence (BC) and state anxiety (SA) change with progressively increasing walking speeds. Sixteen young adults and 15 older adults attended two sessions. Individuals began walking on a treadmill at 0.4m/s Participants chose to continue increasing the treadmill speed (up to 2.0m/s) or to discontinue the protocol while rating their BC and SA after completing each speed. BC at participants' fastest speed attempted demonstrated high and moderate test-retest reliability among young (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .908) and older adults (ICC = .704). SA for young adults and older adults was good (ICC = .833) and fair (ICC = .490), respectively. Our measures also correlated with measures of dynamic stability while walking for young (r = -.67, p = .008) and older adults (r = .54, p = .046). Our dynamic measures of BC and SA are valid and reliable in young and older adults.

The Relations of Attention to and Clarity of Feelings With Facial Affect Perception.

Attention to emotions and emotional clarity are core dimensions of individual differences in emotion awareness. Findings from prior research based on self-report indicate that attention to and recognition of one’s own emotions are related to attention to and recognition of other people’s emotions. In the present experimental study, we examined the relations of attention to and clarity of emotions with the efficiency of facial affect perception. Moreover, it was explored whether attention to and clarity of emotions are linked to negative interpretations of facial expressions. A perception of facial expressions (PFE) task based on schematic faces with neutral, ambiguous, or unambiguous emotional expressions and a gender decision task were administered to healthy individuals along with measures of emotion awareness, state and trait anxiety, depression, and verbal intelligence. Participants had to decide how much the faces express six basic affects. Evaluative ratings and decision latencies were analyzed. Attention to feelings was negatively correlated with evaluative decision latency, whereas clarity of feelings was not related to decision latency in the PFE task. Attention to feelings was positively correlated with the perception of negative affects in ambiguous faces. Attention to feelings and emotional clarity were not related to gender decision latency. According to our results, dispositional attention to feelings goes along with an enhanced efficiency of facial affect perception. Habitually paying attention to one’s own emotions may facilitate processing of external emotional information. Preliminary evidence was obtained suggesting a relationship of dispositional attention to feelings with negative interpretations of facial expressions.