TRAIT ANXIETY, DEFENSIVENESS, AND THE STRUCTURE OF WORRY

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EYSENCK, MW; VANBERKUM, J

1992-01-01

A principal components analysis of the ten scales of the Worry Questionnaire revealed the existence of major worry factors or domains of social evaluation and physical threat, and these factors were confirmed in a subsequent item analysis. Those high in trait anxiety had much higher scores on the

Examining Dark Triad traits in relation to sleep disturbances, anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty in young adults.

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Sabouri, Sarah; Gerber, Markus; Lemola, Sakari; Becker, Stephen P; Shamsi, Mahin; Shakouri, Zeinab; Sadeghi Bahmani, Dena; Kalak, Nadeem; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2016-07-01

The Dark Triad (DT) describes a set of three closely related personality traits, Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between DT traits, sleep disturbances, anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty. A total of 341 adults (M=29years) completed a series of questionnaires related to the DT traits, sleep disturbances, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty. A higher DT total score was associated with increased sleep disturbances, and higher scores for anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty. In regression analyses Machiavellianism and psychopathy were predictors of sleep disturbances, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty. Results indicate that specific DT traits, namely Machiavellianism and psychopathy, are associated with sleep disturbances, anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty in young adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-suicidal Self-Injury in Eating Disordered Patients: Associations with Heart Rate Variability and State-Trait Anxiety

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Cristina Giner-Bartolome

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI is commonly present in individuals with eating disorders (EDs and is often employed as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy to avoid or abate negative emotions. One of the most prevalent negative emotions experienced by self-injurers is anxiety; however, this emotion has not been extensively studied in this population. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the influence of anxiety on NSSI in patients with ED from two different dimensions: state anxiety and trait anxiety.Methods: The study comprised a total of 66 females: 12 ED patients with NSSI, 32 ED patients without a history of NSSI, and 22 healthy controls. State and trait anxiety were assessed by means of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S-T and physiological data [i.e., heart rate variability (HRV] were collected.Results: STAI-trait scores were significantly higher in ED patients with NSSI than ED patients without NSSI. Furthermore, when conducting logistic regression analyses higher STAI-trait scores were associated with NSSI in ED patients. However, no differences in STAI-state scores and HRV were found between ED patients with and without NSSI.Discussion: The present findings suggest that anxiety as a trait is associated with the use of maladaptive strategies (i.e., NSSI in ED patients. These results uphold the need to target trait anxiety in ED treatment in order to prevent possible NSSI behaviors.

Neurolinguistic programming training, trait anxiety, and locus of control.

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Konefal, J; Duncan, R C; Reese, M A

1992-06-01

Training in the neurolinguistic programming techniques of shifting perceptual position, visual-kinesthetic dissociation, timelines, and change-history, all based on experiential cognitive processing of remembered events, leads to an increased awareness of behavioral contingencies and a more sensitive recognition of environmental cues which could serve to lower trait anxiety and increase the sense of internal control. This study reports on within-person and between-group changes in trait anxiety and locus of control as measured on the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Wallston, Wallston, and DeVallis' Multiple Health Locus of Control immediately following a 21-day residential training in neurolinguistic programming. Significant with-in-person decreases in trait-anxiety scores and increases in internal locus of control scores were observed as predicted. Chance and powerful other locus of control scores were unchanged. Significant differences were noted on trait anxiety and locus of control scores between European and U.S. participants, although change scores were similar for the two groups. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that this training may lower trait-anxiety scores and increase internal locus of control scores. A matched control group was not available, and follow-up was unfortunately not possible.

Validation of the trait anxiety scale for state-trait anxiety inventory in suicide victims and living controls of Chinese rural youths.

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Zhang, Jie; Gao, Qi

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the validation of STAI Trait-Anxiety Scale in suicide cases and community living controls in rural China. The participants were 392 suicides and 416 controls. Cronbach's Alpha was computed to evaluate the internal consistency. The Spearman Correlation Coefficient between Trait-Anxiety Scale and other instrument was calculated to evaluate the external validity, and the Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to evaluate the construct validity. The results showed the Cronbach's Alpha was .891 and .787 respectively in case and control groups. Most of the correlations between instruments were significant. We found 2 factors in cases and 3 factors in controls. We could cautiously infer that the Trait Anxiety Scale was an adequate tool to measure trait anxiety through proxy data in suicide victims and living controls in rural China.

The importance of personality and life-events in anxious depression: from trait to state anxiety.

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van der Veen, Date C; van Dijk, Silvia D M; Comijs, Hannie C; van Zelst, Willeke H; Schoevers, Robert A; Oude Voshaar, Richard C

2017-11-01

Anxious depression is associated with severe impairment and bad prognoses. We hypothesize that recent life-events are associated with more anxiety in late-life depression and that this is conditional upon the level of certain personality traits. Baseline data of the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons (NESDO) were used. In 333 patients (≥60 years) suffering from a major depressive disorder, anxiety was assessed with the BAI, personality traits with the NEO-FFI and the Mastery Scale, and life-events with the Brugha questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analyses were applied with anxiety severity as dependent and life-events and personality traits as independent variables. 147 patients (44.1%) had recently experienced one or more life-events. The presence of a life-event is not associated with anxiety (p = .161) or depression severity (p = .440). However, certain personality traits interacted with life-events in explaining anxiety severity. Stratified analyses showed that life-events were associated with higher anxiety levels in case of high levels of neuroticism and openness and low levels of conscientiousness or mastery. In the face of a life-event, personality traits may play a central role in increased anxiety levels in late-life depression.

Trait anxiety affects decision-making differently in healthy men and women: towards gender-specific endophenotypes of anxiety.

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de Visser, L; van der Knaap, L J; van de Loo, A J A E; van der Weerd, C M M; Ohl, F; van den Bos, R

2010-05-01

Excessive levels of trait anxiety are a risk factor for psychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders and substance abuse. High trait anxiety has been associated with altered cognitive functioning, in particular with an attentional bias towards aversive stimuli. Decision-making is a crucial aspect of cognitive functioning that relies on the correct processing and control of emotional stimuli. Interestingly, anxiety and decision-making share underlying neural substrates, involving cortico-limbic pathways, including the amygdala, striatum and medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between trait anxiety, measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and complex decision-making, measured by the Iowa Gambling Task, in healthy male and female volunteers. The main focus of this study was the inclusion of gender as a discriminative factor. Indeed, we found distinct gender-specific effects of trait anxiety: in men, both low and high anxiety groups showed impaired decision-making compared to medium anxiety individuals, whereas in women only high anxiety individuals performed poorly. Furthermore, anxiety affected decision-making in men early in the task, i.e. the exploration phase, as opposed to an effect on performance in women during the second part of the test, i.e. the exploitation phase. These findings were related to different profiles of trait anxiety in men and women, and were independent of performance in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and cortisol levels. Our data show gender-specific effects of trait anxiety on emotional decision-making. We suggest gender-specific endophenotypes of anxiety to exist, that differentially affect cognitive functioning. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect

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Sandra L Ladd

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effect. Participants’ trait (Study 1 and state (Study 2 anxiety were characterized with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Greater trait and state anxiety correlated with greater negative affect and lesser positive affect. In both experiments, greater anxiety was associated with a reduced mere exposure effect. Measures of fluency (response times at study and test were unrelated to the mere exposure effect. These findings support the role of affective processes in the mere exposure effect, and offer a new insight into the nature of anxiety such that anxiety is associated with a reduced experience of positive affect typically associated with familiarity.

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect.

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Ladd, Sandra L; Gabrieli, John D E

2015-01-01

The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effect. Participants' trait (Study 1) and state (Study 2) anxiety were characterized with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Greater trait and state anxiety correlated with greater negative affect and lesser positive affect. In both experiments, greater anxiety was associated with a reduced mere exposure effect. Measures of fluency (response times at study and test) were unrelated to the mere exposure effect. These findings support the role of affective processes in the mere exposure effect, and offer a new insight into the nature of anxiety such that anxiety is associated with a reduced experience of positive affect typically associated with familiarity.

Personality traits predict job stress, depression and anxiety among junior physicians.

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Gramstad, Thomas Olsen; Gjestad, Rolf; Haver, Brit

2013-11-09

High levels of stress and deteriorating mental health among medical students are commonly reported. In Bergen, Norway, we explored the impact of personality traits measured early in their curriculum on stress reactions and levels of depression and anxiety symptoms as junior physicians following graduation. Medical students (n = 201) from two classes participated in a study on personality traits and mental health early in the curriculum. A questionnaire measuring personality traits (Basic Character Inventory (BCI)) was used during their third undergraduate year. BCI assesses four personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness and reality weakness. Questionnaires measuring mental health (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Symptom Checklist 25 (SCL-25)), and stress (Perceived Medical School Stress (PMSS)) were used during their third and sixth undergraduate year. During postgraduate internship, Cooper's Job Stress Questionnaire (CJSQ) was used to measure perceived job stress, while mental health and stress reactions were reassessed using HADS and SCL-25. Extroversion had the highest mean value (5.11) among the total group of participants, while reality weakness had the lowest (1.51). Neuroticism and reality weakness were related to high levels of perceived job stress (neuroticism r = .19, reality weakness r = .17) as well as higher levels of anxiety symptoms (neuroticism r = .23, reality weakness r = .33) and symptoms of depression (neuroticism r = .21, reality weakness r = .36) during internship. Neuroticism indirectly predicted stress reactions and levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. These relations were mediated by perceived job stress, while reality weakness predicted these mental health measures directly. Extroversion, on the other hand, protected against symptoms of depression (r = -.20). Furthermore, females reported higher levels of job stress than males (difference = 7.52). Certain personality traits measured early in

The association between personality traits, cognitive reactivity and body mass index is dependent on depressive and/or anxiety status.

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Paans, Nadine P G; Bot, Mariska; Gibson-Smith, Deborah; Van der Does, Willem; Spinhoven, Philip; Brouwer, Ingeborg; Visser, Marjolein; Penninx, Brenda W J H

2016-10-01

A range of biological, social and psychological factors, including depression and anxiety disorders, is thought to be associated with higher body mass index (BMI). Depression and anxiety disorders are associated with specific psychological vulnerabilities, like personality traits and cognitive reactivity, that may also be associated with BMI. The relationship between those psychological vulnerabilities and BMI is possibly different in people with and without depression and anxiety disorders. Therefore, we examined the relationship between personality traits, cognitive reactivity and severity of affective symptoms with BMI in people with and without depression and anxiety disorders. Data from 1249 patients with current major depressive and/or anxiety disorder and 631 healthy controls were sourced from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the associations between personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness), cognitive reactivity (hopelessness, aggression, rumination, anxiety sensitivity), depression and anxiety symptoms with BMI classes (normal: 18.5-24.9, overweight: 25-29.9, and obese: ≥30kg/m(2)) and continuous BMI. Due to significant statistical interaction, analyses were stratified for healthy individuals and depressed/anxious patients. Personality traits were not consistently related to BMI. In patients, higher hopelessness and aggression reactivity and higher depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with higher BMI. In contrast, in healthy individuals lower scores on hopelessness, rumination, aggression reactivity and anxiety sensitivity were associated with higher BMI. These results suggest that, particularly in people with psychopathology, cognitive reactivity may contribute to obesity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interrelationships between trait anxiety, situational stress and mental effort predict phonological processing efficiency, but not effectiveness.

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Edwards, Elizabeth J; Edwards, Mark S; Lyvers, Michael

2016-08-01

Attentional control theory (ACT) describes the mechanisms associated with the relationship between anxiety and cognitive performance. We investigated the relationship between cognitive trait anxiety, situational stress and mental effort on phonological performance using a simple (forward-) and complex (backward-) word span task. Ninety undergraduate students participated in the study. Predictor variables were cognitive trait anxiety, indexed using questionnaire scores; situational stress, manipulated using ego threat instructions; and perceived level of mental effort, measured using a visual analogue scale. Criterion variables (a) performance effectiveness (accuracy) and (b) processing efficiency (accuracy divided by response time) were analyzed in separate multiple moderated-regression analyses. The results revealed (a) no relationship between the predictors and performance effectiveness, and (b) a significant 3-way interaction on processing efficiency for both the simple and complex tasks, such that at higher effort, trait anxiety and situational stress did not predict processing efficiency, whereas at lower effort, higher trait anxiety was associated with lower efficiency at high situational stress, but not at low situational stress. Our results were in full support of the assumptions of ACT and implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Epilepsy and anxiety

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Marly de Albuquerque

1993-09-01

Full Text Available 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.

Neural basis of uncertain cue processing in trait anxiety.

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Zhang, Meng; Ma, Chao; Luo, Yanyan; Li, Ji; Li, Qingwei; Liu, Yijun; Ding, Cody; Qiu, Jiang

2016-02-19

Individuals with high trait anxiety form a non-clinical group with a predisposition for an anxiety-related bias in emotional and cognitive processing that is considered by some to be a prerequisite for psychiatric disorders. Anxious individuals tend to experience more worry under uncertainty, and processing uncertain information is an important, but often overlooked factor in anxiety. So, we decided to explore the brain correlates of processing uncertain information in individuals with high trait anxiety using the learn-test paradigm. Behaviorally, the percentages on memory test and the likelihood ratios of identifying novel stimuli under uncertainty were similar to the certain fear condition, but different from the certain neutral condition. The brain results showed that the visual cortex, bilateral fusiform gyrus, and right parahippocampal gyrus were active during the processing of uncertain cues. Moreover, we found that trait anxiety was positively correlated with the BOLD signal of the right parahippocampal gyrus during the processing of uncertain cues. No significant results were found in the amygdala during uncertain cue processing. These results suggest that memory retrieval is associated with uncertain cue processing, which is underpinned by over-activation of the right parahippocampal gyrus, in individuals with high trait anxiety.

Neural basis of emotional decision making in trait anxiety.

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Xu, Pengfei; Gu, Ruolei; Broster, Lucas S; Wu, Runguo; Van Dam, Nicholas T; Jiang, Yang; Fan, Jin; Luo, Yue-jia

2013-11-20

Although trait anxiety has been associated with risk decision making, whether it is related to risk per se or to the feeling of the risk, as well as the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms, remains unclear. Using a decision-making task with a manipulation of frame (i.e., written description of options as a potential gain or loss) and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neurocognitive relationship between trait anxiety and decision making. The classic framing effect was observed: participants chose the safe option when it was described as a potential gain, but they avoided the same option when it was described as a potential loss. Most importantly, trait anxiety was positively correlated with this behavioral bias. Trait anxiety was also positively correlated with amygdala-based "emotional" system activation and its coupling with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) when decisions were consistent with the framing effect, but negatively correlated with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)-based "analytic" system activation and its connectivity to the vmPFC when decisions ran counter to the framing effect. Our findings suggest that trait anxiety is not associated with subjective risk preference but an evaluative bias of emotional information in decision making, underpinned by a hyperactive emotional system and a hypoactive analytic system in the brain.

Quantitative genetic analysis of anxiety trait in bipolar disorder.

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Contreras, J; Hare, E; Chavarría, G; Raventós, H

2018-01-01

Bipolar disorder type I (BPI) affects approximately 1% of the world population. Although genetic influences on bipolar disorder are well established, identification of genes that predispose to the illness has been difficult. Most genetic studies are based on categorical diagnosis. One strategy to overcome this obstacle is the use of quantitative endophenotypes, as has been done for other medical disorders. We studied 619 individuals, 568 participants from 61 extended families and 51 unrelated healthy controls. The sample was 55% female and had a mean age of 43.25 (SD 13.90; range 18-78). Heritability and genetic correlation of the trait scale from the Anxiety State and Trait Inventory (STAI) was computed by using the general linear model (SOLAR package software). we observed that anxiety trait meets the following criteria for an endophenotype of bipolar disorder type I (BPI): 1) association with BPI (individuals with BPI showed the highest trait score (F = 15.20 [5,24], p = 0.009), 2) state-independence confirmed after conducting a test-retest in 321 subjects, 3) co-segregation within families 4) heritability of 0.70 (SE: 0.060), p = 2.33 × 10 -14 and 5) genetic correlation with BPI was 0.20, (SE = 0.17, p = 3.12 × 10 -5 ). Confounding factors such as comorbid disorders and pharmacological treatment could affect the clinical relationship between BPI and anxiety trait. Further research is needed to evaluate if anxiety traits are specially related to BPI in comparison with other traits such as anger, attention or response inhibition deficit, pathological impulsivity or low self-directedness. Anxiety trait is a heritable phenotype that follows a normal distribution when measured not only in subjects with BPI but also in unrelated healthy controls. It could be used as an endophenotype in BPI for the identification of genomic regions with susceptibility genes for this disorder. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Neural Basis of Emotional Decision Making in Trait Anxiety

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Xu, Pengfei; Gu, Ruolei; Broster, Lucas S.; Wu, Runguo; Van Dam, Nicholas T.; Jiang, Yang; Fan, Jin

2013-01-01

Although trait anxiety has been associated with risk decision making, whether it is related to risk per se or to the feeling of the risk, as well as the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms, remains unclear. Using a decision-making task with a manipulation of frame (i.e., written description of options as a potential gain or loss) and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neurocognitive relationship between trait anxiety and decision making. The classic framing effect was observed: participants chose the safe option when it was described as a potential gain, but they avoided the same option when it was described as a potential loss. Most importantly, trait anxiety was positively correlated with this behavioral bias. Trait anxiety was also positively correlated with amygdala-based “emotional” system activation and its coupling with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) when decisions were consistent with the framing effect, but negatively correlated with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)-based “analytic” system activation and its connectivity to the vmPFC when decisions ran counter to the framing effect. Our findings suggest that trait anxiety is not associated with subjective risk preference but an evaluative bias of emotional information in decision making, underpinned by a hyperactive emotional system and a hypoactive analytic system in the brain. PMID:24259585

Panic disorder and health-related quality of life: the predictive roles of anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety.

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Kang, Eun-Ho; Kim, Borah; Choe, Ah Young; Lee, Jun-Yeob; Choi, Tai Kiu; Lee, Sang-Hyuk

2015-01-30

Panic disorder (PD) is a very common anxiety disorder and is often a chronic disabling condition. However, little is known about the factors that predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL) other than sociodemographic factors and illness-related symptomatology that explain HRQOL in only small to modest degrees. This study explored whether anxiety-related individual traits including anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety can predict independently HRQOL in panic patients. Patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (N=230) who met the diagnostic criteria in the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV were recruited. Stepwise regression analysis was performed to determine the factors that predict HRQOL in panic disorder. HRQOL was assessed by the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Anxiety sensitivity was an independent predictor of bodily pain and social functioning whereas trait anxiety independently predicted all of the eight domains of the SF-36. Our data suggests that the assessment of symptomatology as well as individual anxiety-related trait should be included in the evaluation of HRQOL in panic patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Online gaming addiction: the role of sensation seeking, self-control, neuroticism, aggression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety.

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Mehroof, Mehwash; Griffiths, Mark D

2010-06-01

Research into online gaming has steadily increased over the last decade, although relatively little research has examined the relationship between online gaming addiction and personality factors. This study examined the relationship between a number of personality traits (sensation seeking, self-control, aggression, neuroticism, state anxiety, and trait anxiety) and online gaming addiction. Data were collected over a 1-month period using an opportunity sample of 123 university students at an East Midlands university in the United Kingdom. Gamers completed all the online questionnaires. Results of a multiple linear regression indicated that five traits (neuroticism, sensation seeking, trait anxiety, state anxiety, and aggression) displayed significant associations with online gaming addiction. The study suggests that certain personality traits may be important in the acquisition, development, and maintenance of online gaming addiction, although further research is needed to replicate the findings of the present study.

Psychological traits and the cortisol awakening response: results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety.

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van Santen, Aafke; Vreeburg, Sophie A; Van der Does, A J Willem; Spinhoven, Philip; Zitman, Frans G; Penninx, Brenda W J H

2011-02-01

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is often seen in major depression, and is thought to represent a trait vulnerability - rather than merely an illness marker - for depressive disorder and possibly anxiety disorder. Vulnerability traits associated with stress-related disorders might reflect increased sensitivity for the development of psychopathology through an association with HPA axis activity. Few studies have examined the association between psychological trait factors and the cortisol awakening response, with inconsistent results. The present study examined the relationship between multiple psychological trait factors and the cortisol awakening curve, including both the dynamic of the CAR and overall cortisol awakening levels, in a sample of persons without psychopathology, hypothesizing that persons scoring high on vulnerability traits demonstrate an elevated cortisol awakening curve. From 2981 participants of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), baseline data from 381 controls (aged 18-65) without previous, current and parental depression and anxiety disorders were analyzed. Psychological measures included the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness) measured using the NEO-FFI, anxiety sensitivity assessed by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, cognitive reactivity to sadness (hopelessness, acceptance/coping, aggression, control/perfectionism, risk aversion, and rumination) as measured by the LEIDS-R questionnaire, and mastery, assessed using the Pearlin and Schooler Mastery scale. Salivary cortisol levels were measured at awakening, and 30, 45, and 60 min afterwards. In adjusted analyses, high scores of hopelessness reactivity (β=.13, p=.02) were consistently associated with a higher cortisol awakening response. In addition, although inconsistent across analyses, persons scoring higher on extraversion, control/perfectionism reactivity, and

State-trait anxiety levels during pregnancy and foetal parameters following intervention with music therapy.

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Garcia-Gonzalez, J; Ventura-Miranda, M I; Requena-Mullor, M; Parron-Carreño, T; Alarcon-Rodriguez, R

2018-05-01

Research indicates that anxiety during pregnancy may be a risk factor for the development of alterations in the mental health of the pregnant woman and of obstetric complications. to investigate the effect of music therapy on maternal anxiety, before and after a non-stress test (NST), and the effect of maternal anxiety on the birthing process and birth size. 409 nulliparous women coming for routine prenatal care were randomized in the third trimester to receive either music therapy (n = 204) or no music therapy (n = 205) during an NST. Maternal anxiety was assessed using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory before and after the NST. After the NST, the women from the music group showed significantly lower scores in state anxiety (OR = 0.87; p < 0.001) as well as trait anxiety (p < 0.001) than the control group. Furthermore, the pregnant women from the music group presented lower levels of state-trait anxiety than the control group in relation to the variables of birth process, and higher birth weight and chest circumference in the newborn (OR = 3.5 and OR = 0.81, respectively; p < 0.05). This study was limited by the fact that it was a single-centre study; the observers conducting the NST were not blinded to the allocation, although neither midwife had any knowledge of the maternal anxiety scores, and we could not apply the double-blind method due to the nature of the observation. Our findings confirm that music therapy intervention during pregnancy could reduce elevated state-trait anxiety levels during the third trimester. Further research into the influence of music therapy as intervention on maternal anxiety and on the birthing process and birth size is required during pregnancy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trait anxiety and self-concept among children and adolescents with food neophobia.

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Maiz, Edurne; Balluerka, Nekane

2018-03-01

Food problems in children and adolescents often have a detrimental effect on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of their parents. However, the impact of such problems on the psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents themselves has been less widely studied. The purpose of this study was to determine whether children and adolescents with food neophobia differed in trait anxiety and dimensions of self-concept from their neophilic and their average peers. A community sample of 831 participants (368 males and 463 females) between the ages of 8 and 16 were classified into six groups based on scores obtained on the Spanish Child Food Neophobia Scale (i.e., neophobic, average, and neophilic) and their age (i.e., children vs. adolescents). Compared with their neophilic peers, children with food neophobia showed higher levels of trait anxiety and a poorer social, physical, and academic self-concept. Among adolescents similar results were observed for trait anxiety and physical self-concept, but instead of social and academic self-concept it was family self-concept which distinguished between neophobic and neophilic participants. These results suggest that food neophobia is associated with trait anxiety and with some dimensions of self-concept. This highlights the need to ascertain the threshold between 'normal' and 'problematic' eating behaviors, since the fact that a behavior is to some extent usual does not imply that it is harmless. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volumetric associations between uncinate fasciculus, amygdala, and trait anxiety

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Baur Volker

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent investigations of white matter (WM connectivity suggest an important role of the uncinate fasciculus (UF, connecting anterior temporal areas including the amygdala with prefrontal-/orbitofrontal cortices, for anxiety-related processes. Volume of the UF, however, has rarely been investigated, but may be an important measure of structural connectivity underlying limbic neuronal circuits associated with anxiety. Since UF volumetric measures are newly applied measures, it is necessary to cross-validate them using further neural and behavioral indicators of anxiety. Results In a group of 32 subjects not reporting any history of psychiatric disorders, we identified a negative correlation between left UF volume and trait anxiety, a finding that is in line with previous results. On the other hand, volume of the left amygdala, which is strongly connected with the UF, was positively correlated with trait anxiety. In addition, volumes of the left UF and left amygdala were inversely associated. Conclusions The present study emphasizes the role of the left UF as candidate WM fiber bundle associated with anxiety-related processes and suggests that fiber bundle volume is a WM measure of particular interest. Moreover, these results substantiate the structural relatedness of UF and amygdala by a non-invasive imaging method. The UF-amygdala complex may be pivotal for the control of trait anxiety.

Trait Anxiety Impacts the Perceived Gaze Direction of Fearful But Not Angry Faces

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Zhonghua Hu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Facial expression and gaze direction play an important role in social communication. Previous research has demonstrated the perception of anger is enhanced by direct gaze, whereas, it is unclear whether perception of fear is enhanced by averted gaze. In addition, previous research has shown the anxiety affects the processing of facial expression and gaze direction, but hasn’t measured or controlled for depression. As a result, firm conclusions cannot be made regarding the impact of individual differences in anxiety and depression on perceptions of face expressions and gaze direction. The current study attempted to reexamine the effect of the anxiety level on the processing of facial expressions and gaze direction by matching participants on depression scores. A reliable psychophysical index of the range of eye gaze angles judged as being directed at oneself [the cone of direct gaze (CoDG] was used as the dependent variable in this study. Participants were stratified into high/low trait anxiety groups and asked to judge the gaze of angry, fearful, and neutral faces across a range of gaze directions. The result showed: (1 the perception of gaze direction was influenced by facial expression and this was modulated by trait anxiety. For the high trait anxiety group, the CoDG for angry expressions was wider than for fearful and neutral expressions, and no significant difference emerged between fearful and neutral expressions; For the low trait anxiety group, the CoDG for both angry and fearful expressions was wider than for neutral, and no significant difference emerged between angry and fearful expressions. (2 Trait anxiety modulated the perception of gaze direction only in the fearful condition, such that the fearful CoDG for the high trait anxiety group was narrower than the low trait anxiety group. This demonstrated that anxiety distinctly affected gaze perception in expressions that convey threat (angry, fearful, such that a high trait anxiety

Trait anger but not anxiety predicts incident type 2 diabetes: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

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Abraham, Sherley; Shah, Nina G; Diez Roux, Ana; Hill-Briggs, Felicia; Seeman, Teresa; Szklo, Moyses; Schreiner, Pamela J; Golden, Sherita Hill

2015-10-01

Prior studies have shown a bidirectional association between depression and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, the prospective associations of anger and anxiety with T2DM have not been established. We hypothesized that trait anger and anxiety would predict incident T2DM, independently of depressive symptoms. In the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), we prospectively examined the association of trait anger and trait anxiety (assessed via the Spielberger Trait Anger and Anxiety Scales, respectively) with incident T2DM over 11.4 years in 5598 White, Black, Hispanic, and Chinese participants (53.2% women, mean age 61.6 years) at baseline without prevalent T2DM or cardiovascular disease. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate the hazard ratios (HR) of incident T2DM by previously defined anger category (low, moderate, high), and anxiety quartile, as there were no previously defined categories. High total trait anger was associated with incident T2DM (HR 1.50; 95% CI 1.08-2.07) relative to low total trait anger. The association was attenuated following adjustment for waist circumference (HR 1.32; 95% CI 0.94-1.86). Higher anger reaction was also associated with incident T2DM (HR=1.07; 95% CI 1.03-1.11) that remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders/explanatory factors. In contrast, trait anxiety did not predict incident T2DM. High total trait anger and anger reaction are potential modifiable risk factors for T2DM. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms of the anger-diabetes relationship and to develop preventive interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trait anxiety reduces affective fading for both positive and negative autobiographical memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, W Richard; Yancu, Cecile N; Skowronski, John J

2014-01-01

The affect associated with negative events fades faster than the affect associated with positive events (the Fading Affect Bias; the FAB). The research that we report examined the relation between trait anxiety and the FAB. Study 1 assessed anxiety using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; Studies 2 and 3 used the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Studies 1 and 2 used retrospective procedures to probe positive event memories and negative event memories while Study 3 used a diary procedure. The results of all 3 studies showed that increased anxiety was associated with both a lowered FAB and lower overall affect fading for both positive events and negative events. These results suggest that for people free of trait anxiety, the FAB reflects the operation of a healthy coping mechanism in autobiographical memory that is disrupted by trait anxiety.

Reported parental characteristics in relation to trait depression and anxiety levels in a non-clinical group.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, G

1979-09-01

Care and overprotection appear to reflect the principal dimensions underlying parental behaviours and attitudes. In previous studies of neurotically depressed patients and of a non-clinical group, subjects who scored their parents as lacking in care and/or overprotective had the greater depressive experience. The present study of another non-clinical group (289 psychology students) replicated those findings in regard to trait depression levels. In addition, associations between those parental dimensions and trait anxiety scores were demonstrated. Multiple regression analyses established that 9-10% of the variance in mood scores was accounted for by scores on those parental dimensions. Low maternal care scores predicted higher levels of both anxiety and depression, while high maternal overprotection scores predicted higher levels of anxiety but not levels of depression. Maternal influences were clearly of greater relevance than paternal influences.

Effects of threat, trait anxiety and state anxiety on police officers’ actions during an arrest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, Peter G.; Landman, Annemarie; Daalder, Nathalie R.; de Cock, Hans P.; Savelsbergh, Geert J. P.; Oudejans, Raôul R. D.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of threat and trait anxiety on state anxiety and how that affects police officers’ actions during an arrest. Most experiments on police performance under anxiety test the performance of one particular skill. Yet, police work often involves concerted use of a

Effects of threat, trait anxiety and state anxiety on police officers' actions during an arrest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, P.G.; Landman, H.M.; Daalder, N.R.; de Cock, H.P.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of threat and trait anxiety on state anxiety and how that affects police officers' actions during an arrest. Most experiments on police performance under anxiety test the performance of one particular skill. Yet, police work often involves concerted use of a

Glucose enhancement of memory is modulated by trait anxiety in healthy adolescent males.

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Smith, Michael A; Hii, Hilary L; Foster, Jonathan K; van Eekelen, J A M

2011-01-01

Glucose administration is associated with memory enhancement in healthy young individuals under conditions of divided attention at encoding. While the specific neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this 'glucose memory facilitation effect' are currently uncertain, it is thought that individual differences in glucoregulatory efficiency may alter an individual's sensitivity to the glucose memory facilitation effect. In the present study, we sought to investigate whether basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function (itself a modulator of glucoregulatory efficiency), baseline self-reported stress and trait anxiety influence the glucose memory facilitation effect. Adolescent males (age range = 14-17 years) were administered glucose and placebo prior to completing a verbal episodic memory task on two separate testing days in a counter-balanced, within-subjects design. Glucose ingestion improved verbal episodic memory performance when memory recall was tested (i) within an hour of glucose ingestion and encoding, and (ii) one week subsequent to glucose ingestion and encoding. Basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function did not appear to influence the glucose memory facilitation effect; however, glucose ingestion only improved memory in participants reporting relatively higher trait anxiety. These findings suggest that the glucose memory facilitation effect may be mediated by biological mechanisms associated with trait anxiety.

Autism Spectrum Traits in Children with Anxiety Disorders

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van Steensel, Francisca J. A.; Bogels, Susan M.; Wood, Jeffrey J.

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine ASD traits in children with clinical anxiety in early development, as well as current manifestations. Parents of 42 children with an anxiety disorder (but no known diagnosis of ASD) and 42 typically developing children were interviewed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R). They also completed…

Interpretation bias and social anxiety: does interpretation bias mediate the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety responses?

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Junwen; Milne, Kirby; Dayman, Janet; Kemps, Eva

2018-05-23

Two studies aimed to examine whether high socially anxious individuals are more likely to negatively interpret ambiguous social scenarios and facial expressions compared to low socially anxious individuals. We also examined whether interpretation bias serves as a mediator of the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety responses, in particular current state anxiety, bodily sensations, and perceived probability and cost of negative evaluation pertaining to a speech task. Study 1 used ambiguous social scenarios and Study 2 used ambiguous facial expressions as stimuli to objectively assess interpretation bias. Undergraduate students with high and low social anxiety completed measures of state anxiety responses at three time points: baseline, after the interpretation bias task, and after the preparation for an impromptu speech. Results showed that high socially anxious individuals were more likely to endorse threat interpretations for ambiguous social scenarios and to interpret ambiguous faces as negative than low socially anxious individuals. Furthermore, negative interpretations mediated the relationship between trait social anxiety and perceived probability of negative evaluation pertaining to the speech task in Study 1 but not Study 2. The present studies provide new insight into the role of interpretation bias in social anxiety.

Examining Teachers' Trait, State and Cursive Handwriting Anxiety

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Karatas, Zeynep; Arslan, Derya; Karatas, Mustafa Erdal

2014-01-01

This study examines whether the trait and state anxiety and cursive handwriting anxiety of teachers differs according to assorted variables. The study group for this research project is composed of 381 teachers from the city of Burdur and the district centre of Bucak, Turkey. Of these participants, 44% were female and 56% were male. As for the…

Higher Self-Control Capacity Predicts Lower Anxiety-Impaired Cognition during Math Examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrams, Alex; Baumeister, Roy F; Englert, Chris

2016-01-01

We assumed that self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem would enable students to keep attentional control during tests. Therefore, we hypothesized that the three personality traits would be negatively related to anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations. Secondary school students (N = 158) completed measures of self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at the beginning of the school year. Five months later, anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations was assessed. Higher self-control capacity, but neither self-efficacy nor self-esteem, predicted lower anxiety-impaired cognition 5 months later, over and above baseline anxiety-impaired cognition. Moreover, self-control capacity was indirectly related to math grades via anxiety-impaired cognition. The findings suggest that improving self-control capacity may enable students to deal with anxiety-related problems during school tests.

A Multidimensional Measure of Trait Anxiety: The S-R Inventory of General Trait Anxiousness

Science.gov (United States)

Endler, Norman S.; Okada, Marilyn

1975-01-01

The S-R Inventory of General Trait Anxiousness was administered to samples of normal youth, normal adult, neurotic, and psychotic subjects. The practical and theoretical uses of the inventory are discussed, and it is specifically indicated how the inventory could be used to extend the Speilberger state-trait anxiety theory. (Author)

Reconsidering Co-Morbid Traits in Explanatory Models of High Dental Anxiety Using a Comparison of Psychiatric and Normal Patient Samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moore, Rod; Jensen, Christina Gundlev; Andersen, Line Bæk

2016-01-01

Explanatory models of co-morbid traits related to dental anxiety (DA) as described in the literature were tested and relative strengths analyzed in two groups of Danish adults, one with psychiatric diagnoses (n = 108) and the other healthy incoming patients at a large dental school teaching clinic...... as represented in present trait measures appear not to be competitive, but rather explain different aspects of a vulnerability model in high dental anxiety. Higher incidence of DA and treatment avoidance in psychiatric patients requires special attention. Dental Anxiety, Psychiatry, Case Comparison, Co...

Online gaming addiction: the role of sensation seeking, self-control, neuroticism, aggression, state anxiety and trait anxiety

OpenAIRE

Mehroof, M; Griffiths, MD

2010-01-01

Research into online gaming has steadily increased over the last decade, although relatively little research has examined the relationship between online gaming addiction and personality factors. This study examined the relationship between a number of personality traits (sensation seeking, self-control, aggression, neuroticism, state anxiety, and trait anxiety) and online gaming addiction. Data were collected over a 1-month period using an opportunity sample of 123 university students at an ...

Relations of Distinct Psychopathic Personality Traits with Anxiety and Fear: Findings from Offenders and Non-Offenders.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven M Gillespie

Full Text Available Early descriptions of psychopathy emphasise fearlessness and a lack of nervousness or anxiety as key characteristics of the disorder. However, conflicting evidence suggests that anxiety may be positively correlated with some aspects of the psychopathy construct. This position may seem somewhat paradoxical when considered alongside impaired processing of fear related stimuli in psychopathic personality. The aim of the current paper was to examine the distinct relations of callous, egocentric, and antisocial psychopathic traits with measures of anxiety and social anxiety in samples of non-offenders (Study 1 and violent offenders (Study 2. In Study 2 we also used an emotion recognition task to examine fearful face recognition. In Studies 1 and 2 we showed distinct and opposite significant relationships of egocentric and antisocial psychopathic traits with trait anxiety. Thus, while trait anxiety was negatively predicted by egocentric traits, it was predicted in a positive direction by antisocial traits in both samples. In Study 2 we found that callous traits were predictive of greater impairments in fearful face recognition. These findings suggest that anxiety and fear are distinguishable constructs in relation to psychopathic personality traits, and are discussed in terms of potentially separable mechanisms for these two constructs.

Higher Self-Control Capacity Predicts Lower Anxiety-Impaired Cognition During Math Examinations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex eBertrams

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We assumed that self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem would enable students to keep attentional control during tests. Therefore, we hypothesized that the three personality traits would be negatively related to anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations. Secondary school students (N = 158 completed measures of self-control capacity, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at the beginning of the school year. Five months later, anxiety-impaired cognition during math examinations was assessed. Higher self-control capacity, but neither self-efficacy nor self-esteem, predicted lower anxiety-impaired cognition five months later, over and above baseline anxiety-impaired cognition. Moreover, self-control capacity was indirectly related to math grades via anxiety-impaired cognition. The findings suggest that improving self-control capacity may enable students to deal with anxiety-related problems during school tests.

Trait anxiety and attenuated negative affect differentiation: a vulnerability factor to consider?

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Matt, Lindsey M; Fresco, David M; Coifman, Karin G

2016-11-01

Describing emotional experiences using distinct terms, or affect differentiation, has been associated with emotion regulation and adaptive behavior under stress. There is little data, however, examining the association between differentiation and dispositional factors underlying psychopathology. The current study examines the association between differentiation and trait anxiety (TA) given prior evidence of cognitive biases in TA relevant to higher order processing of emotional experiences. We examined cross-sectionally, via lab-based repeated assessment, the association between differentiation of negative and positive experiences and TA. Two hundred twenty-two adults completed an emotion reactivity task including repeated assessments of affect. We hypothesized that individuals higher in trait anxiety (HTA) would have greater difficulty differentiating their experiences. HTA individuals exhibited lower levels of negative affect (NA) differentiation even when controlling for depression. Although negative emotion intensity was consistently associated with lower differentiation, this did not account for the influence of HTA on differentiation. These data suggest that HTA individuals have greater difficulty differentiating negative emotions, regardless of negative emotion intensity and depression. As HTA is common to many emotional disorders; this evidence suggests that poor differentiation may also be an important transdiagnostic consideration in models of risk and of affective disease.

Processing efficiency theory in children: working memory as a mediator between trait anxiety and academic performance.

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Owens, Matthew; Stevenson, Jim; Norgate, Roger; Hadwin, Julie A

2008-10-01

Working memory skills are positively associated with academic performance. In contrast, high levels of trait anxiety are linked with educational underachievement. Based on Eysenck and Calvo's (1992) processing efficiency theory (PET), the present study investigated whether associations between anxiety and educational achievement were mediated via poor working memory performance. Fifty children aged 11-12 years completed verbal (backwards digit span; tapping the phonological store/central executive) and spatial (Corsi blocks; tapping the visuospatial sketchpad/central executive) working memory tasks. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Academic performance was assessed using school administered tests of reasoning (Cognitive Abilities Test) and attainment (Standard Assessment Tests). The results showed that the association between trait anxiety and academic performance was significantly mediated by verbal working memory for three of the six academic performance measures (math, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning). Spatial working memory did not significantly mediate the relationship between trait anxiety and academic performance. On average verbal working memory accounted for 51% of the association between trait anxiety and academic performance, while spatial working memory only accounted for 9%. The findings indicate that PET is a useful framework to assess the impact of children's anxiety on educational achievement.

Personality Traits and Examination Anxiety: Moderating Role of Gender

Science.gov (United States)

Asghari, Arezou; Abdul.Kadir, Rusnani bte; Elias, Habibah bte; Baba, Maznah bte

2013-01-01

This study is aimed at examining the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between personality traits and state anxiety. The participants were 375 Iranian high school students (193 males and 182 females). The instruments used were the NEO-FFI-3 Inventory and State Anxiety Inventory. Results of the structural model showed that from the…

Self-esteem and trait anxiety in relation to drug misuse in Kuwait.

Science.gov (United States)

al-Najjar, M; Clarke, D D

1996-05-01

This study was designed to document knowledge about Kuwaiti drug users and to investigate whether or not there is an association between their poor self-concept and high level of anxiety. One hundred and seven incarcerated drug users, 107 individuals serving prison terms for offenses other than drug use, and 107 "normal" individuals were included in this pilot study. The Arabic version of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to measure the subjects' self-esteem and state-trait anxiety, respectively. The results documented revealed that there is a relationship between levels of self-esteem and anxiety in Kuwaiti drug user behavior.

Sub-optimal parenting is associated with schizotypic and anxiety personality traits in adulthood.

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Giakoumaki, S G; Roussos, P; Zouraraki, C; Spanoudakis, E; Mavrikaki, M; Tsapakis, E M; Bitsios, P

2013-05-01

Part of the variation in personality characteristics has been attributed to the child-parent interaction and sub-optimal parenting has been associated with psychiatric morbidity. In the present study, an extensive battery of personality scales (Trait Anxiety Inventory, Behavioural Inhibition/Activation System questionnaire, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, Temperament and Character Inventory, Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) were administered in 324 adult healthy males to elucidate the effects of parenting on personality configuration. Personality variables were analysed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the factors "Schizotypy", "Anxiety", "Behavioural activation", "Novelty seeking" and "Reward dependence" were extracted. Associations between personality factors with PBI "care" and "overprotection" scores were examined with regression analyses. Subjects were divided into "parental style" groups and personality factors were subjected to categorical analyses. "Schizotypy" and "Anxiety" were significantly predicted by high maternal overprotection and low paternal care. In addition, the Affectionless control group (low care/high overprotection) had higher "Schizotypy" and "Anxiety" compared with the Optimal Parenting group (high care/low overprotection). These results further validate sub-optimal parenting as an important environmental exposure and extend our understanding on the mechanisms by which it increases risk for psychiatric morbidity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Investigating the Relationship between Anxiety of School-age Children Undergoing Surgery and Parental State-trait Anxiety

OpenAIRE

Fatemeh Heshmati Nabavi; Malihe Shoja; Monir Ramezani; Azadeh Saki; Marjan Joodi

2017-01-01

Background: Surgery is a stressful experience for children, and preoperative anxiety in children could be affected by the level of parental anxiety. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between anxiety in school-age children before surgery and parental state-trait anxiety. Method: This descriptive study was performed on 81 children within the age group of 6-12 years admitted for elective surgical operation and 128 parents in Doctor Sheikh Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, 2016....

Intolerance of uncertainty in opioid dependency - Relationship with trait anxiety and impulsivity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Garami

Full Text Available Intolerance of uncertainty (IU is the tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening and having negative consequences, resulting in feelings of distress and anxiety. IU has been linked to a number of anxiety disorders, and anxiety felt in the face of uncertainty may result in maladaptive behaviors such as impulsive decision making. Although there is strong evidence that anxiety and impulsivity are risk factors for addiction, there is a paucity of research examining the role of IU in this disorder. The rate of opioid addiction, in particular, has been rising steadily in recent years, which necessitates deeper understanding of risk factors in order to develop effective prevention and treatment methods. The current study tested for the first time whether opioid-dependent adults are less tolerant of uncertainty compared to a healthy comparison group. Opioid dependent patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy (n = 114 and healthy comparisons (n = 69 completed the following scales: Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, the Barrett Impulsivity Scale, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Analysis revealed that these measures were positively correlated with each other and that opioid-dependent patients had significantly higher IU scores. Regression analysis revealed that anxiety mediated the relationship between IU and impulsivity. Hierarchical moderation regression found an interaction between addiction status and impulsivity on IU scores in that the relationship between these variables was only observed in the patient group. Findings suggest that IU is a feature of addiction but does not necessarily play a unique role. Further research is needed to explore the complex relationship between traits and how they may contribute to the development and maintenance of addiction.

Relationship of genetically transmitted alpha EEG traits to anxiety disorders and alcoholism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enoch, M.A.; Rohrbaugh, W.; Harris, C.R. [Washington School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States)] [and others

1995-10-09

We tested the hypothesis that a heritable EEG trait, the low voltage alpha (LV), is associated with psychiatric disorders. Modest to moderate evidence for genetic linkage of both panic disorder and the low voltage alpha trait to the same region of chromosome 20q has recently been reported, raising the issue of whether there is a phenotypic correlation between these traits. A total of 124 subjects including 50 unrelated index subjects and 74 relatives were studied. Alpha EEG power was measured and EEG phenotypes were impressionistically classified. Subjects were psychiatrically interviewed using the SADS-L and blind-rated by RDC criteria. Alcoholics were four times more likely to be LV (including so-called borderline low voltage alpha) than were nonalcoholic, nonanxious subjects. Alcoholics with anxiety disorder are 10 times more likely to be LV. However, alcoholics without anxiety disorder were similar to nonalcoholics in alpha power. An anxiety disorder (panic disorder, phobia, or generalized anxiety) was found in 14/17 LV subjects as compared to 34/101 of the rest of the sample (P < 0.01). Support for these observations was found in the unrelated index subjects in whom no traits would be shared by familial clustering. Lower alpha power in anxiety disorders was not state-dependent, as indicated by the Spielberger Anxiety Scale. Familial covariance of alpha power was 0.25 (P < 0.01). These findings indicate there may be a shared factor underlying the transmissible low voltage alpha EEG variant and vulnerability to anxiety disorders with associated alcoholism. This factor is apparently not rare, because LV was found in approximately 10% of unrelated index subjects and 5% of subjects free of alcoholism and anxiety disorders. 43 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

Impact of Personality Traits, Anxiety, Depression and Hopelessness Levels on Quality of Life in the Patients with Breast Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Sarsanov, Dauren; Erdogan, Zeynep İyigün; İlgün, Ahmet Serkan; Çelebi, Esra; Alço, Gül; Kocaman, Nazmiye; Ordu, Çetin; Öztürk, Alper; Duymaz, Tomris; Pilavcı, Kezban Nur; Elbüken, Filiz; Ağaçayak, Filiz; Aktepe, Fatma; Ünveren, Gizem; Özdem, Gözdem; Eralp, Yeşim; Özmen, Vahit

2018-01-01

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of personality traits, anxiety, depression and hopelessness levels on quality of life in the patients with breast cancer. Materials and methods The study was performed on 90 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 90 healthy women. Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Collection Form designed by us, Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS), Beck Depression Scale (BDS), Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and Quality of Life Scale–Short Form (SF-36) were administered to patients and to control group. Results The patients with breast cancer were found to indicate higher levels of anxiety and depression, lower levels of quality of life, and higher scores of personality inventory subscales as compared to the healthy control group. In the patient group, it was identified that the quality of life subscale scores were found to be negatively correlated with anxiety, depression, hopelessness and neurotic personality scores; there was a positive correlation between neurotic personality scores and depression, anxiety and hopelessness scores. Conclusions It can be concluded that the breast cancer patients with extraversion personality traits have lower levels of anxiety and depression, keeping their quality of life better, whereas the patients with higher neuroticism scores may have more impaired quality of life. Therefore, the psychiatric evaluation of the breast cancer patients during and after the treatment cannot be ruled out. PMID:29774319

Impact of Personality Traits, Anxiety, Depression and Hopelessness Levels on Quality of Life in the Patients with Breast Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

İzci, Filiz; Sarsanov, Dauren; Erdogan, Zeynep İyigün; İlgün, Ahmet Serkan; Çelebi, Esra; Alço, Gül; Kocaman, Nazmiye; Ordu, Çetin; Öztürk, Alper; Duymaz, Tomris; Pilavcı, Kezban Nur; Elbüken, Filiz; Ağaçayak, Filiz; Aktepe, Fatma; Ünveren, Gizem; Özdem, Gözdem; Eralp, Yeşim; Özmen, Vahit

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of personality traits, anxiety, depression and hopelessness levels on quality of life in the patients with breast cancer. The study was performed on 90 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 90 healthy women. Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Collection Form designed by us, Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS), Beck Depression Scale (BDS), Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and Quality of Life Scale-Short Form (SF-36) were administered to patients and to control group. The patients with breast cancer were found to indicate higher levels of anxiety and depression, lower levels of quality of life, and higher scores of personality inventory subscales as compared to the healthy control group. In the patient group, it was identified that the quality of life subscale scores were found to be negatively correlated with anxiety, depression, hopelessness and neurotic personality scores; there was a positive correlation between neurotic personality scores and depression, anxiety and hopelessness scores. It can be concluded that the breast cancer patients with extraversion personality traits have lower levels of anxiety and depression, keeping their quality of life better, whereas the patients with higher neuroticism scores may have more impaired quality of life. Therefore, the psychiatric evaluation of the breast cancer patients during and after the treatment cannot be ruled out.

Lack of predictive power of trait fear and anxiety for conditioned pain modulation (CPM).

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Horn-Hofmann, Claudia; Priebe, Janosch A; Schaller, Jörg; Görlitz, Rüdiger; Lautenbacher, Stefan

2016-12-01

In recent years the association of conditioned pain modulation (CPM) with trait fear and anxiety has become a hot topic in pain research due to the assumption that such variables may explain the low CPM efficiency in some individuals. However, empirical evidence concerning this association is still equivocal. Our study is the first to investigate the predictive power of fear and anxiety for CPM by using a well-established psycho-physiological measure of trait fear, i.e. startle potentiation, in addition to two self-report measures of pain-related trait anxiety. Forty healthy, pain-free participants (female: N = 20; age: M = 23.62 years) underwent two experimental blocks in counter-balanced order: (1) a startle paradigm with affective picture presentation and (2) a CPM procedure with hot water as conditioning stimulus (CS) and contact heat as test stimulus (TS). At the end of the experimental session, pain catastrophizing (PCS) and pain anxiety (PASS) were assessed. PCS score, PASS score and startle potentiation to threatening pictures were entered as predictors in a linear regression model with CPM magnitude as criterion. We were able to show an inhibitory CPM effect in our sample: pain ratings of the heat stimuli were significantly reduced during hot water immersion. However, CPM was neither predicted by self-report of pain-related anxiety nor by startle potentiation as psycho-physiological measure of trait fear. These results corroborate previous negative findings concerning the association between trait fear/anxiety and CPM efficiency and suggest that shifting the focus from trait to state measures might be promising.

Trait anxiety and impaired control of reflective attention in working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoshino, Takatoshi; Tanno, Yoshihiko

2016-01-01

The present study investigated whether the control of reflective attention in working memory (WM) is impaired in high trait anxiety individuals. We focused on the consequences of refreshing-a simple reflective process of thinking briefly about a just-activated representation in mind-on the subsequent processing of verbal stimuli. Participants performed a selective refreshing task, in which they initially refreshed or read one word from a three-word set, and then refreshed a non-selected item from the initial phrase or read aloud a new word. High trait anxiety individuals exhibited greater latencies when refreshing a word after experiencing the refreshing of a word from the same list of semantic associates. The same pattern was observed for reading a new word after prior refreshing. These findings suggest that high trait anxiety individuals have difficulty resolving interference from active distractors when directing reflective attention towards contents in WM or processing a visually presented word.

Overlap between autistic and schizotypal personality traits is not accounted for by anxiety and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Mealey, Alex; Abbott, Gavin; Byrne, Linda K; McGillivray, Jane

2014-10-30

Autism spectrum and schizophrenia spectrum disorders are classified separately in the DSM-5, yet research indicates that these two disorders share overlapping features. The aim of the present study was to examine the overlap between autistic and schizotypal personality traits and whether anxiety and depression act as confounding variables in this relationship within a non-clinical population. One hundred and forty-four adults completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. A number of associations were seen between autistic and schizotypal personality traits. However, negative traits were the only schizotypal feature to uniquely predict global autistic traits, thus highlighting the importance of interpersonal qualities in the overlap of autistic and schizotypal characteristics. The inclusion of anxiety and depression did not alter relationships between autistic and schizotypal traits, indicating that anxiety and depression are not confounders of this relationship. These findings have important implications for the conceptualisation of both disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emotion-Induced Retrograde Amnesia and Trait Anxiety

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Miu, Andrei C.; Heilman, Renata M.; Opre, Adrian; Miclea, Mircea

2005-01-01

Emotional arousal can both enhance and impair memory. Considering that both emotional memory and trait anxiety (TA) have been associated with adrenergic activity, the authors investigated whether there is an association between 2 opposite emotional memory biases and the TA. The authors used a procedure recently put forward by B. A. Strange, R.…

Bullying and Social Anxiety in Chinese Children: Moderating Roles of Trait Resilience and Psychological Suzhi.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lili; Zhang, Dajun; Cheng, Gang; Hu, Tianqiang

2018-02-01

Research examining the relationship between bullying victimization and social anxiety has mainly been conducted in Western countries, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study explores the correlation between bullying victimization and social anxiety in a Chinese context and determines the moderating roles of psychological suzhi (a mental quality characterized by being steady, essential and implicit that affects adaptive, developmental, and creative behavior) and trait resilience among victims of bullying. Data were obtained from a stratified sample of 1903 children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. All participants completed measures of bullying victimization, social anxiety, trait resilience, and psychological suzhi. The results indicated that, after controlling for grade, residential area, and parental marital status, bullying victimization positively predicted children's social anxiety. In addition, multi-group analysis suggested that the association in girls was stronger relative to that observed in boys. Regarding underlying processes, trait resilience moderated the effect of bullying victimization on social anxiety only in girls. Further assessment of the latent interaction effects indicated that the protective effect of trait resilience was stronger for girls experiencing high, relative to low, levels of bullying victimization, and psychological suzhi buffered against the detrimental effects of bullying on children's social anxiety. Most notably, unlike the moderating effect of resilience, the buffering effect of psychological suzhi against social anxiety was most prominent when bullying victimization was low. Findings underscore the importance of enhancing trait resilience and psychological suzhi in interventions designed to reduce children's social anxiety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Temperament and Character Profiles on State and Trait Depression and Anxiety: A Prospective Study of a Japanese Youth Population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Lu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To examine the effects of temperament and character profiles on state and trait depression and anxiety in a Japanese youth population. Method. Japanese university students were solicited for participation in a two-wave study, with assessments performed at Time 1 (T1 and Time 2 (T2, separated by a five-month interval. A total of 184 students completed the Japanese version of the temperament and character inventory (TCI at T1 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS at T1 and T2. We posited two latent variables, trait depression and anxiety, composed of the T1 and T2 HADS depression and anxiety scores, respectively. We also posited that temperament domain traits would predict character domain traits, and that all the personality traits would be linked to trait depression and anxiety and also predict T2 depression and anxiety. Results. Structural regression modeling showed that (1 only high Novelty Seeking predicted T2 Anxiety score, (2 trait depression and anxiety were linked to high harm avoidance and low self-directedness, and (3 trait depression was linked to high self-transcendence whereas trait anxiety was linked to low reward dependence, persistence, and cooperativeness. Conclusion. The characteristic associations between TCI subscales and depression and anxiety were limited to the trait rather than state aspects of depression and anxiety.

GABA content within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is related to trait anxiety.

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Delli Pizzi, Stefano; Padulo, Caterina; Brancucci, Alfredo; Bubbico, Giovanna; Edden, Richard A; Ferretti, Antonio; Franciotti, Raffaella; Manippa, Valerio; Marzoli, Daniele; Onofrj, Marco; Sepede, Gianna; Tartaro, Armando; Tommasi, Luca; Puglisi-Allegra, Stefano; Bonanni, Laura

2016-05-01

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays a key role in emotion processing and regulation. vmPFC dysfunction may lead to disinhibition of amygdala causing high anxiety levels. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) inter-neurons within vmPFC shape the information flow to amygdala. Thus, we hypothesize that GABA content within vmPFC could be relevant to trait anxiety. Forty-three healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 88 years were assessed for trait anxiety with the Subscale-2 of the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2) and were studied with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate GABA and Glx (glutamate+glutamine) contents within vmPFC. Total creatine (tCr) was used as internal reference. Partial correlations assessed the association between metabolite levels and STAI-Y2 scores, removing the effect of possible nuisance factors including age, educational level, volumes of gray matter and white matter within magnetic resonance spectroscopy voxel. We observed a positive relationship between GABA/tCr and STAI-Y2 scores. No significant relationships were found between Glx/tCr and STAI-Y2 and between tCr/water and STAI-Y2. No differences were found between males and females as regards to age, STAI-Y2, GABA/tCr, Glx/tCr, tCr/water, gray matter and white matter volumes. We suggest a close relationship between GABA content within vmPFC and trait anxiety providing new insights in the physiology of emotional brain. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Age-related reduced prefrontal-amygdala structural connectivity is associated with lower trait anxiety.

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Clewett, David; Bachman, Shelby; Mather, Mara

2014-07-01

A current neuroanatomical model of anxiety posits that greater structural connectivity between the amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) facilitates regulatory control over the amygdala and helps reduce anxiety. However, some neuroimaging studies have reported contradictory findings, demonstrating a positive rather than negative association between trait anxiety and amygdala-vPFC white matter integrity. To help reconcile these findings, we tested the regulatory hypothesis of anxiety circuitry using aging as a model of white matter decline in the amygdala-vPFC pathway. We used probabilistic tractography to trace connections between the amygdala and vPFC in 21 younger, 18 middle-aged, and 15 healthy older adults. The resulting tract estimates were used to extract 3 indices of white-matter integrity: fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD). The relationship between these amygdala-vPFC structural connectivity measures and age and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores were assessed. The tractography results revealed age-related decline in the FA (p = .005) and radial diffusivity (p = .002) of the amygdala-vPFC pathway. Contrary to the regulatory hypothesis, we found a positive rather than negative association between trait anxiety and right amygdala-vPFC FA (p = .01). These findings argue against the notion that greater amygdala-vPFC structural integrity facilitates better anxiety outcomes in healthy adults. Instead, our results suggest that white matter degeneration in this network relates to lower anxiety in older adults.

Age-related reduced prefrontal-amygdala structural connectivity is associated with lower trait anxiety

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Clewett, David; Bachman, Shelby; Mather, Mara

2014-01-01

Objective A current neuroanatomical model of anxiety posits that greater structural connectivity between the amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) facilitates regulatory control over the amygdala and helps reduce anxiety. However, some neuroimaging studies have reported contradictory findings, demonstrating a positive rather than negative association between trait anxiety and amygdala-vPFC white matter integrity. To help reconcile these findings, we tested the regulatory hypothesis of anxiety circuitry using aging as a model of white matter decline in the amygdala-vPFC pathway. Methods We used probabilistic tractography to trace connections between the amygdala and vPFC in 21 younger, 18 middle-aged, and 15 healthy older adults. The resulting tract estimates were used to extract three indices of white-matter integrity: fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD). The relationship between these amygdala-vPFC structural connectivity measures and age and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores were assessed. Results The tractography results revealed age-related decline in the FA (p = .005) and radial diffusivity (p = .002) of the amygdala-vPFC pathway. Contrary to the regulatory hypothesis, we found a positive rather than negative association between trait anxiety and right amygdala-vPFC FA (p = .01). Conclusion These findings argue against the notion that greater amygdala-vPFC structural integrity facilitates better anxiety outcomes in healthy adults. Instead, our results suggest that white matter degeneration in this network relates to lower anxiety in older adults. PMID:24635708

The Distribution of and Relationship between Autistic Traits and Social Anxiety in a UK Student Population

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Freeth, Megan; Bullock, Tom; Milne, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Traits associated with autism and social anxiety were assessed in a UK student population (n = 1325) using the Autism-spectrum Quotient and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Clinically relevant levels of autistic traits were observed in 3.3% of the cohort; 10.1% of the cohort reported clinically relevant levels of social anxiety; 1.8% of the…

The Mediation Effects of Career Exploration on the Relationship between Trait Anxiety and Career Indecision

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Park, Kira; Woo, Sungbum; Park, Kibok; Kyea, Jina; Yang, Eunjoo

2017-01-01

This study investigated trait anxiety, career exploration behaviors, and career indecision. Using longitudinal data, career exploration behavior was examined as a mediator in the relationship between trait anxiety and career indecision. Five hundred and one Korean college students completed online questionnaires at three different time points with…

Relationships between adaptation-innovation, experienced control, and state-trait anxiety.

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Elder, R L

1989-08-01

This study examines correlations among scores on the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, the Tiffany Control Scales, and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for 104 undergraduates enrolled in the general psychology classes at a middle-sized midwestern university. Analysis indicated that adaptors and innovators perceive control from and/or over some aspects of their lives differently. Innovators feel control over internal (self) and over external (environment) while adaptors feel control from internal (self) and from external (environment). These results suggest innovators generally feel that they are in control of both themselves and the environment. Adaptors, however, generally feel they are controlled by internal drives and impulses or environmental events. The present study yielded no correlation between choice of college major and adaption-innovation but more research is needed. A relation between adaption and state anxiety was found, which may suggest adaptors feel more pressure when completing a novel task (answering questionnaires) than innovators. Finally, no significant correlation was found between the Kirton scores and trait anxiety.

Effects of acculturation on prenatal anxiety among Latina women.

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Barcelona de Mendoza, Veronica; Harville, Emily; Theall, Katherine; Buekens, Pierre; Chasan-Taber, Lisa

2016-08-01

Anxiety in pregnancy has been associated with adverse birth outcomes. Relatively few studies have investigated how acculturation affects mental health in pregnancy among Latinas. The goal of this study was to determine if acculturation was associated with anxiety over the course of pregnancy in a sample of predominantly Puerto Rican women. Women were recruited in pregnancy for participation in Proyecto Buena Salud, a prospective cohort study of Latina women (n = 1412). Acculturation was measured via the Psychological Acculturation Scale (PAS), language preference and generation in the USA. Anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Instrument. Linear and logistic multivariable regressions were used to investigate associations. After adjustment, women with bicultural identification had significantly lower trait anxiety scores in early pregnancy (β = -3.62, SE = 1.1, p acculturated women. Women with higher levels of acculturation as indicated by English-language preference (β = 1.41, SE = 0.7, p = 0.04) and second or third generation in the USA had significantly higher trait anxiety scores in early pregnancy (β = 1.83, SE = 0.6, p acculturation was associated with lower trait anxiety in early pregnancy, while English-language preference and higher generation in the USA were associated with higher trait anxiety in early pregnancy.

EXAMINING HOW WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL PLAYERS’ SELF-ESTEEM AND MOTIVATION LEVELS IMPACT ON THEIR STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY LEVELS

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Hakan Kolayis

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to examine how wheelchair basketball players’ self-esteem and motivation levels impact on their state and trait anxiety levels. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, Sport Motivation Scale and STAI (State Trait Anxiety Inventory were applied to the athletes before a competition. Data were collected from 124 athletes with disabilities. In this study, descriptive statistical techniques, Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression analysis (enter method were used. Multiple regression analyses indicated that self-esteem, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation, all of which function as predicting variables, predicted 42% variance in state anxiety and 50% variance in trait anxiety. Motivation and self-esteem are the best predictors of trait and state anxiety among the premier league wheelchair basketball players. Finally, a review of factors that impact on anxiety and quality of performance such as motivation and self-esteem is provided.

Autistic Traits and Symptoms of Social Anxiety are Differentially Related to Attention to Others' Eyes in Social Anxiety Disorder.

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Kleberg, Johan Lundin; Högström, Jens; Nord, Martina; Bölte, Sven; Serlachius, Eva; Falck-Ytter, Terje

2017-12-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) have partly overlapping symptoms. Gaze avoidance has been linked to both SAD and ASD, but little is known about differences in social attention between the two conditions. We studied eye movements in a group of treatment-seeking adolescents with SAD (N = 25), assessing SAD and ASD dimensionally. The results indicated a double dissociation between two measures of social attention and the two symptom dimensions. Controlling for social anxiety, elevated autistic traits were associated with delayed orienting to eyes presented among distractors. In contrast, elevated social anxiety levels were associated with faster orienting away from the eyes, when controlling for autistic traits. This distinction deepens our understanding of ASD and SAD.

DLPFC implication in memory processing of affective information. A look on anxiety trait contribution

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Chiara Ferrari

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Recent studies suggested to approach to the analysis of the emotions and cognition from an integrating point of view rather than investigate the two constructs per se. In line with this research approach, the present study aims to investigate how emotions can affect memory processes and which cerebral areas are involved in this mechanism. We also aim to understand if and how this processing is influenced by specific personality traits, as anxiety trait. Using a rTMS measure, participants were asked to performance a memory task (a retrieval task composed by verbal material with and without emotional content. Subjects were also assessed for their anxiety trait (high and low anxiety subjects. Our study provided a strong evidence for the influence of the emotional content and personality trait on the memory processes. Secondly, the role of the Left Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal Cortex in emotional memory was pointed out with a specific function of this frontal network in managing the emotional memories.

Body dissatisfaction, trait anxiety and self-esteem in young men

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Czeglédi Edit

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: Body image dissatisfaction has recently been described as 'normative' for both men and women. Despite intense theoretical interest in a multidimensional concept of male body image, comprehensive models have rarely been assessed empirically. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the relationship between body image and self-esteem among men in a multivariate model. Methods: Participants of this cross-sectional questionnaire study were 239 male university students (mean age: 20.3 years, SD=2.78 years, range: 18-39 years. Measures: self-reported anthropometric data, weightlifting activity, importance of appearance, perceived weight status, satisfaction with body height, Body Shape Questionnaire - Short form, Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: Structural equation modeling showed that after controlling for age, BMI, weightlifting activity, the importance of appearance, and trait anxiety, only muscle dissatisfaction predicted lower self-esteem (β=-0.11, p=0.033. Neither height dissatisfaction nor weight dissatisfaction showed significant association with selfesteem. Muscle dissatisfaction partially mediated the relationship between trait anxiety and self-esteem (β=-0.04, p=0.049, R2=0.05. The model explained 50.4% of the variance in selfesteem. Conclusions: The results emphasize that trait anxiety might be a background variable in the relationship between males' body dissatisfaction and self-esteem, which should be considered in future studies and in the course of therapy.

The relationships between trait anxiety, place recognition memory, and learning strategy.

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Hawley, Wayne R; Grissom, Elin M; Dohanich, Gary P

2011-01-20

Rodents learn to navigate mazes using various strategies that are governed by specific regions of the brain. The type of strategy used when learning to navigate a spatial environment is moderated by a number of factors including emotional states. Heightened anxiety states, induced by exposure to stressors or administration of anxiogenic agents, have been found to bias male rats toward the use of a striatum-based stimulus-response strategy rather than a hippocampus-based place strategy. However, no study has yet examined the relationship between natural anxiety levels, or trait anxiety, and the type of learning strategy used by rats on a dual-solution task. In the current experiment, levels of inherent anxiety were measured in an open field and compared to performance on two separate cognitive tasks, a Y-maze task that assessed place recognition memory, and a visible platform water maze task that assessed learning strategy. Results indicated that place recognition memory on the Y-maze correlated with the use of place learning strategy on the water maze. Furthermore, lower levels of trait anxiety correlated positively with better place recognition memory and with the preferred use of place learning strategy. Therefore, competency in place memory and bias in place strategy are linked to the levels of inherent anxiety in male rats. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impaired Cognitive Control of Emotional Conflict in Trait Anxiety: A Preliminary Study Based on Clinical and Non-Clinical Individuals

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Yongju Yu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available BackgroundIt has been observed that trait anxiety easily leads to conflict maladaptation under conflict circumstances. However, it remains unclear whether the precise neural mechanisms underlying the effects of high trait anxiety (HTA on cognitive control are consistent in high trait anxious individuals, with and without anxiety disorders.MethodsThe present study recruited 29 healthy volunteers with low trait anxiety (LTA, 37 healthy volunteers with HTA, and 23 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD. All participants completed demographic information and self-report measures of trait anxiety and depression. Then, they performed the emotional flanker task with event-related potentials (ERPs recorded.ResultsBehavioral data manifested that, relative to LTA individuals, GAD patients displayed prolonged response times and increased error rates, while HTA individuals showed intact response times and accuracies. Event-related potential (ERP data revealed that HTA individuals exhibited a trend toward more negative N2 amplitudes for conflict detection. By contrast, both HTA and GAD individuals displayed decreased P3 amplitudes for conflict resolution. ERP results indicated that both HTA and GAD individuals exhibited conflict maladaptation on the N2 amplitude. Correlation analyses also showed that the increased anxiety symptoms were associated with longer reaction times, more error rates, lower P3 amplitudes, and more perturbations in conflict adaptation on reaction times and N2 amplitudes.ConclusionOur results demonstrated a severely impaired cognitive control in GAD patients while a moderately impaired cognitive control in HTA individuals. Trait anxiety can indeed serve as a predominant factor at the onset and in the maintenance of GAD. Therefore, the trait anxiety reducing strategies may provide significant therapeutic gains.

Trait Anxiety and Economic Risk Avoidance Are Not Necessarily Associated: Evidence from the Framing Effect.

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Gu, Ruolei; Wu, Runguo; Broster, Lucas S; Jiang, Yang; Xu, Rui; Yang, Qiwei; Xu, Pengfei; Luo, Yue-Jia

2017-01-01

According to previous literature, trait anxiety is related to the tendency to choose safety options during risk decision-making, that is, risk avoidance. In our opinion, anxious people's risk preference might actually reflect their hypersensitivity to emotional information. To examine this hypothesis, a decision-making task that could elicit the framing effect was employed. The framing effect indicates that risk preference could be modulated by emotional messages contained in the description (i.e., frame) of options. The behavioral results have showed the classic framing effect. In addition, individual level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with the framing effect size. However, trait anxiety was not correlated with risk-avoidance ratio in any condition. Finally, the relationship between anxiety and the framing effect remained significant after the level of depression was also taken into account. The theoretical significance and the major limitations of this study are discussed.

Influence of 5-HTT variation, childhood trauma and self-efficacy on anxiety traits: a gene-environment-coping interaction study.

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Schiele, Miriam A; Ziegler, Christiane; Holitschke, Karoline; Schartner, Christoph; Schmidt, Brigitte; Weber, Heike; Reif, Andreas; Romanos, Marcel; Pauli, Paul; Zwanzger, Peter; Deckert, Jürgen; Domschke, Katharina

2016-08-01

Environmental vulnerability factors such as adverse childhood experiences in interaction with genetic risk variants, e.g., the serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), are assumed to play a role in the development of anxiety and affective disorders. However, positive influences such as general self-efficacy (GSE) may exert a compensatory effect on genetic disposition, environmental adversity, and anxiety traits. We, thus, assessed childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, CTQ) and GSE in 678 adults genotyped for 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 and their interaction on agoraphobic cognitions (Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire, ACQ), social anxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, LSAS), and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI-T). The relationship between anxiety traits and childhood trauma was moderated by self-efficacy in 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 LALA genotype carriers: LALA probands maltreated as children showed high anxiety scores when self-efficacy was low, but low anxiety scores in the presence of high self-efficacy despite childhood maltreatment. Our results extend previous findings regarding anxiety-related traits showing an interactive relationship between 5-HTT genotype and adverse childhood experiences by suggesting coping-related measures to function as an additional dimension buffering the effects of a gene-environment risk constellation. Given that anxiety disorders manifest already early in childhood, this insight could contribute to the improvement of psychotherapeutic interventions by including measures strengthening self-efficacy and inform early targeted preventive interventions in at-risk populations, particularly within the crucial time window of childhood and adolescence.

Anticipation of public speaking in virtual reality reveals a relationship between trait social anxiety and startle reactivity.

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Cornwell, Brian R; Johnson, Linda; Berardi, Luciano; Grillon, Christian

2006-04-01

Startle reflex modification has become valuable to the study of fear and anxiety, but few studies have explored startle reactivity in socially threatening situations. Healthy participants ranging in trait social anxiety entered virtual reality (VR) that simulates standing center-stage in front of an audience to anticipate giving a speech and count backward. We measured startle and autonomic reactivity during anticipation of both tasks inside VR after a single baseline recording outside VR. Trait social anxiety, but not general trait anxiety, was positively correlated with startle before entering VR and most clearly during speech anticipation inside VR. Speech anticipation inside VR also elicited stronger physiologic responses relative to anticipation of counting. Under social-evaluative threat, startle reactivity showed robust relationships with fear of negative evaluation, a central aspect of social anxiety and clinical social phobia. Context-specific startle modification may be an endophenotype for subtypes of pathological anxiety.

Effectiveness of music therapy in state-trait anxiety rate of addicts in drug-free rehabilitation stage

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E Soleimani

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of music therapy on addicts’ state-trait anxiety rate in the stage of drug-free rehabilitation. Method: A quasi-experimental research design, along with pretest-posttest and control group was employed for the conduct of this study. The statistical population of the study included the addicts in the rehabilitation stage who had referred to the clean collaborators rehabilitation camp in Ardebil province in November 2014. From this population, the number of 32 addicts in 16-50-year-old age range was selected as the participants of the study by convenience sampling method. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used for data collection. Results: The results of multivariate covariant analysis showed that there is a significant difference between control and experimental groups in state and trait anxiety. In other words, the state and trait anxiety of addicts in the experimental group had been reduced after music therapy. Conclusion: Considering the obtained results, it can be concluded that music therapy alone or along other psychological interventions can be an effective method for reducing addicts’ anxiety in drug-free rehabilitation stage.

Trait anxiety as an independent predictor of poor health-related quality of life and post-traumatic stress symptoms in rectal cancer

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Ristvedt, Stephen L.; Trinkaus, Kathryn M.

2009-01-01

Objectives To determine the influence of trait anxiety on patient reports of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in a sample of rectal cancer survivors. Design Eighty patients who had been diagnosed with rectal cancer were assessed at two points in time in a longitudinal study. Methods At Time 1, soon after initial treatment, participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Temperament and Character Inventory Harm Avoidance scale, which were combined into a composite measure of trait anxiety. At Time 2, 2-5 years following Time 1, participants were assessed for HRQoL using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal scale (FACT-C) and for PTSS using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Results HRQoL and PTSS were generally favourable on average, although many of the patients reported faring poorly. Higher levels of trait anxiety were predictive of poorer scores on all of the FACT-C and the IES-R total and subscale measures. More severe faecal incontinence was associated with poorer scores on the FACT Emotional well-being subscale, the FACT-Colorectal Cancer Scale, and all of the IES-R scales. Males were more likely than females to have poorer scores on the FACT Social well-being subscale, and those patients who were further out from active treatment had more favourable scores on the FACT-Colorectal Cancer Scale. The presence of a colostomy did not impact HRQoL or PTSS. Conclusion Trait anxiety had a significant influence on HRQoL and PTSS several years following diagnosis and treatment of rectal cancer. PMID:19171084

How trait anxiety, interpretation bias and memory affect acquired fear in children learning about new animals.

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Field, Zoë C; Field, Andy P

2013-06-01

Cognitive models of vulnerability to anxiety propose that information processing biases such as interpretation bias play a part in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. However, at present little is known about the role of memory in information processing accounts of child anxiety. The current study investigates the relationships between interpretation biases, memory and fear responses when learning about new stimuli. Children (aged 8-11 years) were presented with ambiguous information regarding a novel animal, and their fear, interpretation bias, and memory for the information was measured. The main findings were: (1) trait anxiety and interpretation bias significantly predicted acquired fear; (2) interpretation bias did not significantly mediate the relationship between trait anxiety and acquired fear; (3) interpretation bias appeared to be a more important predictor of acquired fear than trait anxiety per se; and (4) the relationship between interpretation bias and acquired fear was not mediated by the number of negative memories but was mediated by the number of positive and false-positive memories. The findings suggest that information processing models of child anxiety need to explain the role of positive memory in the formation of fear responses.

Effects of a Brief Meditation Training on Negative Affect, Trait Anxiety and Concentrated Attention

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Carolina Baptista Menezes

2015-12-01

Full Text Available AbstractMeditation has been associated with positive psychological outcomes, but few studies have investigated brief interventions. This randomized controlled pilot study assessed the effects of five days of focused meditation on positive and negative affect, state and trait anxiety, as well as concentrated attention in a nonclinical sample distributed in two groups (experimental = 14, 51.8% female, Mage= 23.9; control = 19, 62% female, Mage= 24.9. The instruments used were the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Concentrated Attention Test. The meditation group reduced negative affect and trait anxiety, and also improved correct responses on the attention test, relative to controls. These preliminary findings indicate that even short focused meditation training may help improve some psychological variables. It is discussed that the early manifestation of these benefits may be especially relevant to strengthen the motivation to continue and practice regularly.

The relationship between parenting factors and trait anxiety: mediating role of cognitive errors and metacognition.

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Gallagher, Bridie; Cartwright-Hatton, Sam

2008-05-01

Research examining parenting factors in the development of anxiety has focused largely on the concepts of parental warmth and overcontrolling or intrusive parenting, This study investigated the relationship between these factors, and also parental discipline style and anxiety using self-report methodology with a sample of 16-18 year olds. In order to try to explain the relationship between parenting and anxiety, measures of cognition were also included. A multiple regression was conducted including all parenting factors as predictors of trait anxiety. The regression was a modest fit (R(2)=22%) and the model was significant (F(4, 141)=9.90, pdiscipline was significantly associated with increased cognitive distortions (r=0.361 pdiscipline style and trait anxiety. The implications of these findings and areas for future research are discussed.

Optimism and the brain: trait optimism mediates the protective role of the orbitofrontal cortex gray matter volume against anxiety.

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Dolcos, Sanda; Hu, Yifan; Iordan, Alexandru D; Moore, Matthew; Dolcos, Florin

2016-02-01

Converging evidence identifies trait optimism and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as personality and brain factors influencing anxiety, but the nature of their relationships remains unclear. Here, the mechanisms underlying the protective role of trait optimism and of increased OFC volume against symptoms of anxiety were investigated in 61 healthy subjects, who completed measures of trait optimism and anxiety, and underwent structural scanning using magnetic resonance imaging. First, the OFC gray matter volume (GMV) was associated with increased optimism, which in turn was associated with reduced anxiety. Second, trait optimism mediated the relation between the left OFC volume and anxiety, thus demonstrating that increased GMV in this brain region protects against symptoms of anxiety through increased optimism. These results provide novel evidence about the brain-personality mechanisms protecting against anxiety symptoms in healthy functioning, and identify potential targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing susceptibility and increasing resilience against emotional disturbances. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Big Five personality traits and performance anxiety in relation to marching arts satisfaction.

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Levy, Jacob J; Lounsbury, John W

2011-01-01

To examine the Big Five personality traits and performance anxiety in relation to marching arts satisfaction. Data were collected from 278 instrumentalists (i.e., brass players and percussionists) and color guard performers (e.g., dancers) representing six world class drum and bugle corps. PARTICIPANTS completed three measures: the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory was used to measure the Big Five personality factors: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness; the Performance Anxiety Questionnaire - used to assess somatic and cognitive symptoms of performance anxiety; and the Marching Arts Satisfaction - used to assess for the physical, social, and contextual environments of drum and bugle corps. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed concurrent relationships between the Big Five and performance anxiety with satisfaction. A linear combination of the Big Five traits and Performance Anxiety accounted for 36% of the total variance in satisfaction, with Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Performance Anxiety contributing significant unique variance. The findings of the present study suggest that performers who are extraverted, conscientious, and effective at managing general stress - and performance stress in particular - find a greater sense of satisfaction with their participation in world class drum and bugle corps.

Personality traits as predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress with secondary school students of final years

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Vujičić Milena M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this research is to examine the predictive power of personality traits, as defined by the Big five model of personality in expressing depression, anxiety, and stress with secondary school students of final years. The research was conducted on a sample of 977 secondary school students in the third and fourth grade from ten secondary schools in Niš. The gender structure of the sample was as follows: 397 boys and 607 girls. The following instruments were used in the research: Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21; Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995, Big Five Inventory - BFI (John, Donahue and Kentle, 1991. The results showed that the regression model constructed by personal traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to experience explain 26% of the criterion variable of Anxiety. The largest individual contribution to the prediction of this variable is achieved by the personal trait Neuroticism (β=.34, p<0.01 . Other personal traits that contribute to the prediction of this variable at a statistically significant level are Extraversion (β =-.17, p<0.01, Agreeableness (β =-.14, p<0.01 and Conscientiousness (β =-.17, p<0.01. The same model explains 37% of the criterion variable Stress. The largest individual contribution to Stress prediction is achieved by the personal trait Neuroticism (β =.57, p<0.01. The same model explains 27% of the criterion variable Anxiety as well. The largest individual contribution to the prediction of this variable is achieved by the personal trait Neuroticism (β =.45, p<0.01, whereas a statistically significant correlation between personal traits Agreeableness (β =-.06, p<0.05 and Conscientious (β =-.12, p<0.01 exists. Results show that the difference between boys and girls in expressing Anxiety (t=-2.96, p<0.01 and Stress (t=-5.01, p<0.01 exists. These emotional states are more expressive with girls. However, there are no differences in expressing Depression

Illness severity, trait anxiety, cognitive impairment and heart rate variability in bipolar disorder.

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Levy, Boaz

2014-12-30

Numerous studies have documented a significant association between symptom severity and cognitive functioning in bipolar disorder (BD). These findings advanced speculations about a potential link between the physiological stress associated with illness severity and cognitive dysfunction. To explore this hypothesis, the current study employed heart rate variability (HRV) as a physiological measure that is sensitive to the effects of chronic stress, and a scale of trait anxiety for assessing a psychological condition that is correlated with hyper sympathetic arousal. Analyses indicated that BD patients with High Illness Severity reported more symptoms of trait-anxiety (i.e., State Trait Anxiety Inventory), performed more poorly on a computerized neuropsychological battery (i.e., CNS Vital Signs), and exhibited a more constricted HRV profile (i.e., lower SDNN with elevated LF/HF ratio) than patients with Low Illness Severity. Illness severity was determined by a history of psychosis, illness duration, and number of mood episodes. A third group of healthy controls (n=22) performed better on the neuropsychological battery and exhibited a healthier HRV profile than the BD groups. This study provides preliminary evidence that illness severity and cognitive impairment in BD may be associated with state anxiety and neuro-cardiac alterations that are sensitive to physiological stress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anxiety and depression among adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The roles of behavioral temperamental traits, comorbid autism spectrum disorder, and bullying involvement

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Huei-Fan Hu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the associations of behavioral temperamental traits, comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD, and bullying involvement with anxiety and depression among adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD in Taiwan. A total of 287 adolescents aged 11–18 years diagnosed with ADHD participated in this study. Their severities of anxiety and depression were assessed. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the correlates of anxiety and depression. The results show that adolescents with ADHD who reported a higher behavioral inhibition system (BIS score, had comorbid ASD, and were bullying victims, reported more severe anxiety and depressive symptoms. Adolescents with ADHD who bullied others reported more severe depressive symptoms than those who did not bully. The results of this study indicated that behavioral temperamental traits on the BIS, comorbid ASD, and bullying involvement were significantly associated with anxiety and depression among the adolescents with ADHD.

Positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia and their relation to depression, anxiety, hope, self-stigma and personality traits - a cross-sectional study.

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Vrbova, Kristyna; Prasko, Jan; Holubova, Michaela; Slepecky, Milos; Ociskova, Marie

2018-03-01

The purpose of the investigation was to explore the relationship between positive or negative symptoms, social anxiety, hope, personality, and self-stigma in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. 57 outpatients took part in this cross-sectional study. The structured interview M.I.N.I. International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to confirm the diagnosis. All patients completed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, and Temperament and Character Inventory - Revised. The disorder severity was evaluated by Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. The patients were in a stabilized state that did not require hospitalization or modifications in the treatment. Both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia positively correlated with the length of the disorder, global severity of the disorder, the severity of the general and social anxiety symptoms, the severity of self-stigma, and negatively with personality traits Self-directedness and Cooperativeness. Only negative symptoms significantly positively correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms and personality trait Harm-avoidance and negatively with the hope and personality trait Persistence. Comorbidity with social phobia is associated with statistically significantly higher mean scores on the total score of schizophrenic symptomatology, negative subscale average rating, and general psychopathological items measured by PANSS. Patient with comorbid depression would experience a higher level of negative symptomatology than patients without such comorbidity.

Trait anxiety mediates the effect of stress exposure on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression risk in cardiac surgery patients.

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Kok, Lotte; Sep, Milou S; Veldhuijzen, Dieuwke S; Cornelisse, Sandra; Nierich, Arno P; van der Maaten, Joost; Rosseel, Peter M; Hofland, Jan; Dieleman, Jan M; Vinkers, Christiaan H; Joëls, Marian; van Dijk, Diederik; Hillegers, Manon H

2016-12-01

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are common after cardiac surgery. Lifetime stress exposure and personality traits may influence the development of these psychiatric conditions. Self-reported rates of PTSD and depression and potential determinants (i.e., trait anxiety and stress exposure) were established 1.5 to 4 years after cardiac surgery. Data was available for 1125 out of 1244 (90.4%) participants. Multivariable linear regressions were conducted to investigate mediating and/or moderating effects of trait anxiety on the relationship between stress exposure, and PTSD and depression. Pre-planned subgroup analyses were performed for both sexes. PTSD and depression symptoms were present in 10.2% and 13.1% of the participants, respectively. Trait anxiety was a full mediator of the association between stress exposure and depression in both the total cohort and female and male subgroups. Moreover, trait anxiety partially mediated the relationship between stress exposure and PTSD in the full cohort and the male subgroup, whereas trait anxiety fully mediated this relationship in female patients. Trait anxiety did not play a moderating role in the total patient sample, nor after stratification on gender. The unequal distribution of male (78%) and female patients (22%) might limit the generalizability of our findings. Furthermore, risk factors were investigated retrospectively and with variable follow-up time. In cardiac surgery patients, trait anxiety was found to be an important mediator of postoperative PTSD and depression. Prospective research is necessary to verify whether these factors are reliable screening measures of individuals' vulnerability for psychopathology development after cardiac surgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of working memory load on cognitive control in trait anxiety: an ERP study.

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Qi, Senqing; Zeng, Qinghong; Luo, Yangmei; Duan, Haijun; Ding, Cody; Hu, Weiping; Li, Hong

2014-01-01

Whether trait anxiety is associated with a general impairment of cognitive control is a matter of debate. This study investigated whether and how experimentally manipulated working memory (WM) load modulates the relation between trait anxiety and cognitive control. This question was investigated using a dual-task design in combination with event-related potentials. Participants were required to remember either one (low WM load) or six letters (high WM load) while performing a flanker task. Our results showed that a high WM load disrupted participants' ability to overcome distractor interference and this effect was exacerbated for the high trait-anxious (HTA) group. This exacerbation was reflected by larger interference effects (i.e., incongruent minus congruent) on reaction times (RTs) and N2 amplitudes for the HTA group than for the low trait-anxious group under high WM load. The two groups, however, did not differ in their ability to inhibit task-irrelevant distractors under low WM load, as indicated by both RTs and N2 amplitudes. These findings underscore the significance of WM-related cognitive demand in contributing to the presence (or absence) of a general cognitive control deficit in trait anxiety. Furthermore, our findings show that when limited WM resources are depleted by high WM load, HTA individuals exhibit less efficient recruitments of cognitive control required for the inhibition of distractors, therefore resulting in a greater degree of response conflict.

Individual Differences in Subjective Utility and Risk Preferences: The Influence of Hedonic Capacity and Trait Anxiety

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Howlett, Jonathon R.; Paulus, Martin P.

2017-01-01

Individual differences in decision-making are important in both normal populations and psychiatric conditions. Variability in decision-making could be mediated by different subjective utilities or by other processes. For example, while traditional economic accounts attribute risk aversion to a concave subjective utility curve, in practice other factors could affect risk behavior. This distinction may have important implications for understanding the biological basis of variability in decision-making and for developing interventions to improve decision-making. Another aspect of decision-making that may vary between individuals is the sensitivity of subjective utility to counterfactual outcomes (outcomes that could have occurred, but did not). We investigated decision-making in relation to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety, two traits that relate to psychiatric conditions but also vary in the general population. Subjects performed a decision-making task, in which they chose between low- and high-risk gambles to win 0, 20, or 40 points on each trial. Subjects then rated satisfaction after each outcome on a visual analog scale, indicating subjective utility. Hedonic capacity was positively associated with the subjective utility of winning 20 points but was not associated with the concavity of the subjective utility curve (constructed using the mean subjective utility of winning 0, 20, or 40 points). Consistent with economic theory, concavity of the subjective utility curve was associated with risk aversion. Hedonic capacity was independently associated with risk seeking (i.e., not mediated by the shape of the subjective utility curve), while trait anxiety was unrelated to risk preferences. Contrary to our expectations, counterfactual sensitivity was unrelated to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety. Nevertheless, trait anxiety was associated with a self-report measure of regret-proneness, suggesting that counterfactual influences may occur via a pathway that is separate

Individual Differences in Subjective Utility and Risk Preferences: The Influence of Hedonic Capacity and Trait Anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Howlett, Jonathon R; Paulus, Martin P

2017-01-01

Individual differences in decision-making are important in both normal populations and psychiatric conditions. Variability in decision-making could be mediated by different subjective utilities or by other processes. For example, while traditional economic accounts attribute risk aversion to a concave subjective utility curve, in practice other factors could affect risk behavior. This distinction may have important implications for understanding the biological basis of variability in decision-making and for developing interventions to improve decision-making. Another aspect of decision-making that may vary between individuals is the sensitivity of subjective utility to counterfactual outcomes (outcomes that could have occurred, but did not). We investigated decision-making in relation to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety, two traits that relate to psychiatric conditions but also vary in the general population. Subjects performed a decision-making task, in which they chose between low- and high-risk gambles to win 0, 20, or 40 points on each trial. Subjects then rated satisfaction after each outcome on a visual analog scale, indicating subjective utility. Hedonic capacity was positively associated with the subjective utility of winning 20 points but was not associated with the concavity of the subjective utility curve (constructed using the mean subjective utility of winning 0, 20, or 40 points). Consistent with economic theory, concavity of the subjective utility curve was associated with risk aversion. Hedonic capacity was independently associated with risk seeking (i.e., not mediated by the shape of the subjective utility curve), while trait anxiety was unrelated to risk preferences. Contrary to our expectations, counterfactual sensitivity was unrelated to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety. Nevertheless, trait anxiety was associated with a self-report measure of regret-proneness, suggesting that counterfactual influences may occur via a pathway that is separate

Individual Differences in Subjective Utility and Risk Preferences: The Influence of Hedonic Capacity and Trait Anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathon R. Howlett

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Individual differences in decision-making are important in both normal populations and psychiatric conditions. Variability in decision-making could be mediated by different subjective utilities or by other processes. For example, while traditional economic accounts attribute risk aversion to a concave subjective utility curve, in practice other factors could affect risk behavior. This distinction may have important implications for understanding the biological basis of variability in decision-making and for developing interventions to improve decision-making. Another aspect of decision-making that may vary between individuals is the sensitivity of subjective utility to counterfactual outcomes (outcomes that could have occurred, but did not. We investigated decision-making in relation to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety, two traits that relate to psychiatric conditions but also vary in the general population. Subjects performed a decision-making task, in which they chose between low- and high-risk gambles to win 0, 20, or 40 points on each trial. Subjects then rated satisfaction after each outcome on a visual analog scale, indicating subjective utility. Hedonic capacity was positively associated with the subjective utility of winning 20 points but was not associated with the concavity of the subjective utility curve (constructed using the mean subjective utility of winning 0, 20, or 40 points. Consistent with economic theory, concavity of the subjective utility curve was associated with risk aversion. Hedonic capacity was independently associated with risk seeking (i.e., not mediated by the shape of the subjective utility curve, while trait anxiety was unrelated to risk preferences. Contrary to our expectations, counterfactual sensitivity was unrelated to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety. Nevertheless, trait anxiety was associated with a self-report measure of regret-proneness, suggesting that counterfactual influences may occur via a pathway

How Anxious Do You Think I Am? Relationship between State and Trait Anxiety in Children with and without ASD during Social Tasks

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Mertens, J.; Zane, E. R.; Neumeyer, K.; Grossman, R. B.

2017-01-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit increased anxiety, even in non-stressful situations. We investigate general anxiousness (anxiety trait) and responses to stressful situations (anxiety state) in 22 adolescents with ASD and 32 typically developing controls. We measured trait anxiety with standardized self- and…

Psychological differences between early- and late-onset psoriasis: a study of personality traits, anxiety and depression in psoriasis.

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Remröd, C; Sjöström, K; Svensson, A

2013-08-01

Onset of psoriasis may occur at any age. Early negative experiences often influence personality development, and may lead to physical disease, anxiety and depression in adulthood. Knowledge about onset of psoriasis and psychopathology is limited. To examine whether patients with early-onset psoriasis differ psychologically from patients with late-onset psoriasis, regarding personality traits, anxiety and depression. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 101 consecutively recruited outpatients with psoriasis. A psychosocial interview was performed followed by self-assessment of validated questionnaires: Swedish Universities Scales of Personality (SSP), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. Psoriasis severity was assessed by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. Patients with early-onset psoriasis (age personality traits: SSP-embitterment, -trait irritability, -mistrust and -verbal trait aggression. Our results indicate that early detection of psychological vulnerability when treating children and adolescents with psoriasis seems to be of great importance. Traits of psychological vulnerability and pessimistic personality traits were found to be significantly associated with the early onset of psoriasis, but not with disease duration in this study. These traits may be seen as a consequence of psoriasis, and/or as individual traits modulating and impairing clinical course and efforts to cope with psoriasis. © 2013 The Authors BJD © 2013 British Association of Dermatologists.

Impact of working memory load on cognitive control in trait anxiety: an ERP study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senqing Qi

Full Text Available Whether trait anxiety is associated with a general impairment of cognitive control is a matter of debate. This study investigated whether and how experimentally manipulated working memory (WM load modulates the relation between trait anxiety and cognitive control. This question was investigated using a dual-task design in combination with event-related potentials. Participants were required to remember either one (low WM load or six letters (high WM load while performing a flanker task. Our results showed that a high WM load disrupted participants' ability to overcome distractor interference and this effect was exacerbated for the high trait-anxious (HTA group. This exacerbation was reflected by larger interference effects (i.e., incongruent minus congruent on reaction times (RTs and N2 amplitudes for the HTA group than for the low trait-anxious group under high WM load. The two groups, however, did not differ in their ability to inhibit task-irrelevant distractors under low WM load, as indicated by both RTs and N2 amplitudes. These findings underscore the significance of WM-related cognitive demand in contributing to the presence (or absence of a general cognitive control deficit in trait anxiety. Furthermore, our findings show that when limited WM resources are depleted by high WM load, HTA individuals exhibit less efficient recruitments of cognitive control required for the inhibition of distractors, therefore resulting in a greater degree of response conflict.

Global/local processing style: Explaining the relationship between trait anxiety and binge eating.

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Becker, Kendra R; Plessow, Franziska; Coniglio, Kathryn A; Tabri, Nassim; Franko, Debra L; Zayas, Lazaro V; Germine, Laura; Thomas, Jennifer J; Eddy, Kamryn T

2017-11-01

Anxiety is a risk factor for disordered eating, but the mechanisms by which anxiety promotes disordered eating are poorly understood. One possibility is local versus global cognitive processing style, defined as a relative tendency to attend to details at the expense of the "big picture." Anxiety may narrow attention, in turn, enhancing local and/or compromising global processing. We examined relationships between global/local processing style, anxiety, and disordered eating behaviors in a transdiagnostic outpatient clinical sample. We hypothesized that local (vs. global) processing bias would mediate the relationship between anxiety and disordered eating behaviors. Ninety-three participants completed the eating disorder examination-questionnaire (EDE-Q), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-trait subscale, and the Navon task (a test of processing style in which large letters are composed of smaller letters both congruent and incongruent with the large letter). The sample was predominantly female (95%) with a mean age of 27.4 years (SD = 12.1 years). Binge eating, but not fasting, purging, or excessive exercise, was correlated with lower levels of global processing style. There was a significant indirect effect between anxiety and binge eating via reduced global level global/local processing. In individuals with disordered eating, being more generally anxious may encourage a detailed-oriented bias, preventing individuals from maintaining the bigger picture and making them more likely to engage in maladaptive behaviors (e.g., binge eating). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Global/local processing style: Explaining the relationship between trait anxiety and binge eating

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Kendra R.; Plessow, Franziska; Coniglio, Kathryn A.; Tabri, Nassim; Franko, Debra L; Zayas, Lazaro V.; Germine, Laura; Thomas, Jennifer J.; Eddy, Kamryn T.

2018-01-01

Objective Anxiety is a risk factor for disordered eating, but the mechanisms by which anxiety promotes disordered eating are poorly understood. One possibility is local versus global cognitive processing style, defined as a relative tendency to attend to details at the expense of the “big picture.” Anxiety may narrow attention, in turn, enhancing local and/or compromising global processing. We examined relationships between global/local processing style, anxiety, and disordered eating behaviors in a transdiagnostic outpatient clinical sample. We hypothesized that local (vs. global) processing bias would mediate the relationship between anxiety and disordered eating behaviors. Method Ninety-three participants completed the eating disorder examination—questionnaire (EDE-Q), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)—trait subscale, and the Navon task (a test of processing style in which large letters are composed of smaller letters both congruent and incongruent with the large letter). The sample was predominantly female (95%) with a mean age of 27.4 years (SD = 12.1 years). Results Binge eating, but not fasting, purging, or excessive exercise, was correlated with lower levels of global processing style. There was a significant indirect effect between anxiety and binge eating via reduced global level global/local processing. Discussion In individuals with disordered eating, being more generally anxious may encourage a detailed-oriented bias, preventing individuals from maintaining the bigger picture and making them more likely to engage in maladaptive behaviors (e.g., binge eating). PMID:28963792

The Moderating Role of Anxiety in the Associations of Callous-Unemotional Traits with Self-Report and Laboratory Measures of Affective and Cognitive Empathy.

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Kahn, Rachel E; Frick, Paul J; Golmaryami, Farrah N; Marsee, Monica A

2017-04-01

In a sample of detained male adolescents (n = 107; Mean age = 15.50; SD = 1.30), we tested whether anxiety moderated the association of CU traits with self-report and computerized measures of affective (emotional reactivity) and cognitive (affective facial recognition and Theory of Mind [ToM]) empathy. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that CU traits were negatively associated with self-reports of affective empathy and this association was not moderated by level of anxiety. Significant interactions revealed that CU traits were negatively associated with cognitive empathy (self-report) only at high levels of anxiety, whereas CU traits were positively associated with cognitive empathy on the ToM task only at low levels of anxiety. CU traits were also associated with greater fear recognition accuracy at low levels of anxiety. Implications for understanding and treating different variants of CU traits (i.e., primary and secondary) are discussed.

Genetic predisposition to obesity affects behavioural traits including food reward and anxiety-like behaviour in rats.

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Vogel, Heike; Kraemer, Maria; Rabasa, Cristina; Askevik, Kaisa; Adan, Roger A H; Dickson, Suzanne L

2017-06-15

Here we sought to define behavioural traits linked to anxiety, reward, and exploration in different strains of rats commonly used in obesity research. We hypothesized that genetic variance may contribute not only to their metabolic phenotype (that is well documented) but also to the expression of these behavioural traits. Rat strains that differ in their susceptibility to develop an obese phenotype (Sprague-Dawley, Obese Prone, Obese Resistant, and Zucker rats) were exposed to a number of behavioural tests starting at the age of 8 weeks. We found a similar phenotype in the obesity susceptible models, Obese Prone and Zucker rats, with a lower locomotor activity, exploratory activity, and higher level of anxiety-like behaviour in comparison to the leaner Obese Resistant strain. We did not find evidence that rat strains with a genetic predisposition to obesity differed in their ability to experience reward from chocolate (in a condition place preference task). However, Zucker rats show higher motivated behaviour for sucrose compared to Obese Resistant rats when the effort required to obtain palatable food is relatively low. Together our data demonstrate that rat strains that differ in their genetic predisposition to develop obesity also differ in their performance in behavioural tests linked to anxiety, exploration, and reward and that these differences are independent of body weight. We conclude that genetic variations which determine body weight and the aforementioned behaviours co-exist but that future studies are required to identify whether (and which) common genes are involved. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Cross-Cultural Study of Anxiety among Chinese and Caucasian American University Students

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Xie, Dong; Leong, Frederick T. L.

2008-01-01

This study investigated the cross-cultural differences on state, trait, and social anxiety between Chinese and Caucasian American university students. Chinese students reported higher levels of social anxiety than did Caucasian American students. Correlations between trait and state anxiety were compared in light of the trait model of…

Examining the Influence of Trait Anxiety/Repression-Sensitization on Individuals' Reactions to Fear Appeals.

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Witte, Kim; Morrison, Kelly

2000-01-01

Examines the impact of persuasive fear appeals promoting condom usage to prevent AIDS. Indicates that inherent level of anxiety influences how both the threat and the efficacy of recommended responses are perceived, but that trait anxiety/repression-sensitization has no influence on attitudes, intentions, behaviors, perceived manipulation, or…

Trait anxiety and the neural efficiency of manipulation in working memory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Basten, U.; Stelzel, C.; Fiebach, C.J.

2012-01-01

The present study investigates the effects of trait anxiety on the neural efficiency of working memory component functions (manipulation vs. maintenance) in the absence of threat-related stimuli. For the manipulation of affectively neutral verbal information held in working memory, high- and

Social Anxiety and the Severity and Typography of Stuttering in Adolescents

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Mulcahy, Kylie; Hennessey, Neville; Beilby, Janet; Byrnes, Michelle

2008-01-01

The present study examined the relationship between anxiety, attitude toward daily communication, and stuttering symptomatology in adolescent stuttering. Adolescents who stuttered (n = 19) showed significantly higher levels of trait, state and social anxiety than fluent speaking controls (n = 18). Trait and state anxiety was significantly…

Parental state anxiety correlates with preoperative anxiety in Chinese preschool children.

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Cui, Xulei; Zhu, Bo; Zhao, Jing; Huang, Yuguang; Luo, Ailun; Wei, Jing

2016-06-01

Preoperative anxiety in children is largely dependent on age and is influenced by anxiety level in parents. The current study compared the level of preoperative anxiety in preschool children versus school-aged children and its relationship with the state and trait anxiety of the parents. This study included 54 preschool children (2-5 years of age) and 48 school-age children (6-12 years) scheduled to receive ear, nose and throat, plastic or ophthalmologic surgeries. Preoperative anxiety of children was assessed in the holding area immediately prior to the surgery using a modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (m-YPAS). Compliance with anaesthesia induction was assessed using an Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC). The state and trait anxiety of the parent who accompanied the child was assessed using a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire. Both m-YPAS and ICC scores were higher in preschool children than in school-age children with significant correlation between the two measures. The STAI-S score of parents was higher in the preschool group than in the school-age group. No significant difference was found in STAI-T score between the two age groups. Children's m-YPAS score correlated with parental STAI-T score in both groups (rho = 0.297, P = 0.029 and rho = 0.338, P = 0.019, respectively) but only with STAI-S score in the preschool group (rho = 0.400, P = 0.003). Both preschool children and their parents are more anxious than school-age dyads prior to surgery. The anxiety level of the children correlates with state anxiety of the parents in preschool children but not in school-age children. © 2016 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

[Levels of state-trait anxiety between mothers and fathers who have children in an intensive care unit.

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Rojas-Carrasco, Karmina Elena

2013-01-01

Background: when there is a child patient in the family, it is frequent that parents get upset. Anxiety in the mother and father could be different depending on the way each one lives the critical situation of the child patient. The purpose was to measure levels of anxiety in fathers and mothers who had a hospitalized child in an intensive care unit. Methods: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was applied to a group of 50 pairs of parents who had a hospitalized child in the intensive care unit in a pediatric hospital. A no probabilistic intentional sample was used. Differences between groups were analyzed by Student's t test. Results: no significant differences were obtained between mothers and fathers for both state-anxiety and trait-anxiety. Significant differences were obtained intra-groups between both kinds of anxiety. Conclusions: having a child who is chronically sick or hospitalized for intensive therapy causes similar levels of anxiety in both parents. Anxiety is significantly increased in both parents when their child is hospitalized in an intensive therapy unit.

The relationship between autistic traits and social anxiety, worry, obsessive-compulsive, and depressive symptoms: specific and non-specific mediators in a student sample.

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Liew, Shi Min; Thevaraja, Nishta; Hong, Ryan Y; Magiati, Iliana

2015-03-01

The high prevalence of anxiety symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorders has now been well documented. There is also a positive relationship between autistic traits and anxiety symptoms in unselected samples and individuals with anxiety disorders have more autistic traits compared to those without. Less is known, however, regarding which elements of autistic traits (i.e., social versus non-social/behavioral) or which other variables may mediate this relationship. This study investigated the shared and specific role of five autistic-trait related mediators (social problem-solving, social competence, teasing experiences, prevention from/punishment for preferred repetitive behaviors and aversive sensory experiences) in a non-clinical sample of 252 university students. Autistic traits positively correlated with both anxiety and depressive symptoms. Social competence mediated the relationship between autistic traits and social anxiety symptoms only, while only prevention from preferred repetitive behaviors and frequent aversive sensory experiences mediated the relationship between autistic traits, worry and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Replication of these findings is required in longitudinal studies and with clinical samples. Limitations of the study are discussed and possible implications for intervention are tentatively suggested.

Diabetes screening anxiety and beliefs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skinner, T. Chas; Davies, M. J.; Farooqi, A. M.

2005-01-01

Five Inventory 44 and three scales from the Diabetes Illness Representations Questionnaire, revised for this study. Results: Of the 1339 who completed the OGTT and questionnaire booklet, 54% were female, with 21% from an Asian background. Forty-five per cent of participants reported little to moderate...... amounts of anxiety at screening (mean 35.2; SD = 11.6). There was no significant effect of family history of diabetes, ethnic group or recruitment method on anxiety. The only variable significantly associated (negatively) with anxiety was the personality trait of emotional stability. Of responders, 64...... not induce significant anxiety. Bivariate analysis indicated that individuals who perceived diabetes to be serious, life shortening and resulting in complications had higher anxiety scores, the personality trait of emotional stability being the strongest predictor of anxiety....

Do girls really experience more anxiety in mathematics?

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Goetz, Thomas; Bieg, Madeleine; Lüdtke, Oliver; Pekrun, Reinhard; Hall, Nathan C

2013-10-01

Two studies were conducted to examine gender differences in trait (habitual) versus state (momentary) mathematics anxiety in a sample of students (Study 1: N = 584; Study 2: N = 111). For trait math anxiety, the findings of both studies replicated previous research showing that female students report higher levels of anxiety than do male students. However, no gender differences were observed for state anxiety, as assessed using experience-sampling methods while students took a math test (Study 1) and attended math classes (Study 2). The discrepant findings for trait versus state math anxiety were partly accounted for by students' beliefs about their competence in mathematics, with female students reporting lower perceived competence than male students despite having the same average grades in math. Implications for educational practices and the assessment of anxiety are discussed.

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect

OpenAIRE

Sandra L Ladd; Sandra L Ladd; John D E Gabrieli; John D E Gabrieli

2015-01-01

The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effe...

The impact of diagnosis and trait anxiety on psychological distress in women with early stage breast cancer: a prospective study.

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Keyzer-Dekker, Claudia M G; de Vries, Jolanda; Mertens, Marlies C; Roukema, Jan A; van der Steeg, Alida F W

2014-11-01

High trait anxiety (HTA) determines depressive symptoms and state anxiety in women with breast cancer (BC) or benign breast disease (BBD). Before implementing screening for psychological counselling in these women, it is important to evaluate whether high state anxiety and depressive symptoms are determined by (the threat of) having BC or solely by HTA. Therefore, we compared women with a lump in the breast with women with gallstone disease (GD). Women diagnosed with BC (n = 152), BBD (n = 205), and GD (n = 128) were included in a prospective longitudinal study. Questionnaires concerning trait anxiety (baseline), state anxiety, and depressive symptoms were completed before diagnosis was known (BC and BBD) or the laparoscopic cholecystectomy and 6 months later. Pre-diagnosis BC patients scored higher on state anxiety (p = .001) and depressive symptoms (p anixety, it is important to evaluate whether high state anxiety and depressive symptoms are determined by (the threat of) having BC or solely by HTA. What does this study add? To our knowledge, this is the first study comparing women who are confronted with the possibility of having a life-threatening disease, that is, BC, with women who were not suspected of having a life-threatening disease, that is, GD. This study reveals that the severity of diagnosis (BC) in combination with HTA determined the level of state anxiety and depressive symptoms. Therefore, we recommend identifying women with HTA and offering them a tailor-made follow-up protocol during and after the diagnostic process for BC or BBD. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Psychological traits and the cortisol awakening response: results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Santen, A.; Vreeburg, S.A.; van der Does, A.; Spinhoven, P.; Zitman, F.G.; Penninx, B.W.J.H.

2011-01-01

Background: Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is often seen in major depression, and is thought to represent a trait vulnerability - rather than merely an illness marker - for depressive disorder and possibly anxiety disorder. Vulnerability traits associated with stress-related

Psychological traits and the cortisol awakening response : Results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Santen, Aafke; Vreeburg, Sophie A.; van der Does, A. J. Willem; Spinhoven, Philip; Zitman, Frans G.; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.

Background: Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is often seen in major depression, and is thought to represent a trait vulnerability - rather than merely an illness marker - for depressive disorder and possibly anxiety disorder. Vulnerability traits associated with stress-related

Anxiety and assertiveness in the relatives of alcoholics and controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuckit, M A

1982-06-01

The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-Trait Scale (STAI) were administered to male university students and nonacademic staff. Subjects classified as "at-risk" on the basis of a history of alcoholism in a first-degree relative (N = 30) were compared to controls with no such family histories (N = 30). The two groups were matched on demographic variables and drinking history. No significant differences were found between the groups on the traits of anxiety or assertiveness, although the subjects hypothesized to be at higher risk for alcoholism showed a trend toward higher assertiveness scores. These findings are not consistent with the hypothesis that higher levels of anxiety and/or lower levels of assertiveness predispose an individual toward the development of alcoholism.

Trait anxiety modulates fronto-limbic processing of emotional interference in Borderline Personality Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana eHoltmann

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Previous studies of cognitive alterations in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD have yielded conflicting results. Given that a core feature of BPD is affective instability, which is characterized by emotional hyperreactivity and deficits in emotion regulation, it seems conceivable that short-lasting emotional distress might exert temporary detrimental effects on cognitive performance. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to investigate how task-irrelevant emotional stimuli (fearful faces affect performance and fronto-limbic neural activity patterns during attention-demanding cognitive processing in 16 female, unmedicated BPD patients relative to 24 age-matched healthy controls. In a modified flanker task, emotionally negative, socially salient pictures (fearful versus neutral faces were presented as distracters in the background. Patients, but not controls, showed an atypical response pattern of the right amygdala with increased activation during emotional interference in the (difficult incongruent flanker condition, but emotion-related amygdala deactivation in the congruent condition. A direct comparison of the emotional conditions between the two groups revealed that the strongest diagnosis-related differences could be observed in the dorsal and, to a lesser extent, also in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (dACC, rACC where patients exhibited an increased neural response to emotional relative to neutral distracters. Moreover, in the incongruent condition, both the dACC and rACC fMRI responses during emotional interference were negatively correlated with trait anxiety in the patients, but not in the healthy controls. As higher trait anxiety was also associated with longer reaction times in the BPD patients, we suggest that in BPD patients the ACC might mediate compensatory cognitive processes during emotional interference and that such neurocognitive compensation that can be adversely affected by high levels of

The Role of Trait Anxiety and Preoccupation with Reading Disabilities of Children and Their Mothers in Predicting Children's Reading Comprehension

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Blicher, Shira; Feingold, Liat; Shany, Michal

2017-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension (RC), trait anxiety, and preoccupation with reading disability (RD) in 88 school children in Grades 3 through 5 and in their mothers. Children's trait anxiety had a significant direct negative relationship with RC and also mediated the association between preoccupation with RD…

Maternal Anxiety and Separation Anxiety in Children Aged Between 3 and 6 Years: The Mediating Role of Parenting Style.

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Orgilés, Mireia; Penosa, Patricia; Morales, Alexandra; Fernández-Martínez, Iván; Espada, José P

2018-06-04

Maternal anxiety is known to be associated with childhood separation anxiety. However, there is little research on the mediating factors of this relationship, despite the possible consequences separation anxiety might have for children's development and autonomy. The objective of this study was to analyze the possible mediating effects of 4 parenting styles (overprotective, assertive, punitive, and inhibited) on the relationship between maternal anxiety and child separation anxiety. Participants were 235 mothers with children aged 3 to 6 years, recruited from 6 preschools in the southeast of Spain. Maternal trait anxiety, maternal parenting style, and child separation anxiety were evaluated. A parallel multiple-mediation analysis revealed that the overprotective parenting style was a significant mediator of the relationship between maternal trait anxiety and child separation anxiety. In addition, mothers with higher trait anxiety scores exhibited a greater likelihood of using an overprotective, punitive, or less assertive parenting style. Younger mothers were more likely to use an overprotective parenting style, and compared with girls, boys were more exposed to the assertive style. This study provides initial evidence that parenting style acts as a mediator of the relationship between maternal anxiety and child separation anxiety.

Cognitive enhancement or cognitive cost: trait-specific outcomes of brain stimulation in the case of mathematics anxiety.

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Sarkar, Amar; Dowker, Ann; Cohen Kadosh, Roi

2014-12-10

The surge in noninvasive brain stimulation studies investigating cognitive enhancement has neglected the effect of interindividual differences, such as traits, on stimulation outcomes. Using the case of mathematics anxiety in a sample of healthy human participants in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover experiment, we show that identical transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) exerts opposite behavioral and physiological effects depending on individual trait levels. Mathematics anxiety is the negative emotional response elicited by numerical tasks, impairing mathematical achievement. tDCS was applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a frequent target for modulating emotional regulation. It improved reaction times on simple arithmetic decisions and decreased cortisol concentrations (a biomarker of stress) in high mathematics anxiety individuals. In contrast, tDCS impaired reaction times for low mathematics anxiety individuals and prevented a decrease in cortisol concentration compared with sham stimulation. Both groups showed a tDCS-induced side effect-impaired executive control in a flanker task-a cognitive function subserved by the stimulated region. These behavioral and physiological double dissociations have implications for brain stimulation research by highlighting the role of individual traits in experimental findings. Brain stimulation clearly does not produce uniform benefits, even applied in the same configuration during the same tasks, but may interact with traits to produce markedly opposed outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Sarkar et al.

Higher emotional intelligence is related to lower test anxiety among students

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Ahmadpanah, Mohammad; Keshavarz, Mohammadreza; Haghighi, Mohammad; Jahangard, Leila; Bajoghli, Hafez; Sadeghi Bahmani, Dena; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2016-01-01

Background For students attending university courses, experiencing test anxiety (TA) dramatically impairs cognitive performance and success at exams. Whereas TA is a specific case of social phobia, emotional intelligence (EI) is an umbrella term covering interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, along with positive stress management, adaptability, and mood. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that higher EI and lower TA are associated. Further, sex differences were explored. Method During an exam week, a total of 200 university students completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, TA, and EI. Results Higher scores on EI traits were associated with lower TA scores. Relative to male participants, female participants reported higher TA scores, but not EI scores. Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills and mood predicted low TA, while sex, stress management, and adaptability were excluded from the equation. Conclusion The pattern of results suggests that efforts to improve intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, and mood might benefit students with high TA. Specifically, social commitment might counteract TA. PMID:26834474

Effect of Self-Supporting Personality Traits on Pre-exam Anxiety among Middle School Students：Mediating Effect of Trait Anxiety%中学生的自立人格特质对考前焦虑的预测：特质焦虑的中介作用

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

夏凌翔; 李静; 朱建容

2011-01-01

To explore the relation of self-supporting personality,pre-exam anxiety and trait anxiety in middle school students,296 students were surveyed by Self-Supporting Personality Scale for Adolescent Students（SSPS-AS） and Trait Anxiety Inventory（TAI） during the first week of the new semester,and were surveyed again 2 months later,before the mid-semester examination,by State Anxiety Inventory（SAI）.Correlation and path analyses were adminstrated to the data.The results showed that pre-exam anxiety assessed two months later was negatively correlated with the scores of interpersonal independence,personal independence and personal initiative and positively correlated with trait anxiety,and that trait anxiety mediated the relationship between either interpersonal independence,personal independence,or interpersonal responsibility and pre-exam anxiety on the one hand,and pre-exam anxiety,on the other.It is thus concluded that self-supporting personality is the protective personality factor of anxiety and that trait anxiety mediates the effect of the 3 traits of self-supporting personality on pre-exam anxiety.%为了探索考前焦虑的保护性人格因素及其作用机制,在开学1周内用＂青少年学生自立人格量表＂和＂特质焦虑量＂对296名中学生进行了调查,2个月后的期中考试前用＂状态焦虑量表＂对同样的被试再次进行调查,并做了相关分析和路径分析.结果发现：①人际独立、个人独立和个人主动与2个月后的考前焦虑显著负相关;特质焦虑与2个月后的考前焦虑显著正相关;②特质焦虑在人际独立、个人独立和个人责任对2个月后的考前焦虑的预测中起到完全中介作用.可以认为,自立人格特质是焦虑的保护性人格因素,特质焦虑是自立人格特质影响考前焦虑的中介因素.

The Relationship between Autistic Traits and Social Anxiety, Worry, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Depressive Symptoms: Specific and Non-Specific Mediators in a Student Sample

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Liew, Shi Min; Thevaraja, Nishta; Hong, Ryan Y.; Magiati, Iliana

2015-01-01

The high prevalence of anxiety symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorders has now been well documented. There is also a positive relationship between autistic traits and anxiety symptoms in unselected samples and individuals with anxiety disorders have more autistic traits compared to those without. Less is known, however, regarding…

The Blood Donor Anxiety Scale: a six-item state anxiety measure based on the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

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Chell, Kathleen; Waller, Daniel; Masser, Barbara

2016-06-01

Research demonstrates that anxiety elevates the risk of blood donors experiencing adverse events, which in turn deters the performance of repeat blood donations. Identifying donors suffering from heightened state anxiety is important to assess the impact of evidence-based interventions. This study analyzed the appropriateness of a shortened version of the state subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in a blood donation context. STAI-State questionnaire data were collected from two separate samples of Australian blood donors (n = 919 and n = 824 after cleaning). Responses to demographic, donation history, and adverse reaction questions were also obtained. Identification of items and analysis was performed systematically to assess and compare internal reliability and content, construct, convergent, and criterion validity of three potential short-form state anxiety scales. Of the three short-form scales tested, STAI-State six-item scale demonstrated the best metric properties with the least number of items across both sample groups. Cronbach's alpha was acceptable (α = 0.844 and α = 0.820), correlated positively with the original measure (r = 0.927 and r = 0.931) and criterion-related variables, and maintained the two-dimension factorial structure of the original measure. The six-item short version of the STAI-State subscale presented the most reliable and valid scale for use with blood donors. A validated donor anxiety tool provides a standardized assessment and record of donor anxiety to gauge the effectiveness of ongoing efforts to enhance the donation experience. © 2016 AABB.

The impact of high trait social anxiety on neural processing of facial emotion expressions in females.

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Felmingham, Kim L; Stewart, Laura F; Kemp, Andrew H; Carr, Andrea R

2016-05-01

A cognitive model of social anxiety predicts that an early attentional bias leads to greater cognitive processing of social threat signals, whereas the vigilance-avoidance model predicts there will be subsequent reduction in cognitive processing. This study tests these models by examining neural responses to social threat stimuli using Event-related potentials (ERP). 19 women with high trait social anxiety and 19 women with low trait social anxiety viewed emotional expressions (angry, disgusted, happy and neutral) in a passive viewing task whilst ERP responses were recorded. The HSA group revealed greater automatic attention, or hypervigilance, to all facial expressions, as indexed by greater N1 amplitude compared to the LSA group. They also showed greater sustained attention and elaborative processing of all facial expressions, indexed by significantly increased P2 and P3 amplitudes compared to the LSA group. These results support cognitive models of social anxiety, but are not consistent with predictions of the vigilance-avoidance model. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Regular extra curricular sports practice does not prevent moderate or severe variations in self-esteem or trait anxiety in early adolescents.

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Binsinger, Caroline; Laure, Patrick; Ambard, Marie-France

2006-01-01

Physical activity is often presented as an effective tool to improve self-esteem and/or to reduce anxiety. The aim of this study was to measure the influence of a regular extra curricular sports practice on self-esteem and anxiety. We conducted a prospective cohort study, which has included all of the pupils entering the first year of secondary school (sixth grade) in the Vosges Department (east France) during the school year 2001-2002 and followed during three years. Data were collected every six months by self-reported questionnaires. 1791 pupils were present at each of the six data collection sessions and completed all the questionnaires, representing 10,746 documents: 835 boys (46.6 %) and 956 girls (53.4 %), in November 2001, the average age was 11.1 ± 0.5 years (mean ± standard deviation). 722 pupils (40.3 %) reported that they had practiced an extra-school physical activity in a sporting association from November 2001 to May 2004 (ECS group), whereas, 195 (10.9 %) pupils had not practiced any extra-school physical activity at all (NECS group). The average global scores of self-esteem (Rosenberg's Scale) and trait anxiety (Spielberger's Scale) of the ECS pupils were, respectively, higher and lower than those of the NECS group. However, the incidence density (number of new cases during a given period / total person-time of observation) of moderate or severe decrease of self-esteem (less than "mean - one standard deviation "or less than "mean - two standard deviations") was not significantly different between the two groups, a finding that was also evident also in the case of trait anxiety. Finally, among ECS pupils, the incidence density of severe decrease of self-esteem was lower at the girls'. Practitioners and physical education teachers, as well as parents, should be encouraged to seek out ways to involve pupils in extra-school physical activities. Key PointsA regular extra-curricular sports practice is associated to better levels of self-esteem and

Anxiety and Death Anxiety in Egyptian and Spanish Nursing Students

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Abdel-Khalek, Ahmed M.; Tomas-Sabado, Joaquin

2005-01-01

Two samples of female nursing undergraduates from Egypt (n=132) and Spain (n=126) responded to the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety, the Spanish Death Anxiety Inventory, the Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Subscale. Each sample answered the scales in their native…

Enhanced fear expression in a psychopathological mouse model of trait anxiety: pharmacological interventions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone B Sartori

Full Text Available The propensity to develop an anxiety disorder is thought to be determined by genetic and environmental factors. Here we investigated the relationship between a genetic predisposition to trait anxiety and experience-based learned fear in a psychopathological mouse model. Male CD-1 mice selectively bred for either high (HAB, or normal (NAB anxiety-related behaviour on the elevated plus maze were subjected to classical fear conditioning. During conditioning both mouse lines showed increased fear responses as assessed by freezing behaviour. However, 24 h later, HAB mice displayed more pronounced conditioned responses to both a contextual or cued stimulus when compared with NAB mice. Interestingly, 6 h and already 1 h after fear conditioning, freezing levels were high in HAB mice but not in NAB mice. These results suggest that trait anxiety determines stronger fear memory and/or a weaker ability to inhibit fear responses in the HAB line. The enhanced fear response of HAB mice was attenuated by treatment with either the α(2,3,5-subunit selective benzodiazepine partial agonist L-838,417, corticosterone or the selective neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist L-822,429. Overall, the HAB mouse line may represent an interesting model (i for identifying biological factors underlying misguided conditioned fear responses and (ii for studying novel anxiolytic pharmacotherapies for patients with fear-associated disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias.

What good are positive emotions for treatment? Trait positive emotionality predicts response to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety.

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Taylor, Charles T; Knapp, Sarah E; Bomyea, Jessica A; Ramsawh, Holly J; Paulus, Martin P; Stein, Murray B

2017-06-01

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is empirically supported for the treatment of anxiety disorders; however, not all individuals achieve recovery following CBT. Positive emotions serve a number of functions that theoretically should facilitate response to CBT - they promote flexible patterns of information processing and assimilation of new information, encourage approach-oriented behavior, and speed physiological recovery from negative emotions. We conducted a secondary analysis of an existing clinical trial dataset to test the a priori hypothesis that individual differences in trait positive emotions would predict CBT response for anxiety. Participants meeting diagnostic criteria for panic disorder (n = 28) or generalized anxiety disorder (n = 31) completed 10 weekly individual CBT sessions. Trait positive emotionality was assessed at pre-treatment, and severity of anxiety symptoms and associated impairment was assessed throughout treatment. Participants who reported a greater propensity to experience positive emotions at pre-treatment displayed the largest reduction in anxiety symptoms as well as fewer symptoms following treatment. Positive emotions remained a robust predictor of change in symptoms when controlling for baseline depression severity. Initial evidence supports the predictive value of trait positive emotions as a prognostic indicator for CBT outcome in a GAD and PD sample. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship between anxiety and quality of life in children with hereditary angioedema.

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Kessel, Aharon; Farkas, Henriette; Kivity, Shmuel; Veszeli, Nóra; Kőhalmi, Kinga V; Engel-Yeger, Batya

2017-11-01

The severe life-threatening characteristics of hereditary angioedema (HAE) with C1-inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) can affect anxiety levels among pediatric patients. This emotional burden together with the physical restrictions of C1-INH-HAE may decrease children's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). (i) To compare anxiety state and trait between children with C1-INH-HAE and healthy controls; (ii) to examine the relationship between the level of anxiety of children with C1-INH-HAE, their disease activity/affected sites and their HRQoL; and (iii) to predict the HRQoL of children with C1-INH-HAE based on their anxiety level and disease activity/affected sites METHODS: Thirty-three children with C1-INH-HAE (aged 5-18 years) and 52 healthy controls were recruited from Israel and Hungary. All children completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (Peds-QL) demographic questionnaire and a disease activity and site questionnaire . Disease activity was defined as the number of attacks in last year. Both anxiety state and trait were significantly higher among children with C1-INH-HAE as compared to the controls (44.74±10.56 vs 38.76±10.67, Panxiety state (F 56,2 =4.69, P=.001) and trait (F 56,2 =9.06, Panxiety trait was correlated with the number of angioedema-affected sites (r=.52, P=.003). The presence of HAE attacks and higher anxiety trait predicted a lower HRQoL in children with C1-INH-HAE. C1-INH-HAE children have higher anxiety trait and state, which correlate with reduced HRQoL domains. © 2017 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Factors associated to depression and anxiety in medical students: a multicenter study

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Fernanda Brenneisen Mayer

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To evaluate personal and institutional factors related to depression and anxiety prevalence of students from 22 Brazilian medical schools. Methods The authors performed a multicenter study (August 2011 to August 2012, examining personal factors (age, sex, housing, tuition scholarship and institutional factors (year of the medical training, school legal status, location and support service in association with scores of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI. Results Of 1,650 randomly selected students, 1,350 (81.8 % completed the study. The depressive symptoms prevalence was 41 % (BDI > 9, state-anxiety 81.7 % and trait-anxiety in 85.6 % (STAI > 33. There was a positive relationship between levels of state (r = 0,591, p < 0.001 and trait (r = 0,718, p < 0.001 anxiety and depression scores. All three symptoms were positively associated with female sex and students from medical schools located in capital cities of both sexes. Tuition scholarship students had higher state-anxiety but not trait-anxiety or depression scores. Medical students with higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms disagree more than their peers with the statements “I have adequate access to psychological support” and “There is a good support system for students who get stressed”. Conclusions The factors associated with the increase of medical students’ depression and anxiety symptoms were female sex, school location and tuition scholarship. It is interesting that tuition scholarship students showed state-anxiety, but not depression and trait-anxiety symptoms.

Changes in trait brainwave power and coherence, state and trait anxiety after three-month transcendental meditation (TM) practice.

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Tomljenović, Helena; Begić, Dražen; Maštrović, Zora

2016-03-01

The amount of studies showing different benefits of practicing meditation is growing. EEG brainwave patterns objectively reflect both the cognitive processes and objects of meditation. This study aimed to examine the effects of transcendental meditation (TM) practice on baseline EEG brainwave patterns (outside of meditation) and to examine weather TM reduces state and trait anxiety. Standard EEG recordings were conducted on volunteer participants (N=12), all students or younger employed people, before and after a three-month meditation training. Artifact-free 100-second epochs were selected and analyzed by Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) analysis. Endlers Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) were used to assess anxiety levels. Power (μV(2)) and coherence levels were compared in the alpha, beta, theta and delta frequency band. Changes in EEG patterns after meditation practice were found mostly in the theta band. An interaction effect was found on the left hemisphere (pmeditation practice. Most of the changes were found in the occipital and temporal areas, less in the central and frontal areas. State anxiety decreased after TM practice. Findings suggest TM practice could be helpful in treating different kinds of disorders, especially anxiety disorders.

Relationships Among Avoidant Personality Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Normative Personality Traits: A Twin Study.

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Welander-Vatn, Audun; Torvik, Fartein Ask; Czajkowski, Nikolai; Kendler, Kenneth S; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Knudsen, Gun Peggy; Ystrom, Eivind

2018-03-05

Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) share risk factors to a substantial degree, and both are characterized by the experience of anxiety in social situations. The authors investigated whether these disorders are differentially related to the Big Five personality traits. They also examined the underlying genetic and environmental influences on these associations. A population-based sample of 1,761 female twins was interviewed at baseline, and 1,471 of these were re-interviewed 10 years later. Associations between AvPD, SAD, and personality traits were investigated with multivariate biometric analyses. The authors found that AvPD and SAD are differentially related to several personality traits at the phenotypic, genetic, and environmental level. The genetic and environmental liability to AvPD could be fully accounted for by the genetic and environmental factors influencing SAD and personality. The findings may increase current etiological understanding of these disorders and inform future classification and treatment efforts.

[Pregnancy-related anxiety and subthreshold autism trait in preschool children based a birth cohort study].

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Sun, Yanli; Shao, Ting; Yao, Yuyou; Tao, Huihui; Ni, Lingling; Yan, Shuangqin; Gu, Chunli; Cao, Hui; Huang, Kun; Tao, Fangbiao

2016-02-01

To analyze the associations between pregnancy-related anxiety and the prevalence of subthreshold autism trait (SAT) in preschool children. Baseline data came from the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort Study, a part of the China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study (C-ABCS). All the participants were enrolled among pregnant women who received prenatal health care in 4 municipal medical centers during Oct. 2008 to Oct. 2010. A total of 5 084 pregnant women were recruited at the beginning and 4 669 singleton live births were included until childbirth. The situation about pregnancy-specific anxiety during trimester and third trimester of women were evaluated by Pregnancy-specific Anxiety Questionnaire (PAQ). Between April 2014 and April 2015, the cohort was followed up again, and the Clancy Autism Behavior Scale (CABRS) filled out by parents was used for telling the SAT children from the healthy children among 3 663 preschool children. Univariate and binary regression model was used to estimate associations between the pregnancy-related anxiety during trimester and third trimester and the subthreshold autism trait in children. During the pregnancy, the detected rates of women with pregnancy-specific anxiety in trimester and the third trimester were 25.5%(935/3 663), 13.9%(501/3 592) respectively, and the detected rate of maternal pregnancy-specific anxiety in both periods was 7.7%(278/3 592). There were 290 positive children with SAT and the detection rate was 7.9%. After controlling possible confounding factors including children's genders, place of residence, supplement folic acid during pregnancy, preterm birth, exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy, the father (mother) cultural levels, the father (mother) nature of work and family income, the results of multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that maternal pregnancy-specific anxiety in trimester was the risk factor for SAT in preschool children (OR=1.51, 95% CI: 1.11-2.04), and there was no association between maternal

Development of a short version of the Dutch version of the Spielberger STAI Trait Anxiety Scale in women suspected of breast cancer and breast cancer survivors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, J.; van Heck, G.L.

2013-01-01

The objective of the current study was to develop a short form of the Dutch version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Trait scale and to provide initial validation data in a sample of breast cancer patients and survivors. This short trait anxiety (A-Trait) scale was designed to reduce time

Fear Appeal in Traffic Safety Advertising: The moderating role of medium context, trait anxiety, and differences between drivers and non-drivers

OpenAIRE

Janssens, Wim; De Pelsmacker, Patrick

2007-01-01

The impact was investigated of the intensity of a fear appeal, the valence of the medium context, and the individuals' trait anxiety and personal relevance on the responses of 197 individuals to anti-speeding advertisements. A high level of fear attracts more attention. A negative valence context leads to a more positive anti-speeding attitude. The most important moderating effect of trait anxiety is that the attitude is more positive when low-anxiety individuals are exposed to high fear appe...

What influences parental controlling behavior? The role of parent and child trait anxiety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Bruggen, C.O.; Bögels, S.M.; Zeilst, N.

2010-01-01

The relative contribution of child and parent trait anxiety on paternal and maternal controlling behaviour was examined. Thirty-seven children, aged 8-11 years, completed two difficult Tangram puzzles, one with their father and one with their mother. Videotapes of the parent-child interactions were

[State and trait anxiety level and increase of depression among mothers of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder. pilot study].

Science.gov (United States)

Wolafnczyk, Tomasz; Wolafnczyk, Tomasz; Kolakowski, Artur; Pisula, Agnieszka; Liwska, Monika; Zlotkowska, Malgorzata; Srebnicki, Tomasz; Bryliska, Anita

2014-01-01

To evaluate anxiety level (as a trait and as a state) and the intensity of depressive symptoms in mothers of children with hyperkinetic disorder (HD) and with and without comorbid conduct disorder (CD); to determine the relationship between the intensity of anxiety and depression and intensity of symptoms of HD. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and STAI questionnaire to measure state-trait anxiety were filled by 24 mothers of children with HD and 26 mothers of children without HD. Mothers of children with HD were also asked to complete the Conners Questionnaire for Parents and Teachers (IOWA). Teachers were asked to complete the Conners Questionnaire for Teachers (RCTS). 75% of HD subjects had a comorbid CD, in comparison with 19.2 % in the control group. No significant differences were found between the mothers of children with HD and the control group in the results of BDI scale and STAI questionnaire in anxiety state and anxiety trait subscales. The difference was found between mothers of children with CD and without CD in anxiety-state subscale in STAI questionnaire. No correlations were found between the number of depressive symptoms, anxiety as a state and as a trait and the results of Conners IOWA and RCTS. The presence of HD in children does not correlate with the level of depression and anxiety in their mothers. There is a relationship between the presence of CD in children and elevated levels of state anxiety in their mothers.

The impact of diagnosis and trait anxiety on psychological distress in women with early stage breast cancer : A prospective study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keyzer-Dekker, Claudia M. G.; de Vries, Jolanda; Mertens, Marlies C.; Roukema, Jan A.; van der Steeg, Alida F. W.

ObjectivesHigh trait anxiety (HTA) determines depressive symptoms and state anxiety in women with breast cancer (BC) or benign breast disease (BBD). Before implementing screening for psychological counselling in these women, it is important to evaluate whether high state anxiety and depressive

The impact of diagnosis and trait anxiety on psychological distress in women with early stage breast cancer : A prospective study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keyzer-Dekker, C.M.G.; de Vries, J.; Mertens, M.C.; Roukema, J.A.; van der Steeg, A.F.W.

2014-01-01

Objectives High trait anxiety (HTA) determines depressive symptoms and state anxiety in women with breast cancer (BC) or benign breast disease (BBD). Before implementing screening for psychological counselling in these women, it is important to evaluate whether high state anxiety and depressive

The impact of diagnosis and trait anxiety on psychological distress in women with early stage breast cancer: a prospective study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keyzer-Dekker, Claudia M. G.; de Vries, Jolanda; Mertens, Marlies C.; Roukema, Jan A.; van der Steeg, Alida F. W.

2014-01-01

High trait anxiety (HTA) determines depressive symptoms and state anxiety in women with breast cancer (BC) or benign breast disease (BBD). Before implementing screening for psychological counselling in these women, it is important to evaluate whether high state anxiety and depressive symptoms are

The role of co-parenting alliance as a mediator between trait anxiety, family system maladjustment, and parenting stress in a sample of non-clinical Italian parents

OpenAIRE

Delvecchio, Elisa; Sciandra, Andrea; Finos, Livio; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Riso, Daniela Di

2015-01-01

This study investigated the role of co-parenting alliance in mediating the influence of parents’ trait anxiety on family system maladjustment and parenting stress. A sample of 1606 Italian parents (803 mothers and 803 fathers) of children aged one to thirteen years completed measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory - Y), co-parenting alliance (Parenting Alliance Measure), family system maladjustment (Family Assessment Measure - III), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Inve...

Trait and state anxiety across academic evaluative contexts: development and validation of the MTEA-12 and MSEA-12 scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Sotardi, Valerie A

2018-05-01

Educational measures of anxiety focus heavily on students' experiences with tests yet overlook other assessment contexts. In this research, two brief multiscale questionnaires were developed and validated to measure trait evaluation anxiety (MTEA-12) and state evaluation anxiety (MSEA-12) for use in various assessment contexts in non-clinical, educational settings. The research included a cross-sectional analysis of self-report data using authentic assessment settings in which evaluation anxiety was measured. Instruments were tested using a validation sample of 241 first-year university students in New Zealand. Scale development included component structures for state and trait scales based on existing theoretical frameworks. Analyses using confirmatory factor analysis and descriptive statistics indicate that the scales are reliable and structurally valid. Multivariate general linear modeling using subscales from the MTEA-12, MSEA-12, and student grades suggest adequate criterion-related validity. Initial predictive validity in which one relevant MTEA-12 factor explained between 21% and 54% of the variance in three MSEA-12 factors. Results document MTEA-12 and MSEA-12 as reliable measures of trait and state dimensions of evaluation anxiety for test and writing contexts. Initial estimates suggest the scales as having promising validity, and recommendations for further validation are outlined.

The relationship between traits optimism and anxiety and health-related quality of life in patients hospitalized for chronic diseases: data from the SATISQOL study

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The impact of psychological factors is often taken into account in the evaluation of quality of life. However, the effect of optimism and trait anxiety remains controversial and they are rarely studied simultaneously. We aimed to study the effect of this factor on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients after a hospitalization in relation with their chronic disease. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the SATISQOL cohort, we conducted a multicentric study, including patients hospitalized for an intervention in connection with their chronic disease. Six months after hospitalization, patients completed a generic HRQOL questionnaire (SF-36), and the STAI and LOT-R questionnaires to evaluate optimism and trait anxiety. We studied the effect of each trait on HRQOL separately, and simultaneously, taking account of their interaction in 3 models, using an ANOVA. Results In this study, 1529 patients were included in three participating hospitals and there existed wide diversity in the chronic diseases in our population. The HRQOL score increased for all dimensions of SF36 between 15,8 and 44,5 when the level of anxiety decreased (p optimism (optimism on HRQOL. In the model 3, assessing the effect of both anxiety and optimism on HRQOL, and their interaction, the HRQOL score for all dimensions of the SF36 increased when the level of anxiety decreased (p optimism (p optimism was significant for the Social Functioning dimension (p = 0.0021). Conclusions Optimism and trait anxiety appeared to be significantly correlated with HRQOL. Furthermore, an interaction existed between the trait anxiety and optimism for some dimensions of SF36. Contrary to optimism, it seems essential to evaluate trait anxiety in future studies about HRQOL, since it could represent a confounding factor. PMID:23914779

Dyslexia in higher education: implications for maths anxiety, statistics anxiety and psychological well-being.

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Jordan, Julie-Ann; McGladdery, Gary; Dyer, Kevin

2014-08-01

This study examined levels of mathematics and statistics anxiety, as well as general mental health amongst undergraduate students with dyslexia (n = 28) and those without dyslexia (n = 71). Students with dyslexia had higher levels of mathematics anxiety relative to those without dyslexia, while statistics anxiety and general mental health were comparable for both reading ability groups. In terms of coping strategies, undergraduates with dyslexia tended to use planning-based strategies and seek instrumental support more frequently than those without dyslexia. Higher mathematics anxiety was associated with having a dyslexia diagnosis, as well as greater levels of worrying, denial, seeking instrumental support and less use of the positive reinterpretation coping strategy. By contrast, statistics anxiety was not predicted by dyslexia diagnosis, but was instead predicted by overall worrying and the use of denial and emotion focused coping strategies. The results suggest that disability practitioners should be aware that university students with dyslexia are at risk of high mathematics anxiety. Additionally, effective anxiety reduction strategies such as positive reframing and thought challenging would form a useful addition to the support package delivered to many students with dyslexia. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Personality Traits in Panic Disorder Patients With and Without Comorbidities.

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Zugliani, Morena M; Martin-Santos, Rocio; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Freire, Rafael Christophe

2017-11-01

Panic disorder (PD) is often correlated with high neuroticism and low extraversion. This study aims to ascertain whether PD patients differ from healthy controls in regard to personality traits and determine if these traits are correlated with comorbid disorders, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Personality traits of 69 PD patients and 42 controls were compared using the Maudsley Personality Inventory. In PD patients, comorbidities, anxiety, and depression symptoms were also evaluated. PD patients showed higher neuroticism and lower extraversion compared with healthy controls. Patients without comorbidities presented similar results to controls, whereas those with comorbidities presented higher neuroticism and lower extraversion scores. PD per se may be unrelated to deviant personality traits, although comorbidities with major depressive disorder and agoraphobia are probably associated with high neuroticism and low extraversion. These traits show a strong correlation with the accumulation and severity of these disorders.

Alcohol use, anxiety, and insomnia in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder

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Ivan, M. Cristina; Amspoker, Amber B.; Nadorff, Michael R.; Kunik, Mark E.; Cully, Jeffrey A.; Wilson, Nancy; Calleo, Jessica; Kraus-Schuman, Cynthia; Stanley, Melinda A.

2013-01-01

Objectives We examined the presence and frequency of alcohol consumption among older primary care patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and their relation to demographic variables, insomnia, worry, and anxiety. We expected alcohol-use distribution to be similar to previous reports and alcohol use to be associated with higher anxiety and insomnia. A third aim was to examine the moderating role of alcohol use on the relation between anxiety and insomnia. We expected alcohol use to worsen the relation between anxiety and insomnia. Design Baseline data from a randomized controlled trial Sample 223 patients, age 60 and older, with DSM-IV GAD diagnoses Setting Patients were recruited through internal medicine, family practice, and geriatric clinics at 2 diverse healthcare settings: Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine. Measurements Measures addressed alcohol use (presence and frequency); insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index); self-reported worry severity (Penn State Worry Questionnaire − Abbreviated); clinician-rated worry severity (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale); self-reported anxiety severity (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - Trait); and clinician-rated anxiety (Structured Interview Guidelines for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale). Results Most patients endorsed alcohol use in the past month, but overall weekly frequency was low. Presence and frequency of use among patients with GAD were greater than in prior reports of primary care samples. Alcohol use among patients with GAD was associated with higher education and female gender. Higher education also was associated with more drinks per week, and Caucasians reported more drinks per week than African Americans. Alcohol use was associated with less severe insomnia, lower self-reported anxiety, and less clinician-rated worry and anxiety. More drinks per week were associated with lower clinician-rated anxiety. Moderation analyses revealed lower

Individual differences at high perceptual load: the relation between trait anxiety and selective attention.

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Sadeh, Naomi; Bredemeier, Keith

2011-06-01

Attentional control theory (Eysenck et al., 2007) posits that taxing attentional resources impairs performance efficiency in anxious individuals. This theory, however, does not explicitly address if or how the relation between anxiety and attentional control depends upon the perceptual demands of the task at hand. Consequently, the present study examined the relation between trait anxiety and task performance using a perceptual load task (Maylor & Lavie, 1998). Sixty-eight male college students completed a visual search task that indexed processing of irrelevant distractors systematically across four levels of perceptual load. Results indicated that anxiety was related to difficulty suppressing the behavioural effects of irrelevant distractors (i.e., decreased reaction time efficiency) under high, but not low, perceptual loads. In contrast, anxiety was not associated with error rates on the task. These findings are consistent with the prediction that anxiety is associated with impairments in performance efficiency under conditions that tax attentional resources.

The Moderating Effect of Self-Reported State and Trait Anxiety on the Late Positive Potential to Emotional Faces in 6–11-Year-Old Children

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Georgia Chronaki

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The emergence of anxiety during childhood is accompanied by the development of attentional biases to threat. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these biases are poorly understood. In addition, previous research has not examined whether state and trait anxiety are independently associated with threat-related biases.Methods: We compared ERP waveforms during the processing of emotional faces in a population sample of 58 6–11-year-olds who completed self-reported measures of trait and state anxiety and depression.Results: The results showed that the P1 was larger to angry than neutral faces in the left hemisphere, though early components (P1, N170 were not strongly associated with child anxiety or depression. In contrast, Late Positive Potential (LPP amplitudes to angry (vs. neutral faces were significantly and positively associated with symptoms of anxiety/depression. In addition, the difference between LPPs for angry (vs. neutral faces was independently associated with state and trait anxiety symptoms.Discussion: The results showed that neural responses to facial emotion in children with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression were most evident at later processing stages characterized as evaluative and effortful. The findings support cognitive models of threat perception in anxiety and indicate that trait elements of anxiety and more transitory fluctuations in anxious affect are important in understanding individual variation in the neural response to threat in late childhood.

Maladaptive Five Factor Model personality traits associated with Borderline Personality Disorder indirectly affect susceptibility to suicide ideation through increased anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns.

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Tucker, Raymond P; Lengel, Greg J; Smith, Caitlin E; Capron, Dan W; Mullins-Sweatt, Stephanie N; Wingate, LaRicka R

2016-12-30

The current study investigated the relationship between maladaptive Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits, anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns, and suicide ideation in a sample of 131 undergraduate students who were selected based on their scores on a screening questionnaire regarding Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptoms. Those who endorsed elevated BPD symptoms in a pre-screen analyses completed at the beginning of each semester were oversampled in comparison to those with low or moderate symptoms. Indirect effect (mediation) results indicated that the maladaptive personality traits of anxious/uncertainty, dysregulated anger, self-disturbance, behavioral dysregulation, dissociative tendencies, distrust, manipulativeness, oppositional, and rashness had indirect effects on suicide ideation through anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns. All of these personality traits correlated to suicide ideation as well. The maladaptive personality traits of despondence, affective dysregulation, and fragility were positive correlates of suicide ideation and predicted suicide ideation when all traits were entered in one linear regression model, but were not indirectly related through anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns. The implication for targeting anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns in evidence-based practices for reducing suicide risk in those with BPD is discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the Quality of Life of Glaucoma Patients Using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

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Otori, Yasumasa; Takahashi, Genichiro; Urashima, Mitsuyoshi; Kuwayama, Yasuaki

2017-11-01

To evaluate anxiety felt by glaucoma patients. In total, 472 glaucoma patients responded to a questionnaire on anxiety, subjective symptoms, and vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) associated with glaucoma. Anxiety was evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), state anxiety (STAI-State) subscale along with our novel questionnaire, assessing visual function and subjective symptoms, specialized for glaucoma. VR-QOL was evaluated using 5 subitems from the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25). Adherence to ophthalmic antiglaucoma agents was confirmed. As indexes of visual function, corrected visual acuity (measured by eye chart), mean deviation (MD) score (measured with static perimetry), and 4 thresholds at the center of vision were determined. Stages were classified according to the Aulhorn Classification. From the STAI-State scores, the prevalence of anxiety in glaucoma patients was evaluated. We analyzed the correlation between the STAI-State and VFQ-25, anxiety, subjective symptoms, adherence, and visual function indexes. In total, 78% of glaucoma patients experienced at least an intermediate level of anxiety. The STAI-State correlated significantly with anxiety and subjective symptoms as measured by our novel questionnaire, particularly for questions "current anxiety about loss of vision" and "current anxiety in life" (r=0.468 and 0.500; both Pglaucoma patients feel anxiety. The STAI-State is correlated with the VR-QOL and anxiety in glaucoma patients, making it useful for understanding the anxiety present in glaucoma patients.

Social interaction anxiety and personality traits predicting engagement in health risk sexual behaviors.

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Rahm-Knigge, Ryan L; Prince, Mark A; Conner, Bradley T

2018-06-01

Individuals with social interaction anxiety, a facet of social anxiety disorder, withdraw from or avoid social encounters and generally avoid risks. However, a subset engages in health risk sexual behavior (HRSB). Because sensation seeking, emotion dysregulation, and impulsivity predict engagement in HRSB among adolescents and young adults, the present study hypothesized that latent classes of social interaction anxiety and these personality traits would differentially predict likelihood of engagement in HRSB. Finite mixture modeling was used to discern four classes: two low social interaction anxiety classes distinguished by facets of emotion dysregulation, positive urgency, and negative urgency (Low SIAS High Urgency and Low SIAS Low Urgency) and two high social interaction anxiety classes distinguished by positive urgency, negative urgency, risk seeking, and facets of emotion dysregulation (High SIAS High Urgency and High SIAS Low Urgency). HRSB were entered into the model as auxiliary distal outcomes. Of importance to this study were findings that the High SIAS High Urgency class was more likely to engage in most identified HRSB than the High SIAS Low Urgency class. This study extends previous findings on the heterogeneity of social interaction anxiety by identifying the effects of social interaction anxiety and personality on engagement in HRSB. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing Children's Anxiety Using the Modified Short State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Talking Mats: A Pilot Study

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Stefan Nilsson

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Preoperative anxiety complicates treatment and requires assessment by nurses in children. Children, with or without disability, are helped when pictures are used to support communication. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the reliability and validity of the modified short State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI using a modified Talking Mats method in children undergoing day surgeries. Method. A modified short STAI with pictorial support along the lines of the Talking Mats method was pre- and postoperatively administered to 42 typically developing children aged three to nine years. The parents assessed the children’s anxiety, simultaneously and independently, by scoring the short STAI by proxy. Results. The modified short STAI showed moderate internal consistency and good construct validity in the age group seven to nine years. Conclusions. The results of this study support the use of the instrument for self-reports in children aged seven to nine years. Future research will explore the possibilities of also using this instrument for children with cognitive and communicative difficulties.

Trait anxiety predicts disease-specific health status in early-stage breast cancer patients

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van Esch, Lotje; Roukema, Jan A.; van der Steeg, Alida F. W.; de Vries, Jolanda

2011-01-01

The objectives of this study were to examine the differences in health status (HS) of women with breast cancer (BC) at different moments in time, and between women scoring high and not high on trait anxiety, and to identify possible predictors of HS 6 and 12 months after surgery. Patients (N = 223)

The Role of Cognitive Factors in Childhood Social Anxiety: Social Threat Thoughts and Social Skills Perception.

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van Niekerk, Rianne E; Klein, Anke M; Allart-van Dam, Esther; Hudson, Jennifer L; Rinck, Mike; Hutschemaekers, Giel J M; Becker, Eni S

2017-01-01

Models of cognitive processing in anxiety disorders state that socially anxious children display several distorted cognitive processes that maintain their anxiety. The present study investigated the role of social threat thoughts and social skills perception in relation to childhood trait and state social anxiety. In total, 141 children varying in their levels of social anxiety performed a short speech task in front of a camera and filled out self-reports about their trait social anxiety, state anxiety, social skills perception and social threat thoughts. Results showed that social threat thoughts mediated the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety after the speech task, even when controlling for baseline state anxiety. Furthermore, we found that children with higher trait anxiety and more social threat thoughts had a lower perception of their social skills, but did not display a social skills deficit. These results provide evidence for the applicability of the cognitive social anxiety model to children.

Higher emotional intelligence is related to lower test anxiety among students

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Ahmadpanah M

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Mohammad Ahmadpanah,1 Mohammadreza Keshavarz,1 Mohammad Haghighi,1 Leila Jahangard,1 Hafez Bajoghli,2 Dena Sadeghi Bahmani,3 Edith Holsboer-Trachsler,3 Serge Brand3,4 1Behavioral Disorders and Substances Abuse, Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran; 2Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders, 4Department of Sport, Exercise and Health Science, Sport Science Section, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Background: For students attending university courses, experiencing test anxiety (TA dramatically impairs cognitive performance and success at exams. Whereas TA is a specific case of social phobia, emotional intelligence (EI is an umbrella term covering interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, along with positive stress management, adaptability, and mood. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that higher EI and lower TA are associated. Further, sex differences were explored.Method: During an exam week, a total of 200 university students completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, TA, and EI.Results: Higher scores on EI traits were associated with lower TA scores. Relative to male participants, female participants reported higher TA scores, but not EI scores. Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills and mood predicted low TA, while sex, stress management, and adaptability were excluded from the equation.Conclusion: The pattern of results suggests that efforts to improve intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, and mood might benefit students with high TA. Specifically, social commitment might counteract TA. Keywords: test anxiety, emotional intelligence, students, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills

The changes of state-trait anxiety and blood plasma cortisol as well systolic pressure of armymen turned to sea training%部队转场海训后军人状态-特质焦虑与其收缩压和血皮质醇的变化

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

朱媛; 吴志颖; 付晓丽; 王丽杰

2014-01-01

Through investigating the state-trait anxiety of mental characteristics change of armymen in military activity,to provide the basis for early warning prevention. Methods Transition to sea training for the 15th day,state-trait anxiety based on a questionnaire of 420 people,and blood pressure,pulse rate and blood cortisol (08:00am-09:00am) were investigated and detected whose results were compared to the norm or the normal value. Results State anxiety was 2 values in 185 persons higher than the standard deviation of the norm, accounting for 44% of the total person-number. Trait anxiety values was 2 votes in 113 higher than the standard deviation of the norm (high trait anxiety), accounting for 26.9% of the total person-number, value of trait-anxiety was less than the standard deviation of the norm 2 votes(low trait anxiety) in 85 persons, accounting for 20.2% of the total number. Systolic blood pressure and cortisol changed significantly (P<0.01). State anxiety and serum cortisol and systolic blood pressure changed at the same time significantly in total person-number of 30.2%,but changes in diastolic blood pressure was not evident. Higher trait anxiety anxiety , blood cortisol and elevated systolic blood pressure in high trait anxiety persons were of 61.9%(70/113);state anxiety,elevated blood cortisol and systolic blood pressure were in 23.7% of the total number of non-higher trait anxiety persons (79/334),low trait anxiety of trait-anxiety were of 15% of total person-number(13/85). Conclusion Sea training is a stress event, trait anxiety refers to the relative stability,as personality trait anxiety tendency has individual differences. So coping anxiety active has military significance to physical and mental health and enhancing fighting capacity.%目的：通过调查状态-特质焦虑心理特质在军事活动中的变化，为预警预防提供依据。方法转场海训的第15天时，对420人�

The role of co-parenting alliance as a mediator between trait anxiety, family system maladjustment, and parenting stress in a sample of non-clinical Italian parents.

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Delvecchio, Elisa; Sciandra, Andrea; Finos, Livio; Mazzeschi, Claudia; Riso, Daniela Di

2015-01-01

This study investigated the role of co-parenting alliance in mediating the influence of parents' trait anxiety on family system maladjustment and parenting stress. A sample of 1606 Italian parents (803 mothers and 803 fathers) of children aged one to 13 years completed measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y), co-parenting alliance (Parenting Alliance Measure), family system maladjustment (Family Assessment Measure-III), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Inventory-Short Form). These variables were investigated together comparing two structural equations model-fitting including both partners. A model for both mothers and fathers was empirically devised as a series of associations between parent trait anxiety (independent variable), family system maladjustment and parenting stress (dependent variables), mediated by co-parenting alliance, with the insertion of cross predictions between mothers and fathers and correlations between dependent variables for both parents. Results indicated that the relation between mothers and fathers' trait anxiety, family system maladjustment and parenting stress was mediated by the level of co-parenting alliance. Understanding the role of couples' co-parenting alliance could be useful during the family assessment and/or treatment, since it is an efficient and effective tool to improve the family system maladjustment and stress.

Birth order and its relationship to depression, anxiety, and self-concept test scores in children.

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Gates, L; Lineberger, M R; Crockett, J; Hubbard, J

1988-03-01

Children (N = 404), 7 to 12 years old, were given the Children's Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, and the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. First-born children scored significantly lower on depression than second-, third-, fourth-born, and youngest children. First borns showed significantly less trait anxiety than third-born children. First-born children also showed significantly higher levels of self-esteem than second-born and youngest children. Girls in this study showed significantly more trait anxiety than boys.

Effects of state and trait anxiety on selective attention to threatening stimuli in a non-clinical sample of school children

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Jeniffer Ortega Marín

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Attentional biases, consisting of a preferential processing of threatening stimuli, have been found in anxious adults as predicted by several cognitive models. However, studies with non-clinical samples of children have provided mixed results. therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the effects of state and trait anxiety on the selective attention towards threatening stimuli in a non-clinical sample of school children (age: 8 to 13, n = 110 using the dot-probe task. This study did not reveal an effect of trait anxiety on selective attention towards threatening stimuli. However, a significant difference was found between participants with low state anxiety and high state anxiety. Nevertheless, the effect size was small. Specifically, participants with low state anxiety showed a bias towards threatening stimuli. Overall, the findings of this research with a non-clinical sample of school children suggest that attentional biases towards threatening information, which has been repeatedly found in anxious adults, are not necessarily inherent to non-clinical anxiety in children and on the other hand, the relationship between attentional biases and anxiety in this population might be moderated by other cognitive processes.

Trait Anxiety and Economic Risk Avoidance Are Not Necessarily Associated : Evidence from the Framing Effect

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Gu, Ruolei; Wu, Runguo; Broster, Lucas S.; Jiang, Y.; xu, Rui; Yang, Qiwei; Xu, Pengfei; Luo, Yue-jia

2017-01-01

According to previous literature, trait anxiety is related to the tendency to choose safety options during risk decision-making, that is, risk avoidance. In our opinion, anxious peoples risk preference might actually reflect their hypersensitivity to emotional information. To examine this

Change of anxiety in patients undergoing coronary angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Zuo; Wu Zonggui; Wang Yongmei

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the change of anxiety in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Methods: The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was carried out in hundred and forty five patients, 104 men, 41 women, mean age (63 ± 9) years, before and after the coronary angiography procedure respectively. Results: The state anxiety score after the procedure was significantly decreased from 35.8 ± 10.2 to 31.7 ± 9.9 (P<0.01). The trait anxiety score after the procedure was slighytly lowered from 35.7 ± 8.8 to 34.4 ± 9.4 (P=0.019). Sub- group analysis showed that the state anxiety score in 55 patients with normal coronary artery was markedly decreased from 37.5 ± 10.5 to 28.8 ± 8.2 (P<0.01) while the state anxiety score in 90 patients with abnormal coronary artery was unchanged. The score in those patients with abnormal coronary artery was much higher than that of patients with normal coronary artery (33.5 ± 10.4 vs 28.8 ± 8.2, P<0.01). The trait anxiety scores in both group were not changed. Conclusion: Good news about normal coronary artery after angiography may reduce the anxiety in patients suspected of coronary heart disease. (authors)

Social anxiety and the Big Five personality traits: the interactive relationship of trust and openness.

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Kaplan, Simona C; Levinson, Cheri A; Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Menatti, Andrew; Weeks, Justin W

2015-01-01

It is well established that social anxiety (SA) has a positive relationship with neuroticism and a negative relationship with extraversion. However, findings on the relationships between SA and agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience are mixed. In regard to facet-level personality traits, SA is negatively correlated with trust (a facet of agreeableness) and self-efficacy (a facet of conscientiousness). No research has examined interactions among the Big Five personality traits (e.g., extraversion) and facet levels of personality in relation to SA. In two studies using undergraduate samples (N = 502; N = 698), we examined the relationships between trust, self-efficacy, the Big Five, and SA. SA correlated positively with neuroticism, negatively with extraversion, and had weaker relationships with agreeableness, openness, and trust. In linear regression predicting SA, there was a significant interaction between trust and openness over and above gender. In addition to supporting previous research on SA and the Big Five, we found that openness is related to SA for individuals low in trust. Our results suggest that high openness may protect against the higher SA levels associated with low trust.

Anxiety during pregnancy and autonomic nervous system activity: A longitudinal observational and cross-sectional study.

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Mizuno, Taeko; Tamakoshi, Koji; Tanabe, Keiko

2017-08-01

To assess the longitudinal change in autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity during pregnancy and the association between anxiety during pregnancy and ANS activity. Pregnant Japanese women with a singleton fetus and normal pregnancy were recruited (n=65). ANS activity and anxiety were measured using a self-rating questionnaire at approximately 20, 30, and 36weeks of gestation. Very low (VLF) and high (HF) frequency bands of heart rate variability spectrums were used. Anxiety was assessed using the Japanese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. A score of 45 or more on trait-anxiety and the other represent the trait-anxiety group and the non- trait-anxiety group, respectively. The state-anxiety group and the non-state-anxiety group were defined in the same manner. Longitudinal observation of individual pregnant women indicated the significant increasing trend (p=0.002) of VLF power and the significant decreasing trend (p<0.001) of HF power during 20 to 36 gestation weeks. Compared with the non-trait-anxiety group, the trait-anxiety group had significantly lower VLF values at 20 gestational weeks (p=0.033) and had significantly lower HF values at 30 and 36 gestational weeks (p=0.015 and p=0.044, respectively). The increasing rate of VLF from 20 to 36 gestational weeks was higher among the trait-anxiety group. The same associations were observed between the state-anxiety and non-state-anxiety groups at 20 gestational weeks. Anxiety during pregnancy decreased heart rate variability. Anxiety in second trimester pregnancy promoted a subsequent increase in sympathetic activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anxiety promotes memory for mood-congruent faces but does not alter loss aversion.

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Charpentier, Caroline J; Hindocha, Chandni; Roiser, Jonathan P; Robinson, Oliver J

2016-04-21

Pathological anxiety is associated with disrupted cognitive processing, including working memory and decision-making. In healthy individuals, experimentally-induced state anxiety or high trait anxiety often results in the deployment of adaptive harm-avoidant behaviours. However, how these processes affect cognition is largely unknown. To investigate this question, we implemented a translational within-subjects anxiety induction, threat of shock, in healthy participants reporting a wide range of trait anxiety scores. Participants completed a gambling task, embedded within an emotional working memory task, with some blocks under unpredictable threat and others safe from shock. Relative to the safe condition, threat of shock improved recall of threat-congruent (fearful) face location, especially in highly trait anxious participants. This suggests that threat boosts working memory for mood-congruent stimuli in vulnerable individuals, mirroring memory biases in clinical anxiety. By contrast, Bayesian analysis indicated that gambling decisions were better explained by models that did not include threat or treat anxiety, suggesting that: (i) higher-level executive functions are robust to these anxiety manipulations; and (ii) decreased risk-taking may be specific to pathological anxiety. These findings provide insight into the complex interactions between trait anxiety, acute state anxiety and cognition, and may help understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive anxiety.

Cigarette craving and stressful social interactions: The roles of state and trait social anxiety and smoking to cope.

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Watson, Noreen L; DeMarree, Kenneth G; Cohen, Lee M

2018-04-01

Previous research indicates that social anxiety (SA) is a risk factor for the maintenance and relapse of smoking behaviors. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The current study tested the effects of state and trait levels of SA as well as smoking to cope with symptoms of SA on craving during a social stressor task in abstinent conditions. Participants (n = 60) were daily smokers, aged 18-30. Participants attended two sessions: a baseline session and a second session, wherein they engaged in a social stressor task while deprived from nicotine for 24 h. Subjective ratings of cigarette craving and state levels of SA were assessed six times throughout the task. Data were analyzed via multilevel modeling. Both trait SA and some forms of smoking to cope with symptoms of SA were more likely to predict increased craving during times of high, relative to low, social stress. Further, individuals with higher state SA, greater smoking to cope behaviors, and those who experience greater relief of social distress by smoking experienced greater craving throughout the task. These effects remained after controlling for nicotine dependence, withdrawal symptoms, depression, and other symptoms of anxiety and stress. Smoking to cope with symptoms of SA did not moderate the relationship between state SA and craving. Smokers high in SA (state and trait) and smoking to cope with symptoms of SA may be at risk for continued smoking and relapse because of the intensity of cravings they experience during stressful social situations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Fathers\\' Anxiety Level in the First 8 Weeks after Mothers\\' Delivery

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Azam Maleki

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Pregnancy and transition to parenthood lead to major psychological and social changes in women and men. This study was conducted with the purpose of determining the fathers' anxiety level in the first 8 weeks after mothers' delivery. Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study with stratified random sampling method, the anxiety level was evaluated in 403 fathers. The data collection tools were demographic characteristics questionnaire and standard State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S with cutoff of 45, which were completed after obtaining a written informed consent from each participant. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and logistic regression model at 95% level of confidence. Results: The mean state and trait anxiety scores of fathers' were 34.04±9.24 and 34.57±9.80, respectively. Approximately 14% of the fathers had state and 15% had trait anxiety. There was a significant relationship between state anxiety of fathers and their income, and between trait anxiety and age, occupation, and having insurance. Fathers' anxiety level decreased with increasing age. the odds of having trait anxiety was higher in men with low education and no insurance. Conclusion: Considering the increasing level of fathers’ anxiety after mothers' delivery compared to the general population and its relationship with individual and social factors, it seems necessary to improve social supports, especially for young men.

Suicidality, self-stigma, social anxiety and personality traits in stabilized schizophrenia patients – a cross-sectional study

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Vrbova K

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Kristyna Vrbova,1,2 Jan Prasko,1–3 Marie Ociskova,1,2 Michaela Holubova,4 Krystof Kantor,1,2 Antonin Kolek,1,2 Aleš Grambal,1,2 Milos Slepecky3 1Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; 2Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; 3Department of Psychology Sciences, Faculty of Social Science and Health Care, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic; 4Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Liberec, Liberec, Czech Republic Background and aim: Patients who have schizophrenia are more prone to suicidal behavior than the general population. This study aimed to find connections between suicidality and self-stigma, hope, and personality traits in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Forty-eight stabilized outpatients with schizophrenia attended this cross-sectional study. Patients were diagnosed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI using the ICD-10 research diagnostic criteria. The assessments included Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, objective and subjective Clinical Global Impression, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-second edition, Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness, the Temperament and Character Inventory, and Adult Dispositional Hope Scale. Results: The individual rate of suicidality (suicidal index from MINI strongly positively correlated with self-stigma, level of depression, social anxiety, and harm-avoidance, and negatively correlated with hope, self-directedness, and stigma resistance. Conclusion: Individuals with additional symptoms of depression, social anxiety, trait-like anxiety, and self-stigma should be carefully monitored for suicidal ideation. On the opposite side, patients with sufficient hope, self-esteem, and goal-directed attitudes are less likely to have suicidal thoughts and may potentially be role models in group rehabilitation programs, motivating more

Social anxiety and autism spectrum traits among adult FMR1 premutation carriers.

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López-Mourelo, O; Mur, E; Madrigal, I; Alvarez-Mora, M I; Gómez-Ansón, B; Pagonabarraga, J; Rodriguez-Revenga, L; Milà, M

2017-01-01

Behavioral symptoms and traits have been proposed as early markers in neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate social anxiety and autism in FMR1 premutation carriers using the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaires. Fifty-nine premutation carriers were compared with 50 controls. The SPIN test showed statistically significant differences between female but not male carriers. The AQ questionnaire found statistically significant differences between premutation carriers and controls in the total AQ as well as in the social skills and attention switching subdomains. A gender effect was only observed for the social skills subdomain. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a moderately positive correlation with the total AQ scores as well as the social skills and communication subdomains. Our results show that fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) patients have higher AQ scores. Moreover, this is the first study to find statistically significant differences between FXTAS and no-FXTAS premutation carriers in the communication and the imagination subdomains, suggesting that FXTAS patients present a broader autistic phenotype than premutation carriers without FXTAS. Based on our results, a wide range of behavioral/psychiatric traits should be included within the broader phenotypic presentation of individuals with the FMR1 premutation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Expectancy bias in a selective conditioning procedure: trait anxiety increases the threat value of a blocked stimulus.

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Boddez, Yannick; Vervliet, Bram; Baeyens, Frank; Lauwers, Stephanie; Hermans, Dirk; Beckers, Tom

2012-06-01

In a blocking procedure, a single conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US), such as electric shock, in the first stage. During the subsequent stage, the CS is presented together with a second CS and this compound is followed by the same US. Fear conditioning studies in non-human animals have demonstrated that fear responding to the added second CS typically remains low, despite its being paired with the US. Accordingly, the blocking procedure is well suited as a laboratory model for studying (deficits in) selective threat appraisal. The present study tested the relation between trait anxiety and blocking in human aversive conditioning. Healthy participants filled in a trait anxiety questionnaire and underwent blocking treatment in the human aversive conditioning paradigm. Threat appraisal was measured through shock expectancy ratings and skin conductance. As hypothesized, trait anxiety was positively associated with shock expectancy ratings to the blocked stimulus. In skin conductance responding, no significant effects of stimulus type could be detected during blocking training or testing. The current study does not allow strong claims to be made regarding the theoretical process underlying the expectancy bias we observed. The observed shock expectancy bias might be one of the mechanisms leading to non-specific fear in individuals at risk for developing anxiety disorders. A deficit in blocking, or a deficit in selective threat appraisal at the more general level, indeed results in fear becoming non-specific and disconnected from the most likely causes or predictors of danger. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Depression and anxiety in patients on chronic hemodialysis in University Clinical Hospital Mostar.

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Klarić, Miro; Letica, Ivona; Petrov, Bozo; Tomić, Monika; Klarić, Branka; Letica, Ludvig; Francisković, Tanja

2009-12-01

Depression and anxiety are prevailing mental problem in patients on chronic hemodialysis and they have great influence on outcome of illness. Additionally, these disorders are rarely identified in that population of patients and they are insufficiently treated. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients on chronic hemodialysis in University Clinical Hospital Mostar and to examine the correlation between the demographic variables and the time spent on dialysis with depression and anxiety levels. The experimental group consisted of 56 patients on chronic hemodialysis in Mostar Clinical Hospital. The control group 1 consisted of 53 patients diagnosed with a chronic illness and treated for at least a year, while the control group 2 consisted of 51 persons who were not diagnosed with any chronic somatic or mental illness. Demographic data were collected using the constructed questionnaire. The Beck Depression Inventory-BDI was used to determine depression, while the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-STAI was used to determine anxiety. We recorded significantly higher prevalence of depression in patients on chronic dialysis (51.8%) than in patients with a chronic illness (41.5%) and persons without chronic illnesses (9.8%; p < 0.001). Trait anxiety level was significantly higher in hemodialysed patients compared to the other two groups (p = 0.006) but there were no significant differences in state anxiety level. The study has not shown any significant difference in the prevalence of depression and anxiety level regarding the differences in sex, gender and education level, apart from a higher level of state anxiety in patients with a lower education level (p = 0.032). These results indicate that patients on hemodialysis have a significantly higher level of depression and a higher level of trait anxiety compared to patients with chronic illnesses and especially compared to general population.

The relationship of Internet addiction severity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms in Turkish University students; impact of personality traits, depression and anxiety.

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Dalbudak, Ercan; Evren, Cuneyt

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of Internet addiction (IA) with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms while controlling the effect of personality traits, depression and anxiety symptoms in Turkish university students. A total of 271 university students participated in the present study. The students were assessed through the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), the Wender Utah Rating Short Scale (WURS-25), the Turkish version of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Abbreviated Form (EPQR-A), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). According to IAS, participants were separated into three groups, namely, moderate/high, mild and without IA groups. The rates of groups were 19.9% (n=54), 38.7% (n=105) and 41.3% (n=112), respectively. Correlation analyses revealed that the severity of IAS is positively correlated with WURS-25, ASRS (total, inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity subscales), neuroticism personality trait, depression and anxiety scores, whereas it is negatively correlated with extraversion personality trait. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that depression and anxiety symptoms, introversion and neuroticism personality traits and the severity of ADHD symptoms (particularly hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms) are the predictors for IAS score, respectively. The severity of ADHD symptoms has predicted the severity of IA even after controlling the effect of personality traits, depression and anxiety symptoms among Turkish university students. University students with severe ADHD symptoms, particularly hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms may be considered as a risk group for IA. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pengaruh Sales Call Anxiety (SCA pada Kinerja Salespersons Asuransi Jiwa dengan Trait Negative Affectivity (Trait-Na

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Rita Rita

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This study empirically examines the effect of sales call anxiety (SCA on salesperson performance, good performance in the form of sales volume and sales interactions. This study tested the hypothesis to identify early factors (antecedents that may affect the sales call anxiety (SCA. Initial factors suspected as the cause of anxiety in sales interactions (SCA are divided into two conditions, namely canvassing and closing condition. Canvassing consisted of meeting new people, customer with high social status, and being assertive, while the closing is a condition consisting of asking for commitment, and discussing performance with sales manager. The population in this study is all life insurance company salesperson in Palangkaraya. In this study, questionnaires were distributed to 200 people a life insurance salesperson, and then used as a sample is a total of 147 respondents who have a tendency to trait-NA. The sampling method used was purposive sampling. The analysis showed that when the salesperson must meet new customers, customers with a high social status, when they should be able to introduce himself and mission well (canvassing, when they should ask for customer commitments after several meetings and interviews with candidates customers, and when the salesperson must discuss the results of their performance with the sales manager (closing, causing anxiety for the salesperson, because when interacting with potential customers, they have a negative perception of the ability of self, negative perceptions of the mind customers in assessing their work when interacting, the emergence of physiological symptoms, and they take action "escape" of the situation, or the so-called protective action.

Anxiety level and self-esteem in youth with cerebral palsy

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Aneta Rita Borkowska

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background The aim of the research was to compare youth with cerebral palsy (CP and healthy individuals in terms of self-esteem and anxiety level, and to evaluate the relation between self-esteem and anxiety in both study groups. Participants and procedure The study included 30 individuals with CP and 30 healthy individuals, aged 16 to 22 years. The anxiety level was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, while self-esteem was assessed using Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (SES and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI. Results No significant differences between youth with CP and healthy teenagers were observed in terms of anxiety level as a state or trait, global self-esteem and all the indicators of self-efficacy: family, friends, college, personal and the overall indicator of the sense of self-efficacy. State anxiety correlates with nearly all indicators of self-esteem in youth with CP, except for the sense of self-esteem in the family, although the control group also lacked that correlation. As far as trait anxiety is concerned, the values of correlations are higher and the relation seems to be more likely in the group with CP. Conclusions Youth with CP function like their healthy peers in terms of the anxiety level and self-esteem. The correlation between state anxiety and the dimensions of self-esteem in youth with CP suggests that their self-esteem is lower and more dependent on situational factors, especially anxiety-related ones, and the low level of trait anxiety suggested high self-esteem of an individual.

The state effect of depressive and anxiety disorders on big five personality traits.

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Karsten, Julie; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Riese, Hariëtte; Ormel, Johan; Nolen, Willem A; Hartman, Catharina A

2012-05-01

Neuroticism and extraversion are affected by depressive disorder state. Less is known about depressive state effects on conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness. Furthermore, state effects of anxiety disorders on personality have been far less studied than those of depressive disorder. Here, we aim to determine the extent of change in all five personality traits associated with the occurrence of or recovery from depressive and anxiety disorders. Using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) at baseline and two-year follow-up, respondents from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) were divided into four groups: unaffected at baseline and follow-up, occurrence, recovery, and affected at baseline and follow-up. Personality change (NEO-five factor inventory) was examined in the occurrence and recovery groups relative to the unaffected and affected groups, respectively. Analyses were repeated, differentiating between (specific) depressive and anxiety disorders. We found small state effects of affective disorders on neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness. Corrected for each other, both depressive and anxiety disorders showed small state effects on neuroticism, but effects on extraversion and conscientiousness were mainly associated with depressive disorders. State effects were small. When assessing neuroticism, the presence of both depressive and anxiety disorders should be taken into account, as both may independently increase neuroticism scores. However, when assessing extraversion and conscientiousness, depressive disorders but not anxiety disorders are likely to be of influence. Agreeableness and openness are influenced by neither. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic and environmental contributions to anxiety among Chinese children and adolescents--a multi-informant twin study.

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Chen, Jie; Yu, Jing; Li, Xinying; Zhang, Jianxin

2015-05-01

Child and adolescent anxiety has become a major public health concern in China, but little was known about the etiology of anxiety in Chinese children and adolescents. The present study aimed to investigate genetic and environmental influences on trait anxiety among Chinese children and adolescents. Rater, sex, and age differences on these estimates were also examined. Self-reported and parent-reported child's trait anxiety was collected from 1,104 pairs of same-sex twins aged 9-18 years. Genetic models were fitted to data from each informant to determine the genetic (A), shared (C), and non-shared environmental (E) influences on trait anxiety. The parameter estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of A, C, E on self-reported trait anxiety were 50% [30%, 60%], 5% [0%, 24%], 45% [40%, 49%]. For parent-reported data, the corresponding parameter estimates were 63% [47%, 78%], 13% [1%, 28%], and 24% [22%, 27%], respectively. The heritability of anxiety was higher in girls for self-reported data, but higher in boys for parent-reported data. There was no significant age difference in genetic and environmental contributions for self-reported data, but a significant increase of heritability with age for parent-reported data. The trait anxiety in Chinese children and adolescents was highly heritable. Non-shared environmental factors also played an important role. The estimates of genetic and environmental effects differed by rater, sex and age. Our findings largely suggest the cross-cultural generalizability of the etiological model of child and adolescent anxiety. © 2014 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Externalizing Behaviors and Callous-Unemotional Traits: Different Associations With Sleep Quality.

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Denis, Dan; Akhtar, Reece; Holding, Benjamin C; Murray, Christina; Panatti, Jennifer; Claridge, Gordon; Sadeh, Avi; Barclay, Nicola L; O'Leary, Rachael; Maughan, Barbara; McAdams, Tom A; Rowe, Richard; Eley, Thalia C; Viding, Essi; Gregory, Alice M

2017-08-01

Sleep quality is associated with different aspects of psychopathology, but relatively little research has examined links between sleep quality and externalizing behaviors or callous-unemotional traits. We examined: (1) whether an association exists between sleep quality and externalizing behaviors; (2) whether anxiety mediates this association; (3) whether callous-unemotional traits are associated with sleep quality. Data from two studies were used. Study 1 involved 1556 participants of the G1219 study aged 18-27 years (62% female). Questionnaire measures assessed sleep quality, anxiety, externalizing behaviors, and callous-unemotional traits. Study 2 involved 338 participants aged 18-66 years (65% female). Questionnaires measured sleep quality, externalizing behaviors, and callous-unemotional traits. In order to assess objective sleep quality, actigraphic data were also recorded for a week from a subsample of study 2 participants (n = 43). In study 1, poorer sleep quality was associated with greater externalizing behaviors. This association was partially mediated by anxiety and moderated by levels of callous-unemotional traits. There was no significant relationship between sleep quality and callous-unemotional traits. In study 2, poorer sleep quality, as assessed via self-reported but not objective measures, was associated with higher levels of externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, in study 2, better sleep quality (indicated in both questionnaires and actigraphy measures: lower mean activity, and greater sleep efficiency) was associated with higher levels of callous-unemotional traits. Self-reports of poorer sleep quality are associated with externalizing behaviors, and this association is partially mediated by anxiety. Callous-unemotional traits are not associated with poor sleep and may even be related to better sleep quality. This is an exceptional finding given that poor sleep quality appears to be a characteristic of most psychopathology. © Sleep Research

The self-esteem and anxiety of children with and without mentally retarded siblings.

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Saban, Fatma; Arıkan, Duygu

2013-11-01

The study was carried out with the aim of determining the factors affecting and to evaluate anxiety situations and self-esteem of children with and without mentally retarded siblings. The sampling included 227 healthy children: 108 of them have mental retarded sibling and 119 of them do not have mental retarded sibling. The context of this study consisted of 15-18 year of age healthy children with mentally retarded siblings and 15-18 year of aged healthy children having at least one sibling between the dates February 15(st) and June 26(st) 2010. Personal Information Form, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Trait Anxiety Scale were used. It was found out that trait anxiety of 17-18 aged of children with mental retarded sibling (47.04 ± 7.3) was higher than that of the children without mental retarded siblings (44.05 ± 11.23) (P self-esteem of children with mentally retarded sibling was not affected from the handicap of their siblings (P > 0.05). Trait anxiety score averages of children with mentally retarded sibling and experience some difficulties due to his or her siblings's handicap (47.00 ± 7.76) were found higher than those of those of the children without any problem with the environment (42.61 ± 7.48) (P self-esteem in both groups were not significant different, score of trait anxiety for children with mentally disabled siblings was higher in comparison. It was concluded that anxiety of children with and without mentally retarded siblings increased as self-esteem of these children decreased.

Trait anxiety determines depressive symptoms and fatigue in women with an abnormality in the breast

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de Vries, Jolanda; van der Steeg, Alida F.; Roukema, Jan A.

2009-01-01

The aim was to examine the role of trait anxiety and diagnosis on depressive symptoms and fatigue in women with early stage breast cancer or benign breast problems. A prospective follow-up study was performed in order to find predictors of depressive symptoms and fatigue. From the 169 participating

Identification of the Predictive Power of Five Factor Personality Traits for Individual Instrument Performance Anxiety

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Özdemir, Gökhan; Dalkiran, Esra

2017-01-01

This study, with the aim of identifying the predictive power of the five-factor personality traits of music teacher candidates on individual instrument performance anxiety, was designed according to the relational screening model. The study population was students attending the Music Education branch of Fine Arts Education Departments in…

Surgery information reduces anxiety in the pre-operative period

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Kiyohara Leandro Yoshinobu

2004-01-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Patients preparing to undergo surgery should not suffer needless anxiety. This study aimed to evaluate anxiety levels on the day before surgery as related to the information known by the patient regarding the diagnosis, surgical procedure, or anesthesia. METHOD: Patients reported their knowledge of diagnosis, surgery, and anesthesia. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI was used to measure patient anxiety levels. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-nine patients were selected, and 82 females and 38 males were interviewed. Twenty-nine patients were excluded due to illiteracy. The state-anxiety levels were alike for males and females (36.10 ± 11.94 vs. 37.61 ± 8.76 (mean ± SD. Trait-anxiety levels were higher for women (42.55 ± 10.39 vs. 38.08 ± 12.25, P = 0.041. Patient education level did not influence the state-anxiety level but was inversely related to the trait-anxiety level. Knowledge of the diagnosis was clear for 91.7% of patients, of the surgery for 75.0%, and of anesthesia for 37.5%. Unfamiliarity with the surgical procedure raised state-anxiety levels (P = 0.021. A lower state-anxiety level was found among patients who did not know the diagnosis but knew about the surgery (P = 0.038. CONCLUSIONS: Increased knowledge of patients regarding the surgery they are about to undergo may reduce their state-anxiety levels.

Recurrent suicide attempts in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders: The role of borderline personality traits

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C. Licht; M. Eikelenboom; prof Berno van Meijel; A.T. Beekman; dr Barbara Stringer; B. Koekkoek; A.J. Kerkhof; B.W. Penninx

2013-01-01

Background The presence of a comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be associated with an increase of suicidal behaviors in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the role of borderline personality traits on recurrent suicide

Personality traits and psychotic symptoms in recent onset of psychosis patients.

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Sevilla-Llewellyn-Jones, Julia; Cano-Domínguez, Pablo; de-Luis-Matilla, Antonia; Peñuelas-Calvo, Inmaculada; Espina-Eizaguirre, Alberto; Moreno-Kustner, Berta; Ochoa, Susana

2017-04-01

Personality in patients with psychosis, and particularly its relation to psychotic symptoms in recent onset of psychosis (ROP) patients, is understudied. The aims of this research were to study the relation between dimensional and categorical clinical personality traits and symptoms, as well as the effects that symptoms, sex and age have on clinically significant personality traits. Data for these analyses were obtained from 94 ROP patients. The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were used to assess personality and symptoms. Correlational Analysis, Mann-Whitney test, and, finally, logistic regression were carried out. The negative dimension was higher in patients with schizoid traits. The excited dimension was lower for those with avoidant and depressive traits. The anxiety and depression dimension was higher for patients with dependent traits. The positive dimension was lower for patients with histrionic and higher for patients with compulsive traits. Logistic regression demonstrated that gender and the positive and negative dimensions explained 35.9% of the variance of the schizoid trait. The excited dimension explained 9.1% of the variance of avoidant trait. The anxiety and depression dimension and age explained 31.3% of the dependent trait. Gender explained 11.6% of the histrionic trait, 14.5% of the narcissistic trait and 11.6% of the paranoid trait. Finally gender and positive dimension explained 16.1% of the compulsive trait. The study highlights the importance of studying personality in patients with psychosis as it broadens understating of the patients themselves and the symptoms suffered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Shame and Anxiety Feelings of a Roma Population in Greece.

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Gouva, M; Mentis, M; Kotrotsiou, S; Paralikas, Th; Kotrotsiou, E

2015-12-01

Shame is a crucial issue for Roma. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the severity of shame and anxiety feelings in a Roma population living in Greece and assess the differentiation of these feelings between Roma men and women. A quota sample of 194 Roma adult men and women living in Southern Greece was retrieved. The Experiences of Shame Scale (ESS), the Other As Shamer Scale (OAS) and the Spielberg's State/Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaires were used. Women scored statistically significantly higher than men on ESS, whereas men scored higher on OAS scale (52.27 ± 16.91 vs 45.42 ± 9.98 and 35.93 ± 16.94 vs 30.87 ± 13.72 respectively). Women scored higher than men in both STAI subscales, however significant differences were observed only in State Anxiety scale (48.83 ± 9.26 vs 43.20 ± 9.81). OAS total score was inversely related to state anxiety, whereas ESS total score was positive related to trait anxiety, all correlations being significant at p Cultural, social and minority issues contribute to feelings of inferiority and anxiety experience.

Trait and facet-level predictors of first-onset depressive and anxiety disorders in a community sample of adolescent girls.

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Goldstein, Brandon L; Kotov, Roman; Perlman, Greg; Watson, David; Klein, Daniel N

2017-09-20

Individual differences in neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness are associated with, and may predict onset of, internalizing disorders. These general traits can be parsed into facets, but there is a surprising paucity of research on facet risk for internalizing disorders. We examined general traits and facets of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness in predicting first onsets of depressive and anxiety disorders. A community sample of 550 adolescent females completed general and facet-level personality measures and diagnostic interviews. Interviews were re-administered 18 months later. First onsets of depressive disorders were predicted by neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Facets predicting first onset of depression included depressivity (neuroticism facet) and lower positive emotionality and sociability (extraversion facets). First onsets of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) were predicted by neuroticism, and particularly the facet of anxiousness. First onsets of social phobia were predicted at the facet level by anxiousness. First onsets of specific phobia were predicted by neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and all neuroticism facets. In multivariate analyses, first onsets of depression were uniquely predicted by depressivity, and onsets of GAD and social phobia were uniquely predicted by anxiousness over and above the general trait of neuroticism. General traits predict first onsets of depressive and anxiety disorders. In addition, more specific associations are evident at the facet level. Facets can refine our understanding of the links between personality and psychopathology risk, and provide finer-grained targets for personality-informed interventions.

Recurrent suicide attempts in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders : The role of borderline personality traits

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Stringer, Barbara; van Meijel, Berno; Eikelenboom, Merijn; Koekkoek, Bauke; Licht, Carmilla M. M.; Kerkhof, Ad J. F. M.; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.; Beekman, Aartjan T. F.

2013-01-01

Background: The presence of a comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be associated with an increase of suicidal behaviors in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the role of borderline personality traits on recurrent suicide attempts.

Fear Appeal in Traffic Safety Advertising: The moderating role of medium context, trait anxiety, and differences between drivers and non-drivers

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Wim Janssens

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The impact was investigated of the intensity of a fear appeal, the valence of the medium context, and the individuals' trait anxiety and personal relevance on the responses of 197 individuals to anti-speeding advertisements. A high level of fear attracts more attention. A negative valence context leads to a more positive anti-speeding attitude. The most important moderating effect of trait anxiety is that the attitude is more positive when low-anxiety individuals are exposed to high fear appeals in a context with negative valence than in a positive context. These results were largely replicated for drivers, but not for non-drivers for whom there was only an attention-getting effect of high fear appeal. Theoretical and practical implications for anti-speeding campaigning are discussed.

Depression, anxiety and stress among higher secondary school students of Imphal, Manipur

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K Sathish Kumar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Adolescence is a stressful period due to physical, psychological, sexual changes, and the presence of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress at this stage of life is a matter of concern. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalences of depression, anxiety, and stress among higher secondary school students of Imphal and to determine the association between depression, anxiety, and stress and selected variables such as gender, standard, and religion. Materials and methods: From September 2014 to October 2014, a cross-sectional study was conducted among higher secondary school students of Imphal. The sample size was calculated to be 750. Seven schools were randomly selected, and all the students in that school were enrolled in the study. The study tool used was a questionnaire containing DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The prevalences of depression, anxiety, and stress among 830 valid respondents were 19.5%, 24.4%, and 21.1%, respectively. In total, 81.6% of the respondents had at least one of the studied disorders and 34.7% of the respondents had all the three negative states. The prevalences of depression, anxiety, and stress were high among females and were significant for anxiety (P = 0.00 and stress (P = 0.04. The prevalences of depression and stress were significantly higher among 12th standard students with P-values of 0.00 and 0.02. Conclusion: The prevalences of depression, anxiety, and stress were high with anxiety and stress significantly higher among females, whereas prevalences of depression and stress were significantly higher among 12th standard students. More studies are recommended to determine the factors leading to these mental disorders.

Can we identify mothers at-risk for postpartum anxiety in the immediate postpartum period using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory?

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Dennis, Cindy-Lee; Coghlan, Michelle; Vigod, Simone

2013-09-25

This study assessed the stability of maternal anxiety and concordance between State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores in the immediate postpartum period to 8 weeks postpartum. A population-based sample of 522 mothers completed the STAI at 1, 4, and 8 weeks postpartum. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive power of the 1-week STAI in relation to identifying mothers with elevated STAI scores at 4 and 8 weeks was determined. Predictive power of the STAI was further assessed using odds ratios and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. At 1 week postpartum, 22.6% of mothers scored >40 on the STAI, decreasing to 17.2% at 4 weeks and 14.8% at 8 weeks. Using the cut-off score of >40, the 1-week STAI accurately classified 84.0% mothers at 4 weeks and 83.6% at 8 weeks with or without anxiety symptomatology. The 1-week STAI was significantly correlated to the 4-week (r=0.68, p40 were 15.2 times more likely at 4 weeks (95% CI=8.9-26.1) and 14.0 times more likely at 8 weeks (95% CI=7.9-24.8) to exhibit postpartum anxiety symptomatology. Psychiatric interviews were not completed in collaboration with the STAI and specific types of anxiety disorders were not identified. A cut-off score of >40 on the STAI administered early in the postpartum period is recommended in a 2-phase identification program in order to not miss mothers with postpartum anxiety. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Shame on Me! Self-Conscious Emotions and Big Five Personality Traits and Their Relations to Anxiety Disorders Symptoms in Young, Non-Clinical Adolescents.

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Muris, Peter; Meesters, Cor; van Asseldonk, Mike

2018-04-01

This study explored the relations between self-conscious emotions, personality traits, and anxiety disorders symptoms in non-clinical youths. One-hundred-and-eighteen adolescents aged 12-15 years completed the brief shame and guilt questionnaire for children (BSGQ-C) and items of the youth self-report (YSR) to measure shame and guilt, the big five personality questionnaire for children, and the youth anxiety measure for DSM-5. Results for shame indicated that this self-conscious emotion-either measured by the BSGQ-C or the YSR-was uniquely and positively associated with a broad range of anxiety disorders symptoms, and correlated positively with neuroticism and negatively with extraversion. Guilt did not show significant associations with anxiety disorders symptoms once controlling for the influence of shame, and links with personality traits varied dependent on the assessment instrument that was used (BSGQ-C or YSR). Finally, when controlling for neuroticism and extraversion, shame consistently remained a significant correlate of anxiety disorders symptoms. Altogether, these results add to the growing body of evidence indicating that high levels of shame are clearly associated with anxiety pathology.

Heart-related anxieties in relation to general anxiety and severity of illness in cardiology patients.

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Muschalla, Beate; Glatz, Johannes; Linden, Michael

2014-01-01

Absence of an adequate reason for anxiety is a criterion for pathological anxiety. However, the presence of danger or fear-provoking stimuli may even be a risk factor for anxiety and does not exclude that there is additionally pathological anxiety too. The question is, to what degree can heart-related anxiety be explained by the severity of illness or trait anxiety? Two hundred and nine patients (37.8% women) from a cardiology inpatient unit completed the Heart-Anxiety-Questionnaire, Progression-Anxiety-Questionnaire, Job-Anxiety-Scale and the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory. The severity of cardiac illness was rated by the treating cardiologists using the Multidimensional Severity of Morbidity Rating. Time absent from work due to sickness was assessed as an indicator for illness-related impairment. Heart anxiety was significantly related to progression anxiety and, to a lesser extent, trait anxiety and indicators of subjective symptoms of somatic illness. No association was found with medical ratings for prognosis, multimorbidity, or reduction in life expectancy. Heart-related anxiety is a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Although partially dependent on subjective suffering, it cannot be explained by the severity of medical illness. Treatment of health-related anxieties should focus on how to cope with subjective symptoms of illness.

Stress and anxiety in women with gestational diabetes during dietary management.

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Hui, Amy Leung; Sevenhuysen, Gustaaf; Harvey, Dexter; Salamon, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

To explore the stress and anxiety experiences during dietary management in women with gestational diabetes (GDM). Thirty women with GDM from the Winnipeg area participated in the mixed methods study. Each participant completed a Food Choice Map semistructured interview, a Perceived Stress Scale, a Pregnancy Anxiety Scale, a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Stress and anxiety experiences were identified from interview transcripts and categorized into themes based on the constant comparative method. Questionnaire scores aided in interpreting the stress and anxiety experience in the qualitative data. Three major themes were generated from the interviews: (1) stress related to GDM diagnosis and the perception of a high risk pregnancy; (2) stress over losing control of GDM during the process of dietary management; and (3) anxiety related to the fear of maternal and infant complications. Women on insulin experienced significantly higher levels of perceived stress (P stress was more prevalent in women using insulin compared to the ones on diet treatment only (Fisher exact test, P Unhealthy diet coping strategies occurred with the stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety were associated with different contexts in this study sample. Women who were on insulin experienced significantly higher levels of perceived stress related to dietary management. © 2014 The Author(s).

The role of anxiety in vaginismus: a case-control study.

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Watts, Gayle; Nettle, Daniel

2010-01-01

Previous research suggests that anxiety may play a large role in the symptoms of vaginismus. We aimed to (i) determine the degree of self-reported general anxiety in women with vaginismus; and (ii) establish whether general anxiety is a consequence of the condition or a predisposing factor. Participants reported state and trait anxiety, five-factor personality scores, history of anxiety disorders, and their perceptions of their symptoms and history. We compared responses of 244 self-identified women with vaginismus with a control group of 101 women using an online questionnaire. The women with vaginismus were higher in trait anxiety and neuroticism, and lower in extraversion, than the controls. There was also a trend toward a greater prevalence of diagnosed anxiety disorders in the vaginismus group. Levels of state anxiety were high among the women with vaginismus, particularly when they felt unsupported by their partners or pressured to cure the condition. Levels of general anxiety are elevated among women with vaginismus and the data suggest that anxiety-proneness may be a predisposing factor for the condition. We conclude that although vaginismus is a multidimensional condition, it may have common predisposing factors with anxiety disorders.

Diabetes screening anxiety and beliefs.

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Skinner, T C; Davies, M J; Farooqi, A M; Jarvis, J; Tringham, J R; Khunti, K

2005-11-01

This study assesses the impact of screening for diabetes on anxiety levels in an ethnically mixed population in the UK, and explores whether beliefs about Type 2 diabetes account for these anxiety levels. This cross-sectional study recruited individuals who were identified at high risk of developing diabetes through general practitioners' (GPs) lists or through public media recruitment. Participants completed an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Between blood tests, participants completed the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale Short Form, the Emotional Stability Scale of the Big Five Inventory 44 and three scales from the Diabetes Illness Representations Questionnaire, revised for this study. Of the 1339 who completed the OGTT and questionnaire booklet, 54% were female, with 21% from an Asian background. Forty-five per cent of participants reported little to moderate amounts of anxiety at screening (mean 35.2; sd = 11.6). There was no significant effect of family history of diabetes, ethnic group or recruitment method on anxiety. The only variable significantly associated (negatively) with anxiety was the personality trait of emotional stability. Of responders, 64% and 61% agreed that diabetes was caused by diet or hereditary factors, respectively. Only 155 individuals (12%) agreed that diabetes was serious, shortens life and causes complications. The results of this study replicate that of previous studies, indicating that screening for diabetes does not induce significant anxiety. Bivariate analysis indicated that individuals who perceived diabetes to be serious, life shortening and resulting in complications had higher anxiety scores, the personality trait of emotional stability being the strongest predictor of anxiety.

A STUDY ON PREVALENCE OF ANXIETY DISORDERS AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

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Srinivasa; Chaithanya C; Ravindra

2015-01-01

Anxiety disorders are very common in secondary school children with little epidemiological data from countries like India. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety disorders in higher secondary school students using Screen for Ch ild Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) questionnaire. Methodology: The study was conducted in July 2014 and 100 students belonging to class 11 and class 12 of a higher secondary school at Tiptur were includ...

Anxiety and beta-adrenergic receptor function in a normal population.

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Kang, Eun-Ho; Yu, Bum-Hee

2005-06-01

Many studies have shown a close relationship between anxiety and beta-adrenergic receptor function in patients with anxiety disorders. This study examined the relationship between beta-adrenergic receptor function and anxiety levels in a normal population. Subjects for this study included 36 men and 44 women between the ages of 20 and 40 years whose Body Mass Index (BMI) was between 18 and 26. All of them were healthy subjects who had no previous history of medical or psychiatric illnesses. The authors measured the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Chronotropic 25 Dose (CD25) of isoproterenol, previously developed to assess in vivo beta-adrenergic receptor sensitivity. We also examined correlations between log normalized CD25 and mood states. The mean of CD25 was 2.64+/-1.37 mug and the mean of CD25 in men was significantly higher (i.e., lower beta-adrenergic receptor sensitivity) than that of women (3.26+/-1.35 vs. 2.14+/-1.17 microg; t = 3.99, p anxiety (r = -0.344, p = 0.002), trait anxiety (r = -0.331, p = 0.003), and BDI (r = -0.283, p = 0.011). CD25 was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.423, p anxiety, and BMI. The sensitivity of beta-adrenergic receptors increased as anxiety levels became higher in a normal population. Thus, the relationship between anxiety and beta-adrenergic receptor function in healthy subjects may be different from that of patients with anxiety disorders.

Study of Life Events and Personality Dimensions in Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

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Arul, A Sri Sennath J

2016-04-01

Life events, recognized as stressors, due to their unanticipated nature, can cause psychiatric illness. Also there is some line of continuity between neurotic illness and antecedent personality traits. To study generalized anxiety disorder in relation to Life events and personality dimensions. Certain hypotheses were tested in two groups, namely 30 Generalized Anxiety Disorder patients (GAD) and 30 matched controls, by utilizing assessment tools. These include: GAD patients experience more undesirable Life events than normal; GAD patients with high level of anxiety experience more undesirable Life events; Neuroticism is related to the severity of anxiety; Extroverts experience more anxiety; Level of anxiety in females is higher; GAD patients with higher education level experience more anxiety, while those with lower education level somatize more. The group differences were examined using Chi-Square test, Student t-test and ANOVA. Pearson's Correlation Co-efficient was used to find the correlation between anxiety and the undesirable Life events. The level of statistical significance was set at panxiety experienced more undesirable Life events, with the coefficient of correlation being quite high. A significant association between Neuroticism scale and GAD was observed. The study suggests a possible causative link between the undesirable Life events and GAD; and a significant association between Neuroticism dimension and the anxiety disorder. Role of environmental stressors and personality traits in treatment outcome among GAD patients awaits further, prospective studies.

Alpha band frequency differences between low-trait and high-trait anxious individuals.

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Ward, Richard T; Smith, Shelby L; Kraus, Brian T; Allen, Anna V; Moses, Michael A; Simon-Dack, Stephanie L

2018-01-17

Trait anxiety has been shown to cause significant impairments on attentional tasks. Current research has identified alpha band frequency differences between low-trait and high-trait anxious individuals. Here, we further investigated the underlying alpha band frequency differences between low-trait and high-trait anxious individuals during their resting state and the completion of an inhibition executive functioning task. Using human participants and quantitative electroencephalographic recordings, we measured alpha band frequency in individuals both high and low in trait anxiety during their resting state, and while they completed an Eriksen Flanker Task. Results indicated that high-trait anxious individuals exhibit a desynchronization in alpha band frequency from a resting state to when they complete the Eriksen Flanker Task. This suggests that high-trait anxious individuals maintain fewer attentional resources at rest and must martial resources for task performance as compared with low-trait anxious individuals, who appear to maintain stable cognitive resources between rest and task performance. These findings add to the cognitive neuroscience literature surrounding the role of alpha band frequency in low-trait and high-trait anxious individuals.

Original article Attachment styles and anxiety of rejecters in intimate relationships

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Eugenia Mandal

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background In this paper, the problem of the lack of stability of intimate female-male relationships, the intensity of which is currently increasing, is presented. Attention is focused on early-childhood attachment styles and anxiety in rejecters in intimate relationships. Participants and procedure The research included 120 individuals: 60 individuals who had dropped 3-15 partners (on average, M = 3.77 partners and 60 individuals from the control group. The following research tools were applied: the Attachment Styles Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI. Results The results showed that rejecters in intimate relationships obtained higher results than individuals from the control group in an avoidant and an anxious-ambivalent attachment style, and lower ones in a secure attachment style, as well as higher ones in anxiety as a trait. Sex itself was not a differentiating factor in any of the studied variables. An avoidant attachment style, and anxiety as a trait, were predictors of being a rejecter. Conclusions The obtained results confirm the fundamental findings of the theory of attachment indicating that the lower the level of a secure style is, the lower is the level of interpersonal skills.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction on state/trait anxiety and quality of life in women with obesity

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Asghar Jafari

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Obesity affects the cognitive, emotional and behavioral functions and usually produces mood and anxiety disorders. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR on promoting quality of life and decreasing anxiety among the obese women. Materials and Methods: In this pre-post-test designed experimental study with a 2 mouth follow- up, 24 obese women (BMI≥30 were randomly selected in the Obesity Treatment Center in (Tehran, Iran and assigned in Experimental and Control groups. Data were collected using the questionnaires of anxiety of Spiel-Berger (1970 and quality of life of Viyear (1988. The MBSR interventions of Kabat-Zinn were performed for experimental group in 8 sessions, followed by the assessment of anxiety and quality of life. Results: The pre- post-test and follow- up scores for quality of life of participants in MBSR program, in terms of general health; physical limitations; physical function; social function; state anxiety and trait anxiety were: (7.66±0.88, 9.50±1.67, 9.58±1.66; (22.83±1.58, 27.91±1.16, 27±1.53; (4.50±0.67, 6.16±1.11, 5±0.95; (2.91± 0.28, 5.91±0.66, 5.75±0.38; (52.25±3.51, 43.08±2.39, 44±2.29 and (68.08±1.78, 46.75±1.71, 47.25±2, respectively. The scores of quality of life was significantly increased in participants in MBSR compared to the Control group (P<0.01. In addition, the scores of state and trait anxiety were significantly decreased (P<0.01. Conclusion: The results of research provide some evidence to suggest that MBSR is an appropriate therapy for promoting quality of life and decreasing anxiety in obese women.

Peculiar alexithymic traits in burning mouth syndrome: case-control study.

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Marino, Roberto; Picci, Rocco Luigi; Ferro, Giovanni; Carezana, Claudio; Gandolfo, Sergio; Pentenero, Monica

2015-11-01

The present case-control study aims to assess the occurrence of alexithymic traits in burning mouth syndrome (BMS) subjects and to correlate alexithymic traits to anxious and depressive traits in BMS subjects. Prospectively enrolled BMS and control subjects were administered the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Anxiety and depressive traits were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Occurrence of alexithymic traits was compared between BMS and control subjects. Correlation tests were used to measure the importance of alexithymic traits related to demographic characteristics, pain intensity (VAS score), and to the other psychometric scores. Fifty-eight BMS subjects (46 females and 12 males) had a mean TAS-20 score significantly higher when compared to controls (p < 0.001; r = 0.72), corresponding to an occurrence rate of alexithymic traits of 79.3 versus 6.9%. Alexithymic traits in BMS subjects were just related to depressive traits (p = 0.02; ρ = 0.31). The high occurrence of alexithymia in BMS is an adjunctive issue in favor of its multifactorial pathogenesis, with a not negligible role for somatization. Clinicians should be aware of the high occurrence of alexithymic traits among BMS subjects as such traits may affect the doctor-patient relationship.

The effectiveness of test-enhanced learning depends on trait test anxiety and working-memory capacity.

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Tse, Chi-Shing; Pu, Xiaoping

2012-09-01

Despite being viewed as a better way to enhance learning than repeated study, it has not been clear whether repeated testing is equally effective for students with a wide range of cognitive abilities. The current study examined whether test-enhanced learning would be equally beneficial to participants with varied working-memory capacity (WMC) and trait test anxiety (TA). Chinese-English bilingual undergraduates in Hong Kong were recruited as participants. They acquired Swahili-English word pairs (half via repeated study and half via repeated testing) and performed a delayed cued-recall test for all pairs about one week after the acquisition phase. Their WMC and TA were estimated by Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock, and Engle's (2005) operation-span task and the Chinese version of Spielberger's (1980) Test Anxiety Inventory, respectively. We replicated the typical testing effect: Participants performed better for pairs in the repeated-testing condition than those in the repeated-study condition. Regression analyses showed that, (a) relative to other participants, those with lower WMC and higher TA made more intralist intrusion errors (i.e., recalling a wrong English translation to a Swahili word cue) during the acquisition phase, and (b) the testing effect was negatively correlated with TA for participants with lower WMC, but was not correlated with TA for participants with higher WMC. This demonstrates a boundary condition for the use of test-enhanced learning. Implications of these findings for theories of the testing effect (e.g., Pyc & Rawson's, 2010, mediator-effectiveness hypothesis) and their application in classroom settings are discussed.

Students' anxiety in a senior thesis course.

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Wood, M R; Palm, L J

2000-06-01

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered on Weeks 8, 12, and 15 of a semester to 16 students enrolled in a senior thesis course. State anxiety scores were elevated when oral presentations began and declined following the presentations. Trait anxiety scores remained constant across test administrations. The influence of situational variables on students' anxiety was discussed.

Altered brain activation and connectivity during anticipation of uncertain threat in trait anxiety.

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Geng, Haiyang; Wang, Yi; Gu, Ruolei; Luo, Yue-Jia; Xu, Pengfei; Huang, Yuxia; Li, Xuebing

2018-06-08

In the research field of anxiety, previous studies generally focus on emotional responses following threat. A recent model of anxiety proposes that altered anticipation prior to uncertain threat is related with the development of anxiety. Behavioral findings have built the relationship between anxiety and distinct anticipatory processes including attention, estimation of threat, and emotional responses. However, few studies have characterized the brain organization underlying anticipation of uncertain threat and its role in anxiety. In the present study, we used an emotional anticipation paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the aforementioned topics by employing brain activation and general psychophysiological interactions (gPPI) analysis. In the activation analysis, we found that high trait anxious individuals showed significantly increased activation in the thalamus, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), as well as decreased activation in the precuneus, during anticipation of uncertain threat compared to the certain condition. In the gPPI analysis, the key regions including the amygdala, dmPFC, and precuneus showed altered connections with distributed brain areas including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), inferior parietal sulcus (IPS), insula, para-hippocampus gyrus (PHA), thalamus, and MTG involved in anticipation of uncertain threat in anxious individuals. Taken together, our findings indicate that during the anticipation of uncertain threat, anxious individuals showed altered activations and functional connectivity in widely distributed brain areas, which may be critical for abnormal perception, estimation, and emotion reactions during the anticipation of uncertain threat. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Presence of anxiety and depression in patients with bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis.

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Girón Moreno, Rosa María; Fernandes Vasconcelos, Gilda; Cisneros, Carolina; Gómez-Punter, Rosa Mar; Segrelles Calvo, Gonzalo; Ancochea, Julio

2013-10-01

Patients with chronic bronchiectasis (BQ) may suffer from psychological disorders. The objective of this study was to assess the presence of anxiety and depression in patients from a specialised BQ Unit, using validated questionnaires. We included patients consecutively diagnosed with BQ (unrelated to cystic fibrosis) by high resolution computed tomography in the study. Patients were clinically stable in the previous three weeks and voluntarily completed the Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, after signing the informed consent. They were classified according to their scores on the psychological screening questionnaires, and their results were compared with the clinical, radiological and functional parameters and Quality of Life. Seventy patients were included, 48 women and 22 men, with a mean age of 64.19years. Thirty-four percent (34%) of patients showed symptoms of depression, and around 55% had scores above the 50th percentile in trait and state anxiety. The amount of sputum was associated with trait anxiety. Bacterial colonization was related to anxiety (trait and state), especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization. Female patients showed a higher risk of depression. There was no relationship between the Quality of Life scores and the established classifications of anxiety and depression. A high percentage of patients with BQ presented anxiety (trait and state) and depression. The daily sputum production and bacterial colonization (especially with P. aeruginosa) were the variables most related to anxiety; depression was more common in women. We believe that the presence of psychological disorders should be evaluated, especially in patients with this profile. Copyright © 2012 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Serotonin transporter bi- and triallelic genotypes and their relationship with anxiety and academic performance: a preliminary study.

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Calapoğlu, Mustafa; Sahin-Calapoğlu, Nilufer; Karaçöp, Ataman; Soyöz, Mustafa; Elyıldırım, Umit Y; Avşaroğlu, Selahattin

2011-01-01

Considerable evidence suggests that variation of the serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5- HTTLPR) is associated with anxiety-related traits. Academic outcomes are also more closely related to trait anxiety. This preliminary study aimed to explore the association between academic performance and levels of anxiety with respect to the bi- and triallelic classification of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism of the 5-HTT gene in teacher candidates. In our study, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Selection Examination for Professional Posts in Public Organizations (KPSS) and 5-HTTLPR genotypes were used to investigate a group of 94 healthy teacher candidates. Higher anxiety scores were significantly associated with the S'S' genotype. There was no direct, statistically significant association between academic performance and genotypic groups regarding bi- and triallelic classification. However, the students who have L'L' or LL genotypes had the lowest levels of trait anxiety and the poorest academic performance. Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation between academic performance and anxiety levels. These findings support the idea that S and L(G) alleles are associated with anxiety-related traits, and that the S'S' genotype may be a good indicator for anxiety-related traits in a sample from the Turkish population. A specific degree of anxiety is considered to be a motivation for learning and high academic performance. However, 5-HTTLPR polymorphism of the 5-HTT gene may be one of the genetic factors affecting academic performance in connection with anxiety levels. Implications for incorporating anxiety management training in the educational process in terms of both environmental and individual factors will have a very important role in improving effective strategies for student personality services, as well as for development and planning. © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Is there a relation between dental anxiety, fear and general psychological status?

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Tuba Talo Yildirim

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Background Dental anxiety is a widespread problem in many populations. This problem can be a barrier to dental care and may lead to poor oral health. Dental anxiety may be related to psychological status. Aims The aim of the present study was to assess the levels of dental anxiety, dental fear, Beck Depression, and state-trait anxiety according to age, gender and education level in patients at the periodontology clinic in the Diyarbakır Mouth and Dental Health Center. Study Design A total of 231 patients (115 males, 116 females filled out dental fear scale (DFS, dental anxiety scale (DAS, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, state-trait anxiety inventory-state (STAI-S, and state-trait anxiety inventory–trait (STAI-T questionnaires, and evaluations of DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T were conducted according to age, gender, and education level. Results The mean DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-T, and STAI –S were 45.64, 9.15, 13.16, 38.90, and 40.18, respectively. There was a significant association among DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p < 0.05. These surveys scores were significantly higher in females than males (p < 0.05. The results of this study indicated that gender age and education level have important effects on DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p < 0.05. Conclusion Dental anxiety and dental fear were found to be related to psychological status (BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T over time. There are some patients with unaddressed psychological distress.

The relationship of social anxiety disorder symptoms with probable attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Turkish university students; impact of negative affect and personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion.

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Evren, Cuneyt; Dalbudak, Ercan; Ozen, Secil; Evren, Bilge

2017-08-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate relationship of social anxiety disorder symptoms with probable attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while controlling the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion, anxiety and depression symptoms in a sample of Turkish university students (n=455). Participants were evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Abbreviated Form (EPQR-A), the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Severity of social anxiety, depression, anxiety and neuroticism were higher among those with probable ADHD, whereas extraversion score did not differ between the groups. The severity of ADHD score, particularly hyperactivity/impulsivity score, was related with the "fear or anxiety" together with low extraversion (introversion) and high neuroticism dimensions of personality, whereas the severity of ADHD score, both inatentiveness and hyperactivity/impulsivity scores, was related with "avoidence" together with low extraversion (introversion) dimension of personality. These findings suggest that probable ADHD and severity of ADHD symptoms are related with both "fear or anxiety" and "avoidance" of social anxiety, while personality dimensions of low extraversion (introversion) and high neuroticism may have an effect on this relationships among young adults. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of prenatal music stimulation on state/trait anxiety in full-term pregnancy and its influence on childbirth: a randomized controlled trial.

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García González, J; Ventura Miranda, M I; Requena Mullor, M; Parron Carreño, T; Alarcón Rodriguez, R

2018-04-01

Many researchers have pointed out the strong relationship between maternal psychological well-being and fetal welfare during pregnancy. The impact of music interventions during pregnancy should be examined in depth, as they could have an impact on stress reduction, not only during pregnancy but also during the course of delivery, and furthermore induce fetal awareness. This study aimed to investigate the effect of music on maternal anxiety, before and after a non-stress test (NST), and the effect of music on the birthing process. The four hundred and nine pregnant women coming for routine prenatal care were randomized in the third trimester to receive either music (n = 204) or no music (n = 205) stimulation during an NST. The primary outcome was considered as the maternal state anxiety score before and after the NST, and the secondary outcome was the birthing process. Before their NST, full-term pregnant women who had received music intervention were found to have a similar state-trait anxiety score to those from the control group, with 38.10 ± 8.8 and 38.08 ± 8.2, respectively (p = .97). After the NST, the mean state-trait anxiety score of each group was recorded, with results of 30.58 ± 13.2 for those with music intervention, and 43.11 ± 15.0 for those without music intervention (p < .001). In the control group, the NST was followed by a statistically significant increase in the state-trait anxiety score (38.08 ± 8.2 versus 43.11 ± 15.0, p < .001). However, listening to music during the NST resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the state-trait anxiety score of the study group (38.10 ± 8.8 versus 30.58 ± 13.2, OR = 0.87, p < .001). Furthermore, the first stage of labor was shorter in women who received music stimulation (OR = 0.92, p < .004). They also presented a more natural delivery beginning (spontaneous) and less medication (stimulated and induced) than those who were

Stereotype Threat, Test Anxiety, and Mathematics Performance

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Tempel, Tobias; Neumann, Roland

2014-01-01

We investigated the combined effects of stereotype threat and trait test anxiety on mathematics test performance. Stereotype threat and test anxiety interacted with each other in affecting performance. Trait test anxiety predicted performance only in a diagnostic condition that prevented stereotype threat by stereotype denial. A state measure of…

Self-esteem, self-conscious emotions, resilience, trait anxiety and their relation to self-handicapping tendencies

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Török, Lilla; Szabó, Zsolt Péter; Boda-Ujlaky, Judit

2014-01-01

Jones and Berglas (1978) define self-handicapping as any action or choice of performance setting that enhances the opportunity to externalize (or excuse) failure and to internalize (reasonably accept credit for) success (p. 406). The present study examined the role of potential precursors in the self-handicapping process. A total of 626 undergraduates from various Hungarian universities completed measures of dispositional self-handicapping, self-esteem, self-conscious emotions, trait anxiety,...

Parental Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance Predicting Child's Anxiety and Academic Efficacy in Middle Childhood

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Nebi Sümer

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Previous work has documented that attachment security is systematically linked with child adjustment and academic competence. This study aims to examine the associations between parents' own report of anxious and avoidant attachment and their children's report of trait anxiety and academic self-efficacy in math and Turkish literature courses. Mothers (N=1539 and fathers (N=1436 from four cities in Turkey, separately completed the measures of attachment orientations, and their children (N=1877, attending 4th and 5th grades, completed the measures of trait anxiety and academic self-concept on math and literature courses in their school. Regression analyses showed that whereas mother attachment anxiety predicted boys' trait anxiety, father attachment avoidance predicted girls' anxiety. In predicting academic self-efficacy, mother attachment avoidance predicted their son's and father attachment anxiety predicted their daughter's academic self-efficacy in both math and literature courses. Our results confirmed the importance of having a warm and secure romantic attachment between spouses in marriage, not only for their relationship satisfaction and happiness, but also for their children's emotional adjustment and academic competence.

[Study on the current situation and influential factors of anxiety sensitivity among middle school students in Chongqing].

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Li, Qian-Qian; Zhang, Da-Jun; Guo, Lan-Ting; Feng, Zheng-Zhi; Wu, Ming-Xia

2007-09-01

To explore the status and influencing factors on anxiety sensitivity among middle school students in Chongqing. 58 classes from 12 schools were randomly selected in four administrative districts of Chongqing city. A total number of 2700 students was included for final analysis including 48.5% from junior high school and 51.5% from senior high school students with 49.2% boys and 50.8% girls. The Chinese version of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revision, Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used. (1) There was no significant difference between grade groups (P = 0.49). (2) The level of girl's anxiety sensitivity was always higher than boy's (P < 0.001). (3) Data from multiple linear regression showed that the influential factors to the degree of anxiety sensitivity were: state of anxiety, trait anxiety, life events, sex, stress from learning, etc (standard coefficients of regression were 0.258, 0.163, 0.112, 0.093, 0.124, -0.096, 0.096). The major influential factors of anxiety sensitivity would include: sex, stress from learning, life events, interpersonal relationship, state of anxiety and trait anxiety.

Resting Heart Rate Variability, Facets of Rumination and Trait Anxiety: Implications for the Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis

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DeWayne P. Williams

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The perseverative cognition hypothesis (PCH posits that perseveration, defined as the repetitive or sustained activation of cognitive representations of a real or imagined stressor, is a primary mechanism linking psychological (or stress vulnerability with poor health and disease. Resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV is an important indicator of self-regulatory abilities, stress vulnerability and overall health. Those with lower resting vmHRV are more vulnerable to stress, and thus more likely to engage in perseverative cognition and experience subsequent negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Recent research suggests that rumination—one of the core mechanisms underlying perseveration—is a construct containing (at least two maladaptive (depressive and brooding and one adaptive (reflective types of rumination. However, to date, research has not examined how the association between resting vmHRV may differ between these three facets of rumination, in addition to these facets’ mechanistic role in linking lower resting vmHRV with greater trait anxiety. The current cross-sectional study explores these relationships in a sample of 203 participants (112 females, 76 ethnic minorities, mean age = 19.43, standard deviation = 1.87. Resting vmHRV was assessed during a 5-min-resting period using an Electrocardiogram (ECG. Both trait rumination (including the three facets and anxiety were assessed via self-report scales. Significant negative associations were found between resting vmHRV and maladaptive, but not adaptive, forms of perseveration. Similarly, mediation analyses showed a significant indirect relationship between resting vmHRV and anxiety through maladaptive, but not adaptive, facets of rumination. Our findings support the PCH such that those with stress vulnerability, as indexed by lower resting vmHRV, are more likely to engage in maladaptive perseverative cognition and thus experience negative outcomes such as

Resting Heart Rate Variability, Facets of Rumination and Trait Anxiety: Implications for the Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis.

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Williams, DeWayne P; Feeling, Nicole R; Hill, LaBarron K; Spangler, Derek P; Koenig, Julian; Thayer, Julian F

2017-01-01

The perseverative cognition hypothesis (PCH) posits that perseveration, defined as the repetitive or sustained activation of cognitive representations of a real or imagined stressor, is a primary mechanism linking psychological (or stress) vulnerability with poor health and disease. Resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is an important indicator of self-regulatory abilities, stress vulnerability and overall health. Those with lower resting vmHRV are more vulnerable to stress, and thus more likely to engage in perseverative cognition and experience subsequent negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Recent research suggests that rumination-one of the core mechanisms underlying perseveration-is a construct containing (at least) two maladaptive (depressive and brooding) and one adaptive (reflective) types of rumination. However, to date, research has not examined how the association between resting vmHRV may differ between these three facets of rumination, in addition to these facets' mechanistic role in linking lower resting vmHRV with greater trait anxiety. The current cross-sectional study explores these relationships in a sample of 203 participants (112 females, 76 ethnic minorities, mean age = 19.43, standard deviation = 1.87). Resting vmHRV was assessed during a 5-min-resting period using an Electrocardiogram (ECG). Both trait rumination (including the three facets) and anxiety were assessed via self-report scales. Significant negative associations were found between resting vmHRV and maladaptive, but not adaptive, forms of perseveration. Similarly, mediation analyses showed a significant indirect relationship between resting vmHRV and anxiety through maladaptive, but not adaptive, facets of rumination. Our findings support the PCH such that those with stress vulnerability, as indexed by lower resting vmHRV, are more likely to engage in maladaptive perseverative cognition and thus experience negative outcomes such as anxiety. Our data

Relationship between perceived parenting style with anxiety levels and loneliness in visually impaired children and adolescents

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Mualla Hamurcu

Full Text Available Abstract Background Visual impairment is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders in the affected children and adolescents, but there are only a limited number of studies concerning the mental health characteristics of visually impaired children and adolescents. Objective The aim of this study was to determine levels of loneliness and anxiety in visually impaired children and adolescents, to analyze parenting style perceived by visually impaired children and adolescents, to compare those with typically controls. Methods The study included 40 children and adolescents with visually impairment and 34 control group without visual impairment. Sociodemographic data form, the UCLA loneliness scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children were used in both groups. The parenting Style Scale was used to determine perceived parental attitudes. Results This study found more loneliness and trait anxiety levels in visually impaired children and adolescents compared to the control group. Authoritative parenting style was the most frequent type of parental attitude in the visually impaired group. In visual impairment group, loneliness level was higher in subgroups of authoritative and permissive-indulgent parenting style. However, level of trait anxiety was higher in authoritative parenting style subgroup compared to the control group. Discussion The results of this study showed higher loneliness and anxiety levels in visually impaired children and adolescents. Further studies are needed to determine psychopathological risks in this population.

Pre-operative anxiety. Effect of early or late position on the operating list.

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Panda, N; Bajaj, A; Pershad, D; Yaddanapudi, L N; Chari, P

1996-04-01

The influence of the relative position on the operating list on pre-operative anxiety was studied in 60 adult female ASA 1 patients undergoing major surgery. Thirty patients were placed first on the operating list (group 1) and 30 were given a time 4-5 h later (group 2). Each patient was visited on the evening prior to surgery and again on the morning of surgery. Anxiety was measured at each visit by objective criteria and part 1 of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire. The pulse rate, systolic blood pressure and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire scores were higher on the second visit than on the first (p patients. This increase was greater in group 2 than in group 1 (p < 0.05). The evening anxiety scores were not correlated with those on the morning visit and could not predict them.

Coping strategies, alexithymia and anxiety in young patients with food allergy.

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Polloni, L; DunnGalvin, A; Ferruzza, E; Bonaguro, R; Lazzarotto, F; Toniolo, A; Celegato, N; Muraro, A

2017-07-01

Food allergy is major public health concern affecting nearly 15 million Americans and 80 million Europeans. Risk of anaphylaxis and implications for social activities affect patients' quality of life and psychological well-being. We previously found that young patients reported higher levels of alexithymia (difficulty in recognizing and expressing emotions) compared with healthy peers and may influence affect, management style and clinical outcomes. This study aimed to explore links between coping strategies, alexithymia and anxiety among food-allergic adolescents and young adults. Ninety-two patients with IgE-mediated food allergy (mean age 18.6 years) completed Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory, Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Trait Anxiety subscale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Multivariate analyses of variance assessed differences and associations between subgroups on the scales. Significant differences found between alexithymia levels in coping style were explained by Avoidance strategies. 'Avoidance' had the highest contribution in explaining alexithymia, followed by trait anxiety, age, anaphylaxis and social support. Respondents with higher alexithymia use avoidance as coping strategy over and above other coping strategies such as problem-solving and positive thinking, are younger, will have experienced anaphylaxis and will have lower social support. Recognizing the specific role of affect regulation in health behaviours may constitute an important step in supporting patients to explore more adaptive strategies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Study and Comparison Between Personality Traits and Coping Strategies Among Opium Addicts (within the age of 30-36

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Alireza Jazayeri

2003-05-01

Full Text Available The research is looking into the study and comparison between personality traits and coping strategies and their relationship with one another among opium addicts within the age of 30-36. For this purpose, a research group comprising 50 opium addicts was selected with respect to control variables. In order to compare the results, 50 other individuals were selected as a observation group and with regard to control variables both groups were matched together. The five-factor personality trait inventory (NEO-FFI and the coping strategy inventory of Carver and Shearer were used. Moreover, in order to control the effects of depression and anxiety on personality traits, Beck’s test for anxiety and depression was used. The results indicated that without taking the effects of depression and anxiety into account, the addicts showed higher neuroticism trait but lower extraversion, agreeableness and conscientious traits. But when the effects of depression and anxiety were taken into account, the two groups showed a meaningful difference in the conscientious trait. Furthermore, addicts rarely use concentrated coping strategies and usually use non-effective strategies. Non-effective strategies had direct relationship with neuroticism and opposite relationship with conscientiousness.

REGULAR EXTRA CURRICULAR SPORTS PRACTICE DOES NOT PREVENT MODERATE OR SEVERE VARIATIONS IN SELF-ESTEEM OR TRAIT ANXIETY IN EARLY ADOLESCENTS

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Caroline Binsinger

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Physical activity is often presented as an effective tool to improve self-esteem and/or to reduce anxiety. The aim of this study was to measure the influence of a regular extra curricular sports practice on self-esteem and anxiety. We conducted a prospective cohort study, which has included all of the pupils entering the first year of secondary school (sixth grade in the Vosges Department (east France during the school year 2001-2002 and followed during three years. Data were collected every six months by self-reported questionnaires. 1791 pupils were present at each of the six data collection sessions and completed all the questionnaires, representing 10,746 documents: 835 boys (46.6 % and 956 girls (53.4 %, in November 2001, the average age was 11.1 ± 0.5 years (mean ± standard deviation. 722 pupils (40.3 % reported that they had practiced an extra-school physical activity in a sporting association from November 2001 to May 2004 (ECS group, whereas, 195 (10.9 % pupils had not practiced any extra-school physical activity at all (NECS group. The average global scores of self-esteem (Rosenberg's Scale and trait anxiety (Spielberger's Scale of the ECS pupils were, respectively, higher and lower than those of the NECS group. However, the incidence density (number of new cases during a given period / total person-time of observation of moderate or severe decrease of self-esteem (less than "mean - one standard deviation" or less than "mean - two standard deviations" was not significantly different between the two groups, a finding that was also evident also in the case of trait anxiety. Finally, among ECS pupils, the incidence density of severe decrease of self-esteem was lower at the girls'. Practitioners and physical education teachers, as well as parents, should be encouraged to seek out ways to involve pupils in extra-school physical activities

The anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation: accounting for co-morbidity via underlying personality traits.

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Naragon-Gainey, K; Watson, D

2011-07-01

The anxiety disorders are robust correlates/predictors of suicidal ideation, but it is unclear whether (a) the anxiety disorders are specifically associated with suicidal ideation or (b) the association is due to co-morbidity with depression and other disorders. One means of modeling co-morbidity is through the personality traits neuroticism/negative emotionality (N/NE) and extraversion/positive emotionality (E/PE), which account for substantial shared variance among the internalizing disorders. The current study examines the association between the internalizing disorders and suicidal ideation, after controlling for co-morbidity via N/NE and E/PE. The sample consisted of 327 psychiatric out-patients. Multiple self-report and interview measures were collected for internalizing disorders [depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety, panic and specific phobia] and suicidal ideation, as well as self-report measures for N/NE and E/PE. A model was hypothesized in which each disorder and suicidal ideation was regressed on N/NE, and depression and social anxiety were regressed on E/PE. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the unique association of suicidality with each disorder, beyond shared variance with N/NE and E/PE. The hypothesized model was an acceptable fit to the data. Although zero-order analyses indicated that suicidal ideation was moderately to strongly correlated with all of the disorders, only depression and PTSD remained significantly associated with suicidal ideation in the SEM analyses. In a latent variable model that accounts for measurement error and a broad source of co-morbidity, only depression and PTSD were uniquely associated with suicidal ideation; panic, GAD, social anxiety and specific phobia were not.

Trait Anxiety and Economic Risk Avoidance Are Not Necessarily Associated: Evidence from the Framing Effect

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Gu, Ruolei; Wu, Runguo; Broster, Lucas S.; Jiang, Yang; Xu, Rui; Yang, Qiwei; Xu, Pengfei; Luo, Yue-Jia

2017-01-01

According to previous literature, trait anxiety is related to the tendency to choose safety options during risk decision-making, that is, risk avoidance. In our opinion, anxious people’s risk preference might actually reflect their hypersensitivity to emotional information. To examine this hypothesis, a decision-making task that could elicit the framing effect was employed. The framing effect indicates that risk preference could be modulated by emotional messages contained in the description ...

Time-course of attention for threatening pictures in high and low trait anxiety.

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Koster, Ernst H W; Verschuere, Bruno; Crombez, Geert; Van Damme, Stefaan

2005-08-01

Cognitive studies about anxiety suggest that the interplay between automatic and strategic biases in attention to threat is related to the persistence of fear. In the present study, the time-course of attention to pictures with varying threat levels was investigated in high trait anxious (HTA, n=21) and low trait anxious (LTA, n=22) students. In a visual probe detection task, high and mild threat pictures were presented at three durations: 100, 500, and 1250 ms. Results indicated that all individuals attended to the high threat pictures for the 100 ms condition. Differential responding between HTA and LTA individuals was found for the 500 ms condition: only HTA individuals showed an attentional bias for mild threatening stimuli. For the 1250 ms condition, the HTA individuals attended away from high and mild threat pictures. The observed pattern of differential attention to threatening pictures may explain the persistence of fear in HTA individuals.

Associations between self-esteem, anxiety and depression and metacognitive awareness or metacognitive knowledge.

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Quiles, Clélia; Prouteau, Antoinette; Verdoux, Hélène

2015-12-15

This study explored in a non-clinical sample the associations between self-esteem, anxiety and depression symptoms and metacognitive awareness or metacognitive knowledge. Higher metacognitive awareness scores measured during the neuropsychological tasks were positively associated with higher depression scores in the social cognition test. Metacognitive knowledge score measured independently of ongoing neuropsychological tasks was positively associated with lower self-esteem, higher anxiety (state or trait) and depression scores. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Math Anxiety Assessment with the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale: Applicability and usefulness: insights from the Polish adaptation

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Krzysztof eCipora

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Math anxiety has an important impact on mathematical development and performance. However, although math anxiety is supposed to be a transcultural trait, assessment instruments are scarce and are validated mainly for Western cultures so far. Therefore, we aimed at examining the transcultural generality of math anxiety by a thorough investigation of the validity of math anxiety assessment in Eastern Europe. We investigated the validity and reliability of a Polish adaptation of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS, known to have very good psychometric characteristics in its original, American-English version as well as in its Italian and Iranian adaptations.We also observed high reliability, both for internal consistency and test-retest stability of the AMAS in the Polish sample. The results also show very good construct, convergent and discriminant validity: The factorial structure in Polish adult participants (n = 857 was very similar to the one previously found in other samples; AMAS scores correlated moderately in expected directions with state and trait anxiety, self-assessed math achievement and skill as well temperamental traits of emotional reactivity, briskness, endurance and perseverance. Average scores obtained by participants as well as gender differences and correlations with external measures were also similar across cultures. Beyond the cultural comparison, we used path model analyses to show that math anxiety relates to math grades and self-competence when controlling for trait anxiety.The current study shows transcultural validity of math anxiety assessment with the AMAS.

Math Anxiety Assessment with the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale: Applicability and Usefulness: Insights from the Polish Adaptation.

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Cipora, Krzysztof; Szczygieł, Monika; Willmes, Klaus; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph

2015-01-01

Math anxiety has an important impact on mathematical development and performance. However, although math anxiety is supposed to be a transcultural trait, assessment instruments are scarce and are validated mainly for Western cultures so far. Therefore, we aimed at examining the transcultural generality of math anxiety by a thorough investigation of the validity of math anxiety assessment in Eastern Europe. We investigated the validity and reliability of a Polish adaptation of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS), known to have very good psychometric characteristics in its original, American-English version as well as in its Italian and Iranian adaptations. We also observed high reliability, both for internal consistency and test-retest stability of the AMAS in the Polish sample. The results also show very good construct, convergent and discriminant validity: The factorial structure in Polish adult participants (n = 857) was very similar to the one previously found in other samples; AMAS scores correlated moderately in expected directions with state and trait anxiety, self-assessed math achievement and skill as well temperamental traits of emotional reactivity, briskness, endurance, and perseverance. Average scores obtained by participants as well as gender differences and correlations with external measures were also similar across cultures. Beyond the cultural comparison, we used path model analyses to show that math anxiety relates to math grades and self-competence when controlling for trait anxiety. The current study shows transcultural validity of math anxiety assessment with the AMAS.

Pregnancy-specific anxiety, ART conception and infant temperament at 4 months post-partum.

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McMahon, C A; Boivin, J; Gibson, F L; Hammarberg, K; Wynter, K; Saunders, D; Fisher, J

2013-04-01

Is anxiety focused on the pregnancy outcome, known to be particularly salient in women conceiving through assisted reproductive technology (ART), related to difficult infant temperament? While trait anxiety predicts infant temperament, pregnancy-focused anxiety is not associated with more difficult infant temperament. A large body of research has provided convincing evidence that fetal exposure to maternal anxiety and stress in pregnancy has adverse consequences for child neurodevelopmental, behavioural and cognitive development, and that pregnancy-specific anxiety (concerns related to the pregnancy outcome and birth) may be of particular significance. Women conceiving through ART are of particular interest in this regard. Research over more than 20 years has consistently demonstrated that while they do not differ from spontaneously conceiving (SC) women with respect to general (state and trait) anxiety, they typically report higher pregnancy-specific anxiety. While research suggests normal behavioural and developmental outcomes for children conceived through ART, there is some evidence of more unsettled infant behaviour during the first post-natal year. The longitudinal cohort design followed 562 nulliparous women over a 7-month period, during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 4 months after birth. Approximately equal numbers of nulliparous women conceiving through ART (n = 250) and spontaneously (SC: n = 262) were recruited through ART clinics and nearby hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Participants completed three anxiety measures (state, trait, pregnancy specific) at time 1 in the third trimester of pregnancy and a measure of infant temperament at time 2, 4 months after birth. At time 1, relevant socio-demographic, pregnancy (maternal age, smoking, alcohol, medications, medical complications) information was recorded and at time 2, information regarding childbirth (gestation, infant birthweight, mode of delivery) and post-natal (concurrent

What is the relationship between trait anxiety and depressive symptoms, fatigue, and low sleep quality following breast cancer surgery?

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Lockefeer, J.; de Vries, J.

2013-01-01

Background Depressive symptoms, fatigue, and low sleep quality are common symptoms during and after breast cancer (BC) treatment. In the present study, the relationship between trait anxiety and these symptoms in a long follow-up period was examined. Methods This was a prospective study.

The relationship between suggestibility and anxiety among suspects detained at police stations.

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Gudjonsson, G H; Rutter, S C; Clare, I C

1995-07-01

The present study investigated the relationship between anxiety, as measured by the State-Trait Inventory (Spielberger, 1983) and interrogative suggestibility, as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS 2, Gudjonsson, 1987). One hundred and sixty-one suspects detained at two English police stations for questioning were assessed prior to being interviewed by the police. Unexpectedly, trait anxiety correlated more consistently with suggestibility than did state anxiety. The correlations were consistently higher among the Caucasian than the Afro-Caribbean subjects and the Afro-Caribbean subjects were significantly more suggestible than the Caucasian subjects even after their GSS 2 memory and IQ scores had been controlled for. The main practical implications of the findings are that interrogative suggestibility cannot be easily evaluated from the person's self-reported anxiety and the situation in which people are assessed may influence the relationship between these psychological variables.

Predicting early academic achievement: The role of higher-versus lower-order personality traits

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Zupančič Maja

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The study explored the role of children’s (N = 193 individual differences and parental characteristics at the beginning of the first year of schooling in predicting students’ attainment of academic standards at the end of the year. Special attention was paid to children’s personality as perceived by the teachers’ assistants. Along with parents’ education, parenting practices and first-graders’ cognitive ability, the incremental predictive power of children’s higher-order (robust personality traits was compared to the contribution of lower-order (specific traits in explaining academic achievement. The specific traits provided a somewhat more accurate prediction than the robust traits. Unique contributions of maternal authoritative parenting, children’s cognitive ability, and personality to academic achievement were established. The ratings of first-graders’ conscientiousness (a higher-order trait improved the prediction of academic achievement based on parenting and cognitive ability by 12%, whereas assistant teacher’s perceived children’s intelligence and low antagonism (lower-order traits improved the prediction by 17%.

Associations between anxiety and love scripts.

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Gawda, Barbara

2012-08-01

Relations between trait anxiety and love scripts expressed in narratives were examined to assess how anxiety affects the perception of love. Stories about love (N = 160) written by 80 men and 80 women were analyzed. The content of the scripts was evaluated in terms of descriptions of actors, partners, expressed emotions of actor and of partner, importance of love, and the ending of the scenario. To test the differences between men and women on content of scripts and associations between trait anxiety level and frequencies of love script elements, a two-way analysis of variance was used. The main effect for sex was significant. There was an effect of trait anxiety on content of love scripts: high anxiety was associated with more frequent negative descriptions of the actor as well as more frequent negative descriptions of the partner's emotions, only in scripts written by women.

Psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of right uncinate fasciculus in a community population.

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Sobhani, Mona; Baker, Laura; Martins, Bradford; Tuvblad, Catherine; Aziz-Zadeh, Lisa

2015-01-01

Individuals with psychopathy possess emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Two neural regions, involved in behavioral control and emotion regulation, are often implicated: amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Recently, in studies using adult criminal populations, reductions in microstructural integrity of the white matter connections (i.e., uncinate fasciculus (UF)) between these two neural regions have been discovered in criminals with psychopathy, supporting the notion of neural dysfunction in the amygdala-VMPFC circuit. Here, a young adult, community sample is used to assess whether psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of UF, and whether this relationship is dependent upon levels of trait anxiety, which is sometimes used to distinguish subtypes of psychopathy. Results reveal a negative association between psychopathic traits and microstructural integrity of UF, supporting previous findings. However, no moderation of the relationship by trait anxiety was discovered. Findings provide further support for the notion of altered amygdala-VMPFC connectivity in association with higher psychopathic traits.

Psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of right uncinate fasciculus in a community population

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Mona Sobhani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Individuals with psychopathy possess emotional and behavioral abnormalities. Two neural regions, involved in behavioral control and emotion regulation, are often implicated: amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC. Recently, in studies using adult criminal populations, reductions in microstructural integrity of the white matter connections (i.e., uncinate fasciculus (UF between these two neural regions have been discovered in criminals with psychopathy, supporting the notion of neural dysfunction in the amygdala–VMPFC circuit. Here, a young adult, community sample is used to assess whether psychopathic traits modulate microstructural integrity of UF, and whether this relationship is dependent upon levels of trait anxiety, which is sometimes used to distinguish subtypes of psychopathy. Results reveal a negative association between psychopathic traits and microstructural integrity of UF, supporting previous findings. However, no moderation of the relationship by trait anxiety was discovered. Findings provide further support for the notion of altered amygdala–VMPFC connectivity in association with higher psychopathic traits.

The Influence of Resistance Exercise Training on the Levels of Anxiety in Ischemic Stroke

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Felipe José Aidar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the effect of a strength training program on indicators of trait and state anxiety in patients with ischemic stroke. The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental group (EG consisting of 11 subjects aged years and a control group (CG with 13 subjects aged years. EG underwent 12 weeks of strength training, with a frequency of three times a week. For data collection, a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI was used. Significant differences were found between pre- and posttest in EG for trait anxiety ( pretest posttest and state anxiety ( pretest posttest with no differences in CG for trait anxiety ( pretest posttest and state anxiety ( pretest posttest. In the evaluation between the groups, significant differences were found for all indicators of trait anxiety ( EG; CG and state anxiety ( EG; CG. This pilot study indicates that strength training may provide an improvement in trait and state anxiety more than one year after stroke.

The impact of pre-existing anxiety on affective and cognitive processing of a Virtual Reality analogue trauma.

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Schweizer, Tina; Schmitz, Julian; Plempe, Laura; Sun, Dali; Becker-Asano, Christian; Leonhart, Rainer; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna

2017-01-01

Dysfunctional processing of traumatic events may be in particular related to high trait anxiety as a pre-traumatic risk factor for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, as this has rarely been investigated in prospective, experimental studies, we aimed to analyse the association between high trait anxiety and affective as well as cognitive processing of stress using a new prospective Virtual Reality analogue trauma paradigm to overcome limitations of retrospective or current analogue designs. Individuals with high and low trait anxiety (N = 80) were exposed to a multi-sensory Virtual Reality emergency scenario while psychophysiological stress response, emotion regulation and intrusive memories were assessed. Our results showed that high trait anxiety individuals display increased (i) subjective stress responses, (ii) emotion dysregulation and (iii) intrusive memories upon VR analogue trauma exposure. In particular, our sample of high trait anxiety individuals displayed limited access to different emotion regulation strategies as well as increased worry and rumination regarding perceived intrusive memories. Considering the complex interplay of multiple risk factors, our findings suggests that peri-traumatic affective processing seems to mediate high trait anxiety and post-traumatic intrusive memories thereby pointing out the central role of peri-traumatic processes for intrusion development. In addition, HA as a modulating pre-traumatic risk factor might further increase the risk of later dysfunctional processing of an analogue trauma by interacting with factors of affective processing during analogue trauma exposure. Implications of these findings which may contribute to a higher risk to develop PTSD are discussed.

The impact of pre-existing anxiety on affective and cognitive processing of a Virtual Reality analogue trauma.

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Tina Schweizer

Full Text Available Dysfunctional processing of traumatic events may be in particular related to high trait anxiety as a pre-traumatic risk factor for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD. However, as this has rarely been investigated in prospective, experimental studies, we aimed to analyse the association between high trait anxiety and affective as well as cognitive processing of stress using a new prospective Virtual Reality analogue trauma paradigm to overcome limitations of retrospective or current analogue designs. Individuals with high and low trait anxiety (N = 80 were exposed to a multi-sensory Virtual Reality emergency scenario while psychophysiological stress response, emotion regulation and intrusive memories were assessed. Our results showed that high trait anxiety individuals display increased (i subjective stress responses, (ii emotion dysregulation and (iii intrusive memories upon VR analogue trauma exposure. In particular, our sample of high trait anxiety individuals displayed limited access to different emotion regulation strategies as well as increased worry and rumination regarding perceived intrusive memories. Considering the complex interplay of multiple risk factors, our findings suggests that peri-traumatic affective processing seems to mediate high trait anxiety and post-traumatic intrusive memories thereby pointing out the central role of peri-traumatic processes for intrusion development. In addition, HA as a modulating pre-traumatic risk factor might further increase the risk of later dysfunctional processing of an analogue trauma by interacting with factors of affective processing during analogue trauma exposure. Implications of these findings which may contribute to a higher risk to develop PTSD are discussed.

Trait mindfulness modulates neuroendocrine and affective responses to social evaluative threat.

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Brown, Kirk Warren; Weinstein, Netta; Creswell, J David

2012-12-01

Individual differences in mindfulness have been associated with numerous self-report indicators of stress, but research has not examined how mindfulness may buffer neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses under controlled laboratory conditions. The present study investigated the role of trait mindfulness in buffering cortisol and affective responses to a social evaluative stress challenge versus a control task. Participants completed measures of trait mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation before being randomized to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) or a control task. At points throughout the session, participants provided five saliva samples to assess cortisol response patterns, and completed four self-report measures of anxiety and negative affect to assess psychological responses. In accord with hypotheses, higher trait mindfulness predicted lower cortisol responses to the TSST, relative to the control task, as well as lower anxiety and negative affect. These relations remained significant when controlling for the role of other variables that predicted cortisol and affective responses. The findings suggest that trait mindfulness modulates cortisol and affective responses to an acute social stressor. Further research is needed to understand the neural pathways through which mindfulness impacts these responses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic and environmental influences on relationship between anxiety sensitivity and anxiety subscales in children

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Waszczuk, M.A.; Zavos, H.M.S.; Eley, T.C.

2013-01-01

Anxiety sensitivity, a belief that symptoms of anxiety are harmful, has been proposed to influence development of panic disorder. Recent research suggests it may be a vulnerability factor for many anxiety subtypes. Moderate genetic influences have been implicated for both anxiety sensitivity and anxiety, however, little is known about the aetiology of the relationship between these traits in children. Self-reports of anxiety sensitivity and anxiety symptoms were collected from approximately 3...

Anxiety and burnout in young athletes: The mediating role of cognitive appraisal.

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Gomes, A R; Faria, S; Vilela, C

2017-12-01

This study tested the relationship between trait anxiety, cognitive appraisal, and athletes' burnout proposing two hypotheses: (a) there is a direct relationship between athletes' trait anxiety and cognitive appraisal and burnout, and (b) cognitive appraisal mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and burnout, and this mediation occurs despite the competitive level and sport records of athletes. The study included 673 young athletes and provided measures of trait anxiety, cognitive appraisal, and burnout. Structural equation modeling indicated that cognitive appraisal mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and burnout, confirming hypothesis 2, and this model provided better fit than the direct model of hypothesis 1. However, the mediation also indicated that the direct relationship between trait anxiety and burnout should be considered. The mediating model was invariant according to competitive levels and sport records. In conclusion, cognitive appraisal is an important variable in explaining athletes' burnout. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The prevalence and correlates of adult separation anxiety disorder in an anxiety clinic

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Wagner Renate

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD has been identified recently, but there is a paucity of data about its prevalence and associated characteristics amongst anxiety patients. This study assessed the prevalence and risk factor profile associated with ASAD in an anxiety clinic. Methods Clinical psychologists assigned 520 consecutive patients to DSM-IV adult anxiety subcategories using the SCID. We also measured demographic factors and reports of early separation anxiety (the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory and a retrospective diagnosis of childhood separation anxiety disorder. Other self-report measures included the Adult Separation Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (ASA-27, the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS-21, personality traits measured by the NEO PI-R and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. These measures were included in three models examining for overall differences and then by gender: Model 1 compared the conventional SCID anxiety subtypes (excluding PTSD and OCD because of insufficient numbers; Model 2 divided the sample into those with and without ASAD; Model 3 compared those with ASAD with the individual anxiety subtypes in the residual group. Results Patients with ASAD had elevated early separation anxiety scores but this association was unique in females only. Except for social phobia in relation to some comparisons, those with ASAD recorded more severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, higher neuroticism scores, and greater levels of disability. Conclusions Patients with ASAD attending an anxiety clinic are highly symptomatic and disabled. The findings have implications for the classification, clinical identification and treatment of adult anxiety disorders.

Psychometric properties of a new short version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) for the assessment of anxiety in the elderly.

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Fernández-Blázquez, M A; Ávila-Villanueva, M; López-Pina, J A; Zea-Sevilla, M A; Frades-Payo, B

2015-01-01

Anxiety has negative effects on the cognitive performance and psychosocial adjustment of elderly people. Given the high prevalence of anxiety symptoms in patients suffering from cognitive impairment, it has been suggested that these symptoms may be an early marker of dementia. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is one of the most widely-used scales for evaluating anxiety in elderly people. However, inasmuch as the STAI may be difficult to apply to older people, having a short form of it would be desirable. The participants comprised 489 community-dwelling individuals aged 68 years and over. All of them were volunteers in a longitudinal study for early detection of Alzheimer' Disease (Proyecto Vallecas). The full sample was divided in two homogeneous subgroups: Group A, used to reduce the number of items and response options, and Group B, the group used to determine the psychometric properties of the new short form (STAIr). A dichotomous Rasch model was used to obtain the STAIr. No statistically significant differences for STAIr scores were found with respect to sociodemographic variables. Psychometric properties and normative data were obtained for the new short version. The STAIr is composed of 13 items and data fits the model well. Since it is short and easy to apply to elderly people, STAIr will be very useful in clinical and research settings. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Effect of preoperative multimedia information on perioperative anxiety in patients undergoing procedures under regional anaesthesia.

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Jlala, H A; French, J L; Foxall, G L; Hardman, J G; Bedforth, N M

2010-03-01

Provision of preoperative information can alleviate patients' anxiety. However, the ideal method of delivering this information is unknown. Video information has been shown to reduce patients' anxiety, although little is known regarding the effect of preoperative multimedia information on anxiety in patients undergoing regional anaesthesia. We randomized 110 patients undergoing upper or lower limb surgery under regional anaesthesia into the study and control groups. The study group watched a short film (created by the authors) depicting the patient's in-hospital journey including either a spinal anaesthetic or a brachial plexus block. Patients' anxiety was assessed before and after the film and 1 h before and within 8 h after their operation, using the Spielberger state trait anxiety inventory and a visual analogue scale. There was no difference in state and trait anxiety between the two groups at enrollment. Women had higher baseline state and trait anxiety than men (P=0.02). Patients in the control group experienced an increase in state anxiety immediately before surgery (P<0.001), and patients in the film group were less anxious before operation than those in the control group (P=0.04). After operation, there was a decrease in state anxiety from baseline in both groups, but patients in the film group were less anxious than the control group (P=0.005). Preoperative multimedia information reduces the anxiety of patients undergoing surgery under regional anaesthesia. This type of information is easily delivered and can benefit many patients.

Contributions of acculturation, enculturation, discrimination, and personality traits to social anxiety among Chinese immigrants: A context-specific assessment.

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Fang, Ke; Friedlander, Myrna; Pieterse, Alex L

2016-01-01

Based on the diathesis-stress model of anxiety, this study examined the contributions of cultural processes, perceived racial discrimination, and personality traits to social anxiety among Chinese immigrants. Further guided by the theory of intergroup anxiety, this study also adopted a context-specific approach to distinguish between participants' experience of social anxiety when interacting with European Americans versus with other Chinese in the United States. This quantitative and ex post facto study used a convenience sample of 140 first-generation Chinese immigrants. Participants were recruited through e-mails from different university and community groups across the United States. The sample includes 55 men and 82 women (3 did not specify) with an average age of 36 years old. Results showed that more social anxiety was reported in the European American context than in the Chinese ethnic context. The full models accounted for almost half the variance in anxiety in each context. Although personality accounted for the most variance, the cultural variables and discrimination contributed 14% of the unique variance in the European American context. Notably, low acculturation, high neuroticism, and low extraversion were unique contributors to social anxiety with European Americans, whereas in the Chinese ethnic context only low extraversion was a unique contributor; more discrimination was uniquely significant in both contexts. The findings suggest a need to contextualize the research and clinical assessment of social anxiety, and have implications for culturally sensitive counseling with immigrants. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality Traits and Comorbidity in Adults With ADHD.

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Instanes, Johanne Telnes; Haavik, Jan; Halmøy, Anne

2016-10-01

To assess personality traits using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in a group of 63 previously diagnosed ADHD patients and 68 population controls and investigate the impact of common comorbid psychiatric disorders on these personality measures. Psychiatric comorbidity was assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus and personality traits by the TCI. The patient group had significantly higher scores on the TCI dimensions Harm avoidance and Novelty seeking compared with the control group. However, when adjusting for comorbid anxiety and depressive disorder, the ADHD group no longer showed higher Harm avoidance than the control group. The difference in Novelty seeking between the patient and control groups was correlated with lifetime diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). It is important to take comorbid psychiatric disorders into account while investigating personality traits in ADHD. © The Author(s) 2013.

Predictors and characteristics of anxiety among adolescent students: a Greek sample.

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Lazaratou, H; Anagnostopoulos, D C; Vlassopoulos, M; Charbilas, D; Rotsika, V; Tsakanikos, E; Tzavara, Ch; Dikeos, D

2013-01-01

problems had a higher score in Trait anxiety. A significant negative correlation was found between sleep duration and both State (r=-0.14, pschool years and GE and TE schools. Also there was not an association of anxiety level with academic achievement and the number of parents the adolescent was living with. This study shows that girls, especially those reporting somatic problems, and adolescents coming from families with low parental education, are particularly prone to higher level of anxiety and that extracurricular activities are linked to lower level of anxiety. These findings could contribute to the planning of preventive measures for student's anxiety.

Stress, anxiety, and depression among medical students in a multiethnic setting.

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Kulsoom, Bibi; Afsar, Nasir Ali

2015-01-01

Contemporary literature suggests that medical education might adversely affect students' mental health. Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a developing institution; hence, there has been a concern regarding the mental well-being of the students. This study was designed to assess the traits of depression, anxiety, and stress among students in relation to potential underlying reasons. All 575 medical students across the 5 years of study participated by filling out the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire anonymously twice. Firstly, 2-3 weeks before a major examination (pre-examination), and secondly, during regular classes (post-examination). Correlation was sought regarding sex, year of scholarship, attendance of a premedical university preparatory program (UPP), housing, and smoking. Subjective comments from students were also obtained. A total of 76.8% and 74.9% of students participated in pre-and post-examination groups, respectively. The majority were the children of expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia, and included Arabs, South Asians, and North Americans. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was high (43%, 63%, and 41%, respectively) which reduced (to 30%, 47%, and 30%, respectively) to some extent after examinations. Saudis and those who had attended UPP had higher DASS-21 scores. Smoking and female sex predicted higher levels of "baseline" depression, anxiety, or stress. The students perceived the curriculum and schedule to be the primary causes of their high DASS-21 scores. The students had high "baseline" traits of depression, anxiety, and stress, and these were higher if an examination was near, especially among Saudis and those who had attended UPP. Smoking and female sex predicted higher levels of "baseline" depression, anxiety, or stress. Students suggested that study burden and a busy schedule were the major reasons for their high DASS-21 scores.

Grit, anxiety, and stress in emergency physicians.

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Wong, Matthew L; Anderson, Jared; Knorr, Thomas; Joseph, Joshua W; Sanchez, Leon D

2018-02-26

The personality traits of emergency physicians are infrequently studied, though interest in physician wellness is increasing. The objective of this study is to acquire pilot data about the amount of grit, anxiety, and stress in emergency physicians using established psychological survey instruments, and to examine their associations of each of these traits with each other. Thirty-six emergency medicine resident and attending physicians from an urban academic medical center consented for enrollment. Participants were administered the Duckworth 12-point Grit Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), which measure grit, anxiousness, and perceived stress, respectively. These are the gold standard psychological instruments for each of their areas. We analyzed the results with descriptive statistics, Spearman correlations, and linear regression. Nineteen residents and 17 attending physicians completed the surveys during the first quarter of a new academic year. The mean grit score was 3.7 (95% CI 3.5-3.8, SD: 0.56), the mean trait-anxiety score was 32.61 (95% CI 30.15-35.07, SD: 7.26), and the mean PSS score was 12.28 (95% CI 10.58-13.97, SD: 4.99). Only trait-anxiety and perceived stress were significantly correlated (Spearman's rho: 0.70, panxious reported more stress. Levels of grit were not associated with trait-anxiety. These psychological concepts should be studied further as they relate to the function and health of emergency medicine providers. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Cueing and Anxiety in a Visual Concept Learning Task.

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Turner, Philip M.

This study investigated the relationship of two anxiety measures (the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form and the S-R Inventory of Anxiousness-Exam Form) to performance on a visual concept-learning task with embedded criterial information. The effect on anxiety reduction of cueing criterial information was also examined, and two levels of…

Analysis of the reliability of the Italian version of the Oral Behaviours Checklist and the relationship between oral behaviours and trait anxiety in healthy individuals.

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Donnarumma, V; Cioffi, I; Michelotti, A; Cimino, R; Vollaro, S; Amato, M

2018-04-01

The Oral Behaviours Checklist (OBC) is a valid 21-item instrument quantifying the self-reported frequency of oral behaviours. An Italian version (OBC-It) has been released recently. Anxiety and oral behaviours are known to be associated in individuals with oro-facial pain due to temporomandibular disorders (TMD). However, information about this relationship in pain-free individuals is still limited. The aim of this study was to test the reliability of the OBC-It and its reduced version (OBC-It 6), focusing on tooth clenching-related wake-time oral behaviours, and the effect of patient instructions on reliability. A second aim was to test the association between trait anxiety and oral behaviours in pain-free individuals. Two hundred and eighty-two TMD-free students, divided into 2 groups (Group A, n = 139, mean age ± SD = 22.6 ± 5.4 years; Group B, n = 143, 23.7 ± 4.2 years), filled in the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the OBC-It. Group B received instructions about the OBC-It, while Group A did not. After 2 weeks, both groups filled in the OBC-It again. However, Group B was further divided into 2 subgroups, B 1 and B 2 . The first received the same instructions again, while B 2 did not. The test-retest reliability of the OBC-It (A: ICC = .87; B 1 : ICC = .94; B 2 : ICC = .95) and OBC-It 6 (A: ICC = .85; B 1 : ICC = .89; B 2 : ICC = .93) was excellent in all groups. Trait anxiety was weakly associated with OBC-It only in women (R 2  = .043, P = .021). The OBC-It is a reliable tool but further subjects' instructions might be needed. Trait anxiety has a limited effect on oral behaviours in TMD-free subjects. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fluoxetine normalizes disrupted light-induced entrainment, fragmented ultradian rhythms and altered hippocampal clock gene expression in an animal model of high trait anxiety- and depression-related behavior.

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Schaufler, Jörg; Ronovsky, Marianne; Savalli, Giorgia; Cabatic, Maureen; Sartori, Simone B; Singewald, Nicolas; Pollak, Daniela D

2016-01-01

Disturbances of circadian rhythms are a key symptom of mood and anxiety disorders. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - commonly used antidepressant drugs - also modulate aspects of circadian rhythmicity. However, their potential to restore circadian disturbances in depression remains to be investigated. The effects of the SSRI fluoxetine on genetically based, depression-related circadian disruptions at the behavioral and molecular level were examined using mice selectively bred for high anxiety-related and co-segregating depression-like behavior (HAB) and normal anxiety/depression behavior mice (NAB). The length of the circadian period was increased in fluoxetine-treated HAB as compared to NAB mice while the number of activity bouts and light-induced entrainment were comparable. No difference in hippocampal Cry2 expression, previously reported to be dysbalanced in untreated HAB mice, was observed, while Per2 and Per3 mRNA levels were higher in HAB mice under fluoxetine treatment. The present findings provide evidence that fluoxetine treatment normalizes disrupted circadian locomotor activity and clock gene expression in a genetic mouse model of high trait anxiety and depression. An interaction between the molecular mechanisms mediating the antidepressant response to fluoxetine and the endogenous regulation of circadian rhythms in genetically based mood and anxiety disorders is proposed.

Levels of depression and anxiety among parents of autistic children

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Sunay Firat

2016-09-01

Results: Participants in the study were parents of 26 male (65% and 14 female (35% autistic children. The average age of the children was 62.9+/-16.6 months. .Mothers had higher levels of depression and anxiety scores. Mothers of autistic children who participated in the study received higher scores on depression, state anxiety and trait anxiety compared to fathers. Among mothers, a significant relationship was found between level of education and level of state anxiety. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that mothers have higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to fathers. This finding might be explained with reference to customs and traditions of the Turkish society in which the study was conducted, which require women to take more responsiblity for family matters. It is recommended that special education and rehabilitation centers provide counseling to parents about the effects of having an autistic children on their lives, and advise them on seeking psychological help if necessary. [Cukurova Med J 2016; 41(3.000: 539-547

Subjective stress reactivity in psoriasis - a cross sectional study of associated psychological traits.

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Remröd, Charlotta; Sjöström, Karin; Svensson, Åke

2015-05-02

Stress or psychological distress is often described as a causative or maintaining factor in psoriasis. Psychological traits may influence the appraisal, interpretation and coping ability regarding stressful situations. Detailed investigations of psychological traits in relation to stress reactivity in psoriasis are rare. The aim of this study was to examine whether patients with psoriasis who report an association between psychological distress and exacerbation, "stress reactors" (SRs), differ psychologically from those with no stress reactivity "non-stress reactors" (NSRs). This cross-sectional study was conducted among 101 consecutively recruited outpatients with plaque psoriasis. A psychosocial interview was performed including questions concerning stress reactivity in relation to onset and exacerbation. Three validated self-rating scales were used: Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Form-Y), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Swedish Universities Scales of Personality (SSP). Independent samples t-tests, Chi-square tests and one-way ANOVA analyses were used for group comparisons when appropriate. A logistic regression model was designed with SR as the dependent variable. Sixty-four patients (63%) reported a subjective association between disease exacerbation and stress (SRs). Patients defined as SRs reported significantly higher mean scores regarding state and trait anxiety, depression, and also five SSP scale personality traits, i.e. somatic trait anxiety, psychic trait anxiety, stress susceptibility, lack of assertiveness and mistrust, compared with NSRs. In multivariate analysis, SSP-stress susceptibility was the strongest explanatory variable for SR, i.e. OR (95% CI)=1.13 (1.02 - 1.24), p=0.018. According to our results, patients who perceive stress as a causal factor in their psoriasis might have a more vulnerable psychological constitution. This finding suggests important opportunities for clinicians to identify patients who may benefit

Anxiety, depression and autonomic nervous system dysfunction in hypertension.

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Bajkó, Zoltán; Szekeres, Csilla-Cecília; Kovács, Katalin Réka; Csapó, Krisztina; Molnár, Sándor; Soltész, Pál; Nyitrai, Erika; Magyar, Mária Tünde; Oláh, László; Bereczki, Dániel; Csiba, László

2012-06-15

This study examined the relationship between autonomic nervous system dysfunction, anxiety and depression in untreated hypertension. 86 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients and 98 healthy volunteers were included in the study. The psychological parameters were assessed with Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory by a skilled psychologist. Autonomic parameters were examined during tilt table examination (10min lying position, 10min passive tilt). Heart rate variability (HRV) was calculated by autoregressive methods. Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) was calculated by non-invasive sequence method from the recorded beat to beat blood pressure values and RR intervals. Significantly higher state (42.6±9.3 vs. 39.6±10.7 p=0.05) and trait (40.1±8.9 vs. 35.1±8.6, p<0.0001) anxiety scores were found in the hypertension group. There was no statistically significant difference in the depression level. LF-RRI (Low Frequency-RR interval) of HRV in passive tilt (377.3±430.6 vs. 494.1±547, p=0.049) and mean BRS slope (11.4±5.5 vs. 13.2±6.4, p=0.07) in lying position were lower in hypertensives. Trait anxiety score correlates significantly with sympatho/vagal balance (LF/HF-RRI) in passive tilt position (Spearman R=-0.286, p=0.01). Anxiety could play a more important role than depression in the development of hypertension. Altered autonomic control of the heart could be one of the pathophysiological links between hypertension and psychological factors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Associations of limbic-affective brain activity and severity of ongoing chronic arthritis pain are explained by trait anxiety

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William J. Cottam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies (fMRI have transformed our understanding of central processing of evoked pain but the typically used block and event-related designs are not best suited to the study of ongoing pain. Here we used arterial spin labelling (ASL for cerebral blood flow mapping to characterise the neural correlates of perceived intensity of osteoarthritis (OA pain and its interrelation with negative affect. Twenty-six patients with painful knee OA and twenty-seven healthy controls underwent pain phenotyping and ASL MRI at 3T. Intensity of OA pain correlated positively with blood flow in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC, subgenual cingulate cortex (sgACC, bilateral hippocampi, bilateral amygdala, left central operculum, mid-insula, putamen and the brainstem. Additional control for trait anxiety scores reduced the pain-CBF association to the aMCC, whilst pain catastrophizing scores only explained some of the limbic correlations. In conclusion, we found that neural correlates of reported intensity of ongoing chronic pain intensity mapped to limbic-affective circuits, and that the association pattern apart from aMCC was explained by trait anxiety thus highlighting the importance of aversiveness in the experience of clinical pain.

Trajectories of dental anxiety in a birth cohort

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Thomson, W. M.; Broadbent, J. M.; Locker, D.; Poulton, R.

2010-01-01

Objective To examine predictors of dental anxiety trajectories in a longitudinal study of New Zealanders. Methods Prospective study of a complete birth cohort born in 1972/73 in Dunedin, New Zealand, with dental anxiety scale (DAS) scores and dental utilization determined at ages 15, 18, 26 and 32 years. Personality traits were assessed at a superfactor and (more fine-grained) subscale level via the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire at age 18 years. Group-based trajectory analysis was used to identify dental anxiety trajectories. Results DAS scores from at least three assessments were available for 828 participants. Six dental anxiety trajectories were observed: stable nonanxious low (39.6%); stable nonanxious medium (37.9%); recovery (1.6%); adult-onset anxious (7.7%); stable anxious (7.2%) and adolescent-onset anxious (5.9%). Multivariate analysis showed that males and those with higher DMFS at age 15 years were more likely to be in the stable nonanxious low trajectory group. Membership of the stable nonanxious medium group was predicted by the dental caries experience at age 15 years. Participants who had lost one or more teeth between ages 26 and 32 years had almost twice the relative risk for membership of the adult-onset anxious group. Personality traits predicted group membership. Specifically, high scorers (via median split) on the ‘stress reaction’ subscale had over twice the risk of being in the stable anxious group; low scorers on the traditionalism subscale were more likely to be members of the recovery trajectory group; and high scorers on the ‘social closeness’ subscale had half the risk of being in the stable anxious group. Dental caries experience at age 5 years was also a predictor for the stable anxious group. Membership of the late-adolescent-onset anxious group was predicted by higher dental caries experience by age 15 years, but none of the other predictors was significant. Conclusion Six discrete trajectories of dental anxiety

The role of state anxiety in children's memories for pain.

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Noel, Melanie; Chambers, Christine T; McGrath, Patrick J; Klein, Raymond M; Stewart, Sherry H

2012-06-01

To investigate the impact of experimentally manipulated state anxiety and the influence of anxiety-related variables on children's memories for pain. A total of 110 children (60 boys) between the ages of 8 and 12 years were randomly assigned to complete a state anxiety induction task or a control task. Following experimental manipulation, children completed a laboratory pain task, pain ratings, and questionnaire measures of anxiety-related variables. 2 weeks later, children provided pain ratings based on their memories of the pain task. The experimental manipulation effectively induced state anxiety; however, pain memories did not differ between groups. Irrespective of group assignment, children with higher state anxiety had more negative pain memories. State anxiety uniquely predicted children's pain memories over and above other well established factors. Anxiety sensitivity and trait anxiety were significant predictors of recalled pain-related fear. These data highlight the importance of anxiety in the development of children's memories for pain.

Are personality traits associated with white-coat and masked hypertension?

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Terracciano, Antonio; Scuteri, Angelo; Strait, James; Sutin, Angelina R; Meirelles, Osorio; Marongiu, Michele; Orru, Marco; Pilia, Maria Grazia; Ferrucci, Luigi; Cucca, Francesco; Schlessinger, David; Lakatta, Edward

2014-10-01

Anxiety and other psychological dispositions are thought to be associated with blood pressure. This study tests whether personality traits have long-term associations with masked and white-coat effects. A community-based sample of 2838 adults from Sardinia (Italy) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, and 7 years later, blood pressure was assessed in the clinic and with ambulatory monitoring. Logistic regressions were used to test whether anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness predicted the white-coat and masked hypertension phenomena. Age, sex, and antihypertensive medication use were tested as moderators. Significant interactions were found between personality traits and antihypertensive medications in predicting masked and white-coat effects. Only among those taking antihypertensive medication, higher anxiety was associated with a higher risk of pseudo-resistant hypertension due to white-coat effect (odds ratio 1.39, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.91) and higher conscientiousness was associated with a lower risk of masked uncontrolled hypertension (odds ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.49-0.99). There were no significant interactions with age or sex. Among those on antihypertensive medications, anxious individuals were more likely to have pseudo-resistant hypertension due to white-coat effect and less conscientious individuals were at increased risk of masked uncontrolled hypertension. Particularly among anxious and less conscientious individuals, ambulatory monitoring may improve the tailoring of pharmacological treatments.

A pilot study into the anxiety induced by various assessment methods

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Marshall, G. E-mail: g.marshall@ucsm.ac.uk; Jones, N. E-mail: n.jones@ucsm.ac.uk

2003-08-01

Purpose: To quantify the anxiety associated with various assessment methods undertaken by post-graduate students and to contextualise this with other life experiences. Method: Spielberger's state and trait anxiety inventory was anonymously completed prior to the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) students undertaking assessments. The data were analysed as follows. The mean state and trait anxiety scores and standard deviations, associated with the assessment methods were calculated. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the state and trait anxiety scores recorded. Post hoc tests (Sidak) were then performed and finally an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) completed the analysis. Results: The seminar was the most anxiety provoking assessment method, followed by the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and the staged assessment, with the unseen written examination being the least anxiety provoking assessment. However, even the unseen written examination provoked more anxiety than elective surgery. There was a significant difference between the anxiety provoked by the aforementioned assessments only in the state anxiety scores, but not the trait anxiety scores (ANOVA). The significant differences were between both the OSCE and seminar and the unseen written examination, with the other differences not being significant as demonstrated by post hoc tests. ANCOVA, which controls for differences in the individual's trait score, also showed significant differences between the state anxiety scores between the OSCE and seminar and unseen written examinations. Conclusion: OSCEs and seminars are both significantly more anxiety provoking than unseen written examinations, but even unseen written examinations are more anxiety provoking than elective surgery. The anxiety provoking potential of assessments should not be underestimated.

A pilot study into the anxiety induced by various assessment methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, G.; Jones, N.

2003-01-01

Purpose: To quantify the anxiety associated with various assessment methods undertaken by post-graduate students and to contextualise this with other life experiences. Method: Spielberger's state and trait anxiety inventory was anonymously completed prior to the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) students undertaking assessments. The data were analysed as follows. The mean state and trait anxiety scores and standard deviations, associated with the assessment methods were calculated. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the state and trait anxiety scores recorded. Post hoc tests (Sidak) were then performed and finally an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) completed the analysis. Results: The seminar was the most anxiety provoking assessment method, followed by the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and the staged assessment, with the unseen written examination being the least anxiety provoking assessment. However, even the unseen written examination provoked more anxiety than elective surgery. There was a significant difference between the anxiety provoked by the aforementioned assessments only in the state anxiety scores, but not the trait anxiety scores (ANOVA). The significant differences were between both the OSCE and seminar and the unseen written examination, with the other differences not being significant as demonstrated by post hoc tests. ANCOVA, which controls for differences in the individual's trait score, also showed significant differences between the state anxiety scores between the OSCE and seminar and unseen written examinations. Conclusion: OSCEs and seminars are both significantly more anxiety provoking than unseen written examinations, but even unseen written examinations are more anxiety provoking than elective surgery. The anxiety provoking potential of assessments should not be underestimated

The relation between social support, anxiety and distress symptoms and maternal fetal attachment.

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Hopkins, Joyce; Miller, Jennifer L; Butler, Kristina; Gibson, Lynda; Hedrick, Laura; Boyle, Deborah Anne

2018-05-04

The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the relation between social support, trait anxiety, symptoms of maternal distress (including stress, depression and anxiety) and maternal-fetal attachment; and (2) to determine if social support buffers the relation between trait anxiety, symptoms of distress and maternal-fetal attachment. Ninety-four pregnant women completed five self-report questions. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of trait anxiety, symptoms of distress, and social support on two factors of maternal-fetal attachment, quality and intensity/frequency. In the first model with the dependent measure as the maternal-fetal attachment quality score, trait anxiety (β = -.24, p social support (β = .30, p social support (β = .32, p social support is high, the relation between anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment intensity/frequency is attenuated. This study demonstrates that prenatal attachment is related to trait anxiety and social support. These findings suggest that interventions to decrease anxiety and increase social support could enhance maternal-fetal attachment.

Impact of occupation on stress and anxiety among Indian women.

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Patel, Pinal A; Patel, Prerna P; Khadilkar, Anuradha V; Chiplonkar, S A; Patel, Ashish D

2017-03-01

The objectives of this study were to: (1) assess the prevalence of anxiety and stress in Indian women; and (2) evaluate the relationship of occupation to the prevalence of anxiety and stress. A cross-sectional study was performed from January 2013 to June 2014, on women (aged 18-50 years) randomly selected from different occupations in Gujarat, India. Anxiety was evaluated using Spielberg's State and Trait Anxiety Inventory scale and stress was assessed using the International Stress Management Association questionnaire. Serum cortisol concentration was measured in a sub-sample. The association of occupation with stress and anxiety was analyzed by a generalized linear model adjusted for age. Among all participants, 26% were the most prone and 66% were somewhat more prone to stress; 35% of women showed high anxiety levels. Homemakers had 1.2 times higher anxiety and 1.3 times higher stress than working women (p women and students. Serum cortisol levels did not differ significantly (p > .05) by occupation. This study revealed high prevalence rates of stress and anxiety in Indian women. Involvement in activities outside the home may help women to reduce stress.

Influences of gender role socialization and anxiety on spatial cognitive style.

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Nori, Raffaella; Mercuri, Noemi; Giusberti, Fiorella; Bensi, Luca; Gambetti, Elisa

2009-01-01

Research on the relationship between personality and social factors in spatial cognitive style is sparse. The present research was conducted to help fill the gap in this domain. We investigated the influence of specific personality traits (masculine/feminine, spatial and trait anxiety), state anxiety, and sex on spatial cognitive style. One hundred forty-two participants completed a battery of spatial tasks in order to assess their spatial cognitive style and filled in questionnaires about the personality traits under examination. Results showed that state anxiety, spatial anxiety, sex, and masculine/feminine trait of personality are predictors of spatial cognitive style. More specifically, it seems that masculine/feminine trait mediates the relationship between sex and spatial cognitive style. Such findings confirm the importance of personality in determining differences in spatial representation.

Stress, anxiety, and depression among medical students in a multiethnic setting

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Kulsoom B

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Bibi Kulsoom,1 Nasir Ali Afsar2 1Department of Biochemistry, 2Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Background: Contemporary literature suggests that medical education might adversely affect students’ mental health. Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a developing institution; hence, there has been a concern regarding the mental well-being of the students.Objectives: This study was designed to assess the traits of depression, anxiety, and stress among students in relation to potential underlying reasons.Methods: All 575 medical students across the 5 years of study participated by filling out the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21 questionnaire anonymously twice. Firstly, 2–3 weeks before a major examination (pre-examination, and secondly, during regular classes (post-examination. Correlation was sought regarding sex, year of scholarship, attendance of a premedical university preparatory program (UPP, housing, and smoking. Subjective comments from students were also obtained.Results: A total of 76.8% and 74.9% of students participated in pre- and post-examination groups, respectively. The majority were the children of expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia, and included Arabs, South Asians, and North Americans. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was high (43%, 63%, and 41%, respectively which reduced (to 30%, 47%, and 30%, respectively to some extent after examinations. Saudis and those who had attended UPP had higher DASS-21 scores. Smoking and female sex predicted higher levels of “baseline” depression, anxiety, or stress. The students perceived the curriculum and schedule to be the primary causes of their high DASS-21 scores.Conclusion: The students had high “baseline” traits of depression, anxiety, and stress, and these were higher if an examination was near, especially among Saudis and those who had attended UPP. Smoking and female sex

Compensatory internet use among individuals higher in social anxiety and its implications for well-being.

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Weidman, Aaron C; Fernandez, Katya C; Levinson, Cheri A; Augustine, Adam A; Larsen, Randy J; Rodebaugh, Thomas L

2012-08-01

The social compensation hypothesis states that the internet primarily benefits individuals who feel uncomfortable communicating face-to-face. In the current research, we tested whether individuals higher in social anxiety use the internet as a compensatory social medium, and whether such use is associated with greater well-being. In Study 1, individuals higher in social anxiety reported greater feelings of comfort and self-disclosure when socializing online than less socially anxious individuals, but reported less self-disclosure when communicating face-to-face. However, in Study 2, social anxiety was associated with lower quality of life and higher depression most strongly for individuals who communicated frequently online. Our results suggest that, whereas social anxiety may be associated with using the internet as an alternative to face-to-face communication, such a strategy may result in poorer well-being.

The role of anxiety in stuttering: Evidence from functional connectivity.

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Yang, Yang; Jia, Fanlu; Siok, Wai Ting; Tan, Li Hai

2017-03-27

Persistent developmental stuttering is a neurologically based speech disorder associated with cognitive-linguistic, motor and emotional abnormalities. Previous studies investigating the relationship between anxiety and stuttering have yielded mixed results, but it has not yet been examined whether anxiety influences brain activity underlying stuttering. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated the functional connectivity associated with state anxiety in a syllable repetition task, and trait anxiety during rest in adults who stutter (N=19) and fluent controls (N=19). During the speech task, people who stutter (PWS) showed increased functional connectivity of the right amygdala with the prefrontal gyrus (the left ventromedial frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus) and the left insula compared to controls. During rest, PWS showed stronger functional connectivity between the right hippocampus and the left orbital frontal gyrus, and between the left hippocampus and left motor areas than controls. Taken together, our results suggest aberrant bottom-up and/or top-down interactions for anxiety regulation, which might be responsible for the higher level of state anxiety during speech and for the anxiety-prone trait in PWS. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the neural underpinnings of anxiety in PWS, thus yielding new insight into the causes of stuttering which might aid strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of stuttering. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intimate partner violence and anxiety disorders in pregnancy: the importance of vocational training of the nursing staff in facing them.

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Fonseca-Machado, Mariana de Oliveira; Monteiro, Juliana Cristina dos Santos; Haas, Vanderlei José; Abrão, Ana Cristina Freitas de Vilhena; Gomes-Sponholz, Flávia

2015-01-01

to identify the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, trait and state anxiety, and intimate partner violence during pregnancy. observational, cross-sectional study developed with 358 pregnant women. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version was used, as well as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and an adapted version of the instrument used in the World Health Organization Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence. after adjusting to the multiple logistic regression model, intimate partner violence, occurred during pregnancy, was associated with the indication of posttraumatic stress disorder. The adjusted multiple linear regression models showed that the victims of violence, in the current pregnancy, had higher symptom scores of trait and state anxiety than non-victims. recognizing the intimate partner violence as a clinically relevant and identifiable risk factor for the occurrence of anxiety disorders during pregnancy can be a first step in the prevention thereof.

Social Anxiety and Cannabis Use: An Analysis from Ecological Momentary Assessment

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Buckner, Julia D.; Crosby, Ross D.; Wonderlich, Stephen A.; Schmidt, Norman B.

2011-01-01

Individuals with elevated social anxiety appear especially vulnerable to cannabis-related problems, yet little is known about the antecedents of cannabis-related behaviors among this high-risk population. The present study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine the relations among social anxiety, cannabis craving, state anxiety, situational variables, and cannabis use in the natural environment during ad-lib cannabis use episodes. Participants were 49 current cannabis users. During the two-week EMA period, social anxiety significantly interacted with cannabis craving to predict cannabis use both cross-sectionally and prospectively. Specifically, individuals with higher social anxiety and craving were most likely to use cannabis. There was a significant social anxiety X state anxiety X others’ use interaction such that when others were using cannabis, those with elevations in both trait social anxiety and state anxiety were the most likely to use cannabis. PMID:22246109

Fermented foods, neuroticism, and social anxiety: An interaction model.

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Hilimire, Matthew R; DeVylder, Jordan E; Forestell, Catherine A

2015-08-15

Animal models and clinical trials in humans suggest that probiotics can have an anxiolytic effect. However, no studies have examined the relationship between probiotics and social anxiety. Here we employ a cross-sectional approach to determine whether consumption of fermented foods likely to contain probiotics interacts with neuroticism to predict social anxiety symptoms. A sample of young adults (N=710, 445 female) completed self-report measures of fermented food consumption, neuroticism, and social anxiety. An interaction model, controlling for demographics, general consumption of healthful foods, and exercise frequency, showed that exercise frequency, neuroticism, and fermented food consumption significantly and independently predicted social anxiety. Moreover, fermented food consumption also interacted with neuroticism in predicting social anxiety. Specifically, for those high in neuroticism, higher frequency of fermented food consumption was associated with fewer symptoms of social anxiety. Taken together with previous studies, the results suggest that fermented foods that contain probiotics may have a protective effect against social anxiety symptoms for those at higher genetic risk, as indexed by trait neuroticism. While additional research is necessary to determine the direction of causality, these results suggest that consumption of fermented foods that contain probiotics may serve as a low-risk intervention for reducing social anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met Polymorphism Affects the Relationship Between an Anxiety-Related Personality Trait and Resting Regional Cerebral Blood Flow.

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Wei, Shau-Ming; Eisenberg, Daniel P; Nabel, Katherine G; Kohn, Philip D; Kippenhan, J Shane; Dickinson, Dwight; Kolachana, Bhaskar; Berman, Karen F

2017-03-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important modulator of constitutive stress responses mediated by limbic frontotemporal circuits, and its gene contains a functional polymorphism (Val66Met) that may influence trait stress sensitivity. Reports of an association of this polymorphism with anxiety-related personality traits have been controversial and without clear neurophysiological support. We, therefore, determined the relationship between resting regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and a well-validated measure of anxiety-related personality, the TPQ Harm Avoidance (HA) scale, as a function of BDNF Val66Met genotype. Sixty-four healthy participants of European ancestry underwent resting H215O positron emission tomography scans. For each genotype group separately, we first determined the relationship between participants' HA scores and their resting rCBF values in each voxel across the entire brain, and then directly compared these HA-rCBF relationships between Val66Met genotype groups. HA-rCBF relationships differed between Val homozygotes and Met carriers in several regions relevant to stress regulation: subgenual cingulate, orbital frontal cortex, and the hippocampal/parahippocampal region. In each of these areas, the relationship was positive in Val homozygotes and negative in Met carriers. These data demonstrate a coupling between trait anxiety and basal resting blood flow in frontolimbic neurocircuitry that may be determined in part by genetically mediated BDNF signaling. Published by Oxford University Press 2016. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Perceived emotional intelligence in nursing: psychometric properties of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale.

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Aradilla-Herrero, Amor; Tomás-Sábado, Joaquín; Gómez-Benito, Juana

2014-04-01

To examine the psychometric properties of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale in the nursing context and to determine the relationships between emotional intelligence, self-esteem, alexithymia and death anxiety. The Trait Meta-Mood Scale is one of the most widely used self-report measures for assessing perceived emotional intelligence. However, in the nursing context, no extensive analysis has been conducted to examine its psychometric properties. Cross-sectional and observational study. A total of 1417 subjects participated in the study (1208 nursing students and 209 hospital nurses). The Trait Meta-Mood Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Death Anxiety Inventory were all applied to half of the sample (n = 707). A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out, and statistical analyses examined the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale, as well as its relationship with relevant variables. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the three dimensions of the original scale (Attention, Clarity and Repair). The instrument showed adequate internal consistency and temporal stability. Correlational results indicated that nurses with high scores on emotional Attention experience more death anxiety, report greater difficulties identifying feelings and have less self-esteem. By contrast, nurses with high levels of emotional Clarity and Repair showed less death anxiety and higher levels of self-esteem. The Trait Meta-Mood Scale is an effective, valid and reliable tool for measuring perceived emotional intelligence in the nursing context. Training programmes should seek to promote emotional abilities among nurses. Use of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale in the nursing context would provide information about nurses' perceived abilities to interpret and manage emotions when interacting with patients. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Profile of brazilian dental students and its relationship to anxiety levels

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Nayane Cavalcante Ferreira da Silva

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of dental students and its relationship to anxiety levels. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was applied to 207 first- to fifth-year undergraduates enrolled in the dentistry program at the School of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing, Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. Participants were aged 17 to 29 years, and the maiority were women (57.5%. Students had a weekly workload of up to 40 hours and performed at least two complementary activities, in addition to their undergraduate training. Almost all students (95.7% had attended private high schools and 80.6% lived with their parents or spouses. Regarding parental education, 59.4% of mothers and 55.6% of fathers had a higher education degree. Most students showed medium levels of anxiety according to measurements of state anxiety (53.1% and trait anxiety (81.6%. It can be concluded that more than 50% of students in the Dentistry graduation course of the Federal University of Ceará showed an average level of anxiety, and that the excessive workload and enrichment activities necessary to obtain the undergraduate degree in Dentistry probably can be influencing the anxiety levels of students, however, more studies and statistical tests should be performed to identify the root causes in order to preserve the mental health of these future dentists.

Using personality traits to construct linear growth models of mental health in family members of individuals with severe brain injury.

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Trujillo, Michael; Perrin, Paul B; Doser, Karoline; Norup, Anne

2016-11-01

No studies have examined the impact of personality traits on mental health among caregivers of individuals with severe brain injury. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to construct linear growth models to examine whether the personality traits of family members of individuals with severe brain injury could predict the trajectories of their own mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, and depression beginning in a neurointensive care unit through 1 year after injury. Danish family members of individuals with severe brain injury (n = 52) completed the Short Form-36 assessing mental HRQoL (vitality, social functioning, role limitations-emotional, mental health), anxiety, and depression across 5 time points during the 1st year after injury. The measure of personality was administered 3 months after the patients' discharge. All mental HRQoL, anxiety, and depression variables improved significantly over time. Caregivers who were less neurotic and less conscientious had higher vitality, social functioning, and mental health over time, whereas caregivers who were more agreeable had higher social functioning over time. Caregivers with lower neuroticism had lower anxiety and depression over time, as well as a more accelerated decrease in anxiety and depression. Caregivers' personality traits were strongly associated over time with mental HRQoL, anxiety, and depression, with neuroticism being especially important for trajectories of anxiety and depression. These results suggest that personality assessments for caregivers of individuals with severe brain injury could help identify those most at risk for poor mental health over the course of rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality Traits and Psychopathology in Nicotine and Opiate Dependents Using the Gateway Drug Theory

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Bahareh Amirabadi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: According to the gateway drug theory, tobacco use is a predisposing factor for future substance abuse. This study was conducted to compare nicotine and opiate dependents to identify the differences between their personality traits and psychopathology that makes them turn to other substances after cigarette smoking. Methods: A causal-comparative study was conducted. Three groups were randomly selected: nicotine dependents, opiate dependents and ordinary individuals (non-dependent population. Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, Maudsley Addiction Profile, the Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory were used to collect data. Analysis of variance was used to analyze data. Results: Opiate dependents had higher ‘novelty seeking’ and lower ‘cooperativeness’ scores as compared to the other two groups. They also had higher anxiety and depression scores than the other two groups. Discussion: Higher ‘novelty seeking’ and lower ‘cooperativeness’ scores are important personality traits predicting

Reflex syncope, anxiety level, and family history of cardiovascular disease in young women: case-control study.

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Zyśko, D; Szewczuk-Bogusławska, M; Kaczmarek, M; Agrawal, A K; Rudnicki, J; Gajek, J; Melander, O; Sutton, R; Fedorowski, A

2015-02-01

Anxiety is an emotion, which stimulates sympathetic nervous outflow potentially facilitating vasovagal reflex syncope (VVS) but reports on anxiety levels in patients with VVS are sparse. We studied anxiety levels in young women (21-40 years) referred for unexplained transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), and age-matched female controls with or without past history of TLOC (≈probable VVS). Referred patients underwent head-up tilt (HUT) according to current ESC Guidelines. State and Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire evaluated anxiety levels plus a questionnaire explored risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Sixty-five of 91 women were diagnosed with VVS on HUT. Among 549 controls, 223 (40.6%) reported at least one episode of TLOC. State-anxiety level in patients with VVS undergoing HUT (42.4 ± 9.3) was higher compared with both controls with (38.3 ± 10.2; P < 0.01) and without past TLOC history (35.9 ± 9.8; P < 0.001). Trait anxiety in patients with VVS (42.7 ± 8.4), and controls with TLOC history (42.4 ± 8.4) was higher compared with controls without TLOC history (39.7 ± 8.5; P < 0.01). In the logistic regression using controls without TLOC as reference, both VVS diagnosis and past history of TLOC were associated with family history of CVD [odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-4.4; P = 0.007, and 2.3, 1.4-3.6; P = 0.001, respectively], and this association was independent of anxiety level. Trait anxiety and family history of CVD are increased in both young women with VVS and controls with history of TLOC. However, the height of anxiety level does not explain CVD heredity and other mechanisms may link syncope with CVD. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2014. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mindfulness Facets, Social Anxiety, and Drinking to Cope with Social Anxiety: Testing Mediators of Drinking Problems

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Clerkin, Elise M.; Sarfan, Laurel D.; Parsons, E. Marie; Magee, Joshua C.

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional study tested social anxiety symptoms, trait mindfulness, and drinking to cope with social anxiety as potential predictors and/or serial mediators of drinking problems. A community-based sample of individuals with co-occurring social anxiety symptoms and alcohol dependence were recruited. Participants (N = 105) completed measures of social anxiety, drinking to cope with social anxiety, and alcohol use and problems. As well, participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness...

Cardiac response and anxiety levels in psychopathic murderers.

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Serafim, Antonio de Pádua; Barros, Daniel Martins de; Valim, André; Gorenstein, Clarice

2009-09-01

To compare the emotional response and level of anxiety of psychopathic murderers, non-psychopathic murderers, and nonpsychopathic non-criminals. 110 male individuals aged over 18 years were divided into three groups: psychopathic murderers (n = 38); non-psychopathic murderers (n = 37) serving sentences for murder convictions in Maximum Security Prisons in the State of Sao Paulo; and non-criminal, non-psychopathic individuals (n = 35) according to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. The emotional response of subjects was assessed by heart rate variation and anxiety level (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) after viewing standardized pictures depicting pleasant, unpleasant and neutral content from the International Affective Picture System. Psychopathic murderers presented lower anxiety levels and smaller heart rate variations when exposed to pleasant and unpleasant stimuli than nonpsychopathic murderers or non-psychopathic non-criminals. The results also demonstrated that the higher the score for factor 1 on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, the lower the heart rate variation and anxiety level. The results suggest that psychopathic murderers do not present variation in emotional response to different visual stimuli. Although the non-psychopathic murderers had committed the same type of crime as the psychopathic murderers, the former tended to respond with a higher level of anxiety and heart rate variation.

Fear of dental pain in Italian children: child personality traits and parental dental fear.

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D'Alessandro, Giovanni; Alkhamis, Nadia; Mattarozzi, Katia; Mazzetti, Michela; Piana, Gabriela

2016-06-01

Dental anxiety could impede dental treatment in children. Evidence shows that parents' fear of dentists contributes to children's anxiety towards dentists. The aim of the present study was to determine whether and to what extent: a) parents' anxiety and depression personality traits, b) parent's dental fear, and c) child personality traits can predict children's dental anxiety in an Italian population. One hundred and four children (5-14 years old) and one of their parents participated in the study. Well-known and validated questionnaires were administered to children (MCDASf, CFSS-DS, TAD) and parents (FDPQ, STAI Y1, Y2, and BDI-II). Dental anxiety is significantly associated with the anxiety personality trait and depression of the child and with parental fear of dental pain. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, regardless of age and gender, the best predictor of child dental anxiety is parent's fear of dental pain, rather than relatively stable temperaments of the child. In line with the literature concerning adults, these findings highlight the children dental anxiety as a complex phenomena consisting of different components, including the child's personality traits (anxiety trait and depression) and parents' dental fear. Clinical implications of this evidence are discussed. © 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Are individuals with higher psychopathic traits better learners at lying? Behavioural and neural evidence.

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Shao, R; Lee, T M C

2017-07-25

High psychopathy is characterized by untruthfulness and manipulativeness. However, existing evidence on higher propensity or capacity to lie among non-incarcerated high-psychopathic individuals is equivocal. Of particular importance, no research has investigated whether greater psychopathic tendency is associated with better 'trainability' of lying. An understanding of whether the neurobehavioral processes of lying are modifiable through practice offers significant theoretical and practical implications. By employing a longitudinal design involving university students with varying degrees of psychopathic traits, we successfully demonstrate that the performance speed of lying about face familiarity significantly improved following two sessions of practice, which occurred only among those with higher, but not lower, levels of psychopathic traits. Furthermore, this behavioural improvement associated with higher psychopathic tendency was predicted by a reduction in lying-related neural signals and by functional connectivity changes in the frontoparietal and cerebellum networks. Our findings provide novel and pivotal evidence suggesting that psychopathic traits are the key modulating factors of the plasticity of both behavioural and neural processes underpinning lying. These findings broadly support conceptualization of high-functioning individuals with higher psychopathic traits as having preserved, or arguably superior, functioning in neural networks implicated in cognitive executive processing, but deficiencies in affective neural processes, from a neuroplasticity perspective.

The relationship between personality traits and anxiety/depression levels in different drug abusers' groups

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Tatalović Vorkapić Sanja

2013-12-01

Full Text Available AIM: Since psychosocial characteristics of drug abuse involve mainly specific personality and emotional changes, it is very important to investigate characteristics of addictive personality in relationship with emotional state of the individual. Considering that, the objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between personality structure and emotional state of two different groups: heroin addicts and recreate drug abusers. METHODS: The total of 288 (219 males and 69 females; 191 heroin addicts and 97 recreate drug users clients of Centre for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse in Rijeka completed Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire (EPQ R/A, Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI. Their average age was 22. RESULTS: In the group of heroin addicts, higher levels of anxiety and depression were significantly correlated with higher levels of psychoticism, neuroticism, criminality and addiction. In the group of recreate drug users, higher extraversion and social conformity were determined. Furthermore, in the first group was found even higher depression. However when the anxiety level was compared between these two groups, there was no significant difference. CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings implied that the used measurement instruments could serve as the useful diagnostic tools that could ensure advantageous treatment directions.

Psychopathological traits in college students from top-ranking french schools: Do autistic features impair success in science when associated with schizotypal traits?

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Choteau, Laura; Raynal, Patrick; Goutaudier, Nelly; Chabrol, Henri

2016-03-30

The link between personality and the interest of individuals for science has not been thoroughly explored. In this report, we studied psychopathological traits in students studying science in French top-ranking institutions. Three hundred and forty seven individuals answered questionnaires assessing autistic and schizotypal dimensions, as well as anxiety, depression symptomatology and attachment quality. A cluster analysis based on autistic and schizotypal traits led to the identification of 4 distinct profiles: a "low trait cluster", a "moderate autistic trait cluster", a "moderate schizotypal trait cluster" and a "high trait cluster" (HTC) composed of individuals with high scores on both autistic and schizotypal scales. Each cluster represented 20.1-27.1% of participants and was clearly different from the three others, both on autistic and on schizotypal dimensions. These groups could be also typified by their level of anxiety, depression or degraded attachment, which are proportional to the extent of psychopathological traits. Moreover, students from the HTC cluster displayed lower academic results, thus implying that autistic traits might impair success in science when they are associated with moderate schizotypal personality features. This study also suggests that depression and anxiety might mediate performance inhibition in the HTC group. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lifespan anxiety is reflected in human amygdala cortical connectivity

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He, Ye; Xu, Ting; Zhang, Wei

2016-01-01

Abstract The amygdala plays a pivotal role in processing anxiety and connects to large‐scale brain networks. However, intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) between amygdala and these networks has rarely been examined in relation to anxiety, especially across the lifespan. We employed resting‐state functional MRI data from 280 healthy adults (18–83.5 yrs) to elucidate the relationship between anxiety and amygdala iFC with common cortical networks including the visual network, somatomotor network, dorsal attention network, ventral attention network, limbic network, frontoparietal network, and default network. Global and network‐specific iFC were separately computed as mean iFC of amygdala with the entire cerebral cortex and each cortical network. We detected negative correlation between global positive amygdala iFC and trait anxiety. Network‐specific associations between amygdala iFC and anxiety were also detectable. Specifically, the higher iFC strength between the left amygdala and the limbic network predicted lower state anxiety. For the trait anxiety, left amygdala anxiety–connectivity correlation was observed in both somatomotor and dorsal attention networks, whereas the right amygdala anxiety–connectivity correlation was primarily distributed in the frontoparietal and ventral attention networks. Ventral attention network exhibited significant anxiety–gender interactions on its iFC with amygdala. Together with findings from additional vertex‐wise analysis, these data clearly indicated that both low‐level sensory networks and high‐level associative networks could contribute to detectable predictions of anxiety behaviors by their iFC profiles with the amygdala. This set of systems neuroscience findings could lead to novel functional network models on neural correlates of human anxiety and provide targets for novel treatment strategies on anxiety disorders. Hum Brain Mapp 37:1178–1193, 2016. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping

Mental health problems in children with uncomplicated epilepsy; relation with parental anxiety.

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Gökgöz-Durmaz, Funda; Cihan, Fatma Gökşin; Uzun, Meltem; Kutlu, Ruhuşen

2016-01-01

Mental health problems and parental anxiety in children with epilepsy were investigated. Parents of 83 children with epilepsy and 172 healthy children were asked to complete Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for their children and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for themselves. In those with epilepsy, 39.8% (n: 33) were girls, 60.2% (n: 50) were boys and their mean age was 9.34 ± 3.99 years. Control group was more successful in school (p children with epilepsy was higher than control group (p children with epilepsy were higher. Children with epilepsy have more neuro-behavioral problems; and their parents have greater anxiety levels. Physicians should be in contact with children with epilepsy for the psychological health of the family besides seizure control.

Validation of the Malay version of the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS).

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Mohd Fahmi, Z; Lai, L L; Loh, P S

2015-08-01

Preoperative anxiety is a significant problem worldwide that may affect patients' surgical outcome. By using a simple and reliable tool such as the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS), anaesthesiologists would be able to assess preoperative anxiety adequately and accurately. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Malay version of APAIS (Malay-APAIS), and assess the factors associated with higher anxiety scores. The authors performed forward and backward translation of APAIS into Malay and then tested on 200 patients in the anaesthetic clinic of University Malaya Medical Centre. Psychometric analysis was performed with factor analysis, internal consistency and correlation with Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-state). A good correlation was shown with STAI-state (r = 0.59). Anxiety and need for information both emerged with high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.93 and 0.90 respectively). Female gender, surgery with a higher risk and need for information were found to be associated with higher anxiety scores. On the other hand, previous experience with surgery had lower need for information. The Malay-APAIS is a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of patients' preoperative anxiety and their need for information. By understanding and measuring patient's concerns objectively, the perioperative management will improve to a much higher standard of care.

Technology Adoption in Higher Education: Overcoming Anxiety through Faculty Bootcamp

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Johnson, Terri; Wisniewski, Mary Ann; Kuhlemeyer, Greg; Isaacs, Gerald; Krzykowski, Jamie

2012-01-01

The reluctance to design and teach online courses in higher education is often attributed to technology anxiety in faculty. This article documents a faculty development model that has successfully helped faculty overcome this obstacle. "Bootcamps," faculty development programs held at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI, were specifically and…

The association between medically unexplained physical symptoms and health care use over two years and the influence of depressive and anxiety disorders and personality traits: a longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

den Boeft, Madelon; Twisk, Jos W R; Terluin, Berend; Penninx, Brenda W J H; van Marwijk, Harm W J; Numans, Mattijs E; van der Wouden, Johannes C; van der Horst, Henriette E

2016-03-22

Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are highly prevalent and are associated with frequent health care use (HCU). MUPS frequently co-occur with psychiatric disorders. With this study we examined the longitudinal association between MUPS and HCU over 2 years and the influence of depressive and anxiety disorders and personality traits on this association. We analysed follow-up data from 2045 to 2981 participants from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), a multisite cohort study. The study population included participants with a current depressive and/or anxiety disorder, participants with a lifetime risk and/or subthreshold symptoms for depressive and/or anxiety disorders and healthy controls. HCU, measured with the Trimbos and iMTA questionnaire on Costs associated with Psychiatric illness (TIC-P), was operationalized as the number of used medical services and the number of associated contacts. MUPS were measured with the Four Dimensional Symptoms Questionnaire, depressive and anxiety disorders with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and personality traits with the NEO Five-Factory Inventory. Measurements were taken at baseline, 1 and 2 years follow-up. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE), using HCU at all three measurements as (multivariate) outcome. GEE also takes into account the dependency of observations within participants. MUPS were positively associated with HCU over 2 years (medical services: RR 1.020, 95 % CI 1.017-1.022; contacts: RR 1.037, 95 % CI 1.030-1.044). Neuroticism and depression had the strongest influence on the associations. After adjustment for these factors, the associations between MUPS and HCU weakened, but remained significant (services: RR 1.011, 95 % CI 1.008-1.014; contacts: RR 1.023, 95 % CI 1.015-1.032). Our results show that MUPS were positively associated with HCU over 2 years, even after adjusting for depressive and anxiety disorders and personality traits.

The Effectiveness of Counseling in Reducing Anxiety Among Nulliparous Pregnant Women

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Parisa Parsa

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To determine the effectiveness of counseling in reducing anxiety of nulliparous pregnant women.Materials and methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 110 nulliparous pregnant women were selected out of all pregnant women referring to Fatemieh Hospital in Hamadan, Iran. Then, the subjects were divided into two groups in experimental and control (55 women in each. The data were collected through a questionnaire covering demographic and obstetric characteristics and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The experimental group participated in four weekly sessions of group counseling about mother-infant attachment behaviors. Whereas, the control group only receive routine cares. Two groups were compared in terms of anxiety before and after the study.Results: Before the intervention, no significant difference in anxiety level was observed between the two groups; however, state and trait anxiety levels of pregnant women in the experimental group significantly decreased after the intervention (p < 0.001. There was also significant difference in the mean score of state and trait anxiety levels between the two groups after the intervention (p < 0.001.Conclusion: The results showed the effectiveness of prenatal counseling in reducing state and trait anxiety levels of pregnant women. 

Does Gender Matter in the Relationship between Anxiety and Decision-Making?

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Fenghua Zhang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There is an ongoing debate about whether and how anxiety level affects behavioral performance in risk and/or ambiguous decision-making. According to the literature, we suggest that gender difference might be a confounding factor that has contributed to heterogeneous findings in previous studies. To examine this idea, 135 students who participated in this study were divided into six groups according to their gender (male/female and trait anxiety level (high/medium/low; measured by the Trait form of Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. All groups finished the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT for ambiguous decision-making, and the Game of Dice Task (GDT for risk decision-making. Behavioral results revealed that the IGT but not the GDT showed an interaction between anxiety and gender. Specifically, men outperformed women in the IGT, but only when their trait anxiety levels were low. Meanwhile, the GDT showed a main effect of anxiety grouping, such that low anxious participants were more risk-seeking than their medium anxious counterparts. These findings indicate that gender selectively modulates the influence of anxiety on ambiguous decision-making, but not risk decision-making. The theoretical and practical implications of the current findings are discussed.

Comparison of EEG propagation speeds under emotional stimuli on smartphone between the different anxiety states

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Asakawa, Tetsuya; Muramatsu, Ayumi; Hayashi, Takuto; Urata, Tatsuya; Taya, Masato; Mizuno-Matsumoto, Yuko

2014-01-01

The current study evaluated the effect of different anxiety states on information processing as measured by an electroencephalography (EEG) using emotional stimuli on a smartphone. Twenty-three healthy subjects were assessed for their anxiety states using The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and divided into two groups: low anxiety (I, II) or high anxiety (III and IV, V). An EEG was performed while the participant was presented with emotionally laden audiovisual stimuli (resting, pleasant, and unpleasant sessions) and emotionally laden sentence stimuli (pleasant sentence, unpleasant sentence sessions) and EEG data was analyzed using propagation speed analysis. The propagation speed of the low anxiety group at the medial coronal for resting stimuli for all time segments was higher than those of high anxiety group. The low anxiety group propagation speeds at the medial sagittal for unpleasant stimuli in the 0–30 and 60–150 s time frames were higher than those of high anxiety group. The propagation speeds at 150 s for all stimuli in the low anxiety group were significantly higher than the correspondent propagation speeds of the high anxiety group. These events suggest that neural information processes concerning emotional stimuli differ based on current anxiety state. PMID:25540618

The role of self-control strength in the development of state anxiety in test situations.

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Englert, C; Bertrams, A

2013-06-01

Self-control strength may affect state anxiety because emotion regulation is impaired in individuals whose self-control strength has been temporarily depleted. Increases in state anxiety were expected to be larger for participants with depleted compared to nondepleted self-control strength, and trait test anxiety should predict increases in state anxiety more strongly if self-control strength is depleted. In a sample of 76 university students, trait test anxiety was assessed, self-control strength experimentally manipulated, and state anxiety measured before and after the announcement of a test. State anxiety increased after the announcement. Trait test anxiety predicted increases in state anxiety only in students with depleted self-control strength, suggesting that increased self-control strength may be useful for coping with anxiety.

The role of empathy in experiencing vicarious anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Jocelyn; Hassell, Samuel; Weber, Jochen; Ochsner, Kevin N; Mobbs, Dean

2017-08-01

With depictions of others facing threats common in the media, the experience of vicarious anxiety may be prevalent in the general population. However, the phenomenon of vicarious anxiety-the experience of anxiety in response to observing others expressing anxiety-and the interpersonal mechanisms underlying it have not been fully investigated in prior research. In 4 studies, we investigate the role of empathy in experiencing vicarious anxiety, using film clips depicting target victims facing threats. In Studies 1 and 2, trait emotional empathy was associated with greater self-reported anxiety when observing target victims, and with perceiving greater anxiety to be experienced by the targets. Study 3 extended these findings by demonstrating that trait empathic concern-the tendency to feel concern and compassion for others-was associated with experiencing vicarious anxiety, whereas trait personal distress-the tendency to experience distress in stressful situations-was not. Study 4 manipulated state empathy to establish a causal relationship between empathy and experience of vicarious anxiety. Participants who took an empathic perspective when observing target victims, as compared to those who took an objective perspective using reappraisal-based strategies, reported experiencing greater anxiety, risk-aversion, and sleep disruption the following night. These results highlight the impact of one's social environment on experiencing anxiety, particularly for those who are highly empathic. In addition, these findings have implications for extending basic models of anxiety to incorporate interpersonal processes, understanding the role of empathy in social learning, and potential applications for therapeutic contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An examination of the symptoms of anxiety and parental attitude in children with hemophilia.

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Abali, Osman; Zülfikar, Osman Bülent; Karakoç Demirkaya, Sevcan; Ayaydin, Hamza; Kircelli, Fuat; Duman, Mehtap

2014-01-01

Hemophilia is an inherited disease with serious repercussions. Psychiatric symptoms are frequently seen in children and adolescents with hemophilia. The aim of this study was to assess symptoms of anxiety in children with hemophilia and parental attitude towards children with hemophilia. 42 boys were assessed according to child and adolescent psychiatry. Anxiety symptoms and parental attitude were obtained by the State-Trait Anxiety Scale, the Self-Report for Childhood Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) and the Parent Attitude Research Instrument (PARI). The mean age was 11.6 ± 2.5 (range; 7-16). State anxiety scores (44.02 ± 6.9) were higher than trait anxiety scores (32.7 + 7.5). The most interesting results were high scores related to overprotective mothering (47.9 ± 9.7) and the application of strict discipline (39.4 ± 9.1). The total SCARED scores obtained were (23.25 ± 11.3). Assuring a high quality of life is important for children and adolescents with chronic illness. Quality of life is negatively affected by psychiatric symptoms (e.g. anxiety symptoms, depression, intra-familial stress symptoms) in children with hemophilia. This study suggests that high anxiety scores and problems related to parental attitude can be seen in children and adolescents with hemophilia. These problems caused by parental attitude and anxiety symptoms should be considered in the treatment of hemophilia.

In Iranian female and male adolescents, romantic love is related to hypomania and low depressive symptoms, but also to higher state anxiety.

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Bajoghli, Hafez; Joshaghani, Narges; Gerber, Markus; Mohammadi, Mohammad-Reza; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2013-06-01

Experiencing romantic love is important in individual development. Little is known about romantic love among adolescents in non-Western countries. The aim of the present study was to explore romantic love among Iranian male and female adolescents. A total of 201 adolescents (mean age: 17.73 years) took part in the study; of these, 81 indicated they were experiencing romantic love at the time of survey, and 120 indicated they were not in love. Participants answered questionnaires related to affective states (hypomania, depressive symptoms, state and trait anxiety) and exercise, and completed a sleep log for seven consecutive nights. Compared to controls, participants in love displayed favourable hypomania scores, fewer depressive symptoms and increased concentration during the day. However, participants in love also had higher state anxiety scores. Moreover, hypomanic-like stages increased with duration of relationship in female, but not in male participants. The pattern of results suggests a favourable association between being currently in love and emotional and cognitive processes. Sleep, however, seemed unrelated to this specific state.

Sex and Trait Anxiety Differences in Psychological Stress are Modified by Environment.

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Liu, James; Scira, John; Donaldson, Simone; Kajiji, Nina; Dash, Gordon H; Donaldson, S Tiffany

2018-05-09

Evidence-based research has revealed how physiological and emotional responses to acute stress are adaptive. However, under conditions of unpredictable or protracted stress, health and drug vulnerability can be compromised. In this study, we examined anxiety-like behavioral responses of 4th generation adolescent male and female Long Evans rats selectively bred for high (HAn) and low (LAn) anxiety-like behavior when housed in an isolated environment (IE) versus a social environment (SE). After 35 days in IE or SE, animals were tested in the elevated plus maze (EPM), injected with amphetamine (AMPH: 0.5 mg/kg, IP) in the locomotor activity (LMA) chamber, measured for basal and post air puff-stressor core body temperature and blood pressure. Following select rearing, SE reduced the anxiogenic response in HAn rats with females displaying the lowest anxiety-like behavior in the EPM. During habituation in the LMA, IE rats remained active, while post-AMPH injection HAn females were hyperactive, followed closely by LAn females. Our findings from the post-stressor physiological measurements indicate that temperature differences due to environment are observed only in the SE females. We also observed group differences for diastolic (DBP) and systolic (SBP) blood pressure. HAn IE males experienced higher DBP and SBP but LAn IE females only experienced higher SBP. Not only do our findings corroborate earlier work on HAn/LAn lines but the findings obtained from this research offer new insights about the role of environment and the role of sex in (1) modulation of anxiety-like behavior, (2) AMPH sensitivity, and (3) basal and stress-induced physiological changes. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anxiety- and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Patients With Breast Cancer: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of China and the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin You

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Literature has documented the prevalence of anxiety and its adverse effect on quality of life among patients with breast cancer from Western countries, yet cross-cultural examinations with non-Western patients are rare. This cross-cultural study investigated differences in anxiety and its association with quality of life between US and Chinese patients with breast cancer. Methods: Patients with breast cancer from the United States and China completed measures for anxiety (Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and quality of life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast. Results: After controlling for demographic and medical characteristics, Chinese patients reported higher levels of trait and state anxiety than US patients. Although there was an association between anxiety and quality of life in both groups of patients, the association between state anxiety and quality of life was stronger among Chinese patients than among US patients, with the association between trait anxiety and quality of life the same between the two cultural samples. Conclusion: These findings suggest that anxiety and its association with quality of life among patients with breast cancer varies depending on cultural context, which reveals greater anxiety and poorer quality of life among Chinese patients compared with US patients. This suggests greater unmet psychosocial needs among Chinese patients and highlights the need to build comprehensive cancer care systems for a better quality of life in Chinese populations.

All in Its Proper Time: Monitoring the Emergence of a Memory Bias for Novel, Arousing-Negative Words in Individuals with High and Low Trait Anxiety

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Eden, Annuschka Salima; Zwitserlood, Pienie; Keuper, Katharina; Junghöfer, Markus; Laeger, Inga; Zwanzger, Peter; Dobel, Christian

2014-01-01

The well-established memory bias for arousing-negative stimuli seems to be enhanced in high trait-anxious persons and persons suffering from anxiety disorders. We monitored the emergence and development of such a bias during and after learning, in high and low trait anxious participants. A word-learning paradigm was applied, consisting of spoken pseudowords paired either with arousing-negative or neutral pictures. Learning performance during training evidenced a short-lived advantage for arou...

Exploring autistic traits in anorexia: a clinical study.

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Tchanturia, Kate; Smith, Emma; Weineck, Felicitas; Fidanboylu, Eliz; Kern, Nikola; Treasure, Janet; Baron Cohen, Simon

2013-11-12

The objectives of this study were to explore associations between autistic traits and self-reported clinical symptoms in a population with anorexia nervosa (AN). Experimental and self-report evidence reveals similarities between AN and autism spectrum condition (ASC) populations in socio-emotional and cognitive domains; this includes difficulties with empathy, set-shifting and global processing. Focusing on these similarities may lead to better tailored interventions for both conditions. A cross-sectional independent-groups design was employed. Participants with AN (n = 66) and typical controls (n = 66) completed self-report questionnaires including the Short (10-Item) Version Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-10) questionnaire (the first time this has been implemented in this population), the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. Group differences and the relationship between autistic traits and other questionnaire measures were investigated. The AN group had a significantly higher AQ-10 total score and a greater proportion scored above the clinical cut-off than the control group. Seven out of ten AQ-10 items significantly discriminated between groups. In the AN group, levels of autistic traits correlated with a greater self-reported anxiety and depression and a lower ability to maintain close relationships; however, eating disorder symptoms were not associated with autistic traits. Women with anorexia possess a greater number of autistic traits than typical women. AQ-10 items that discriminated between groups related to 'bigger picture' (global) thinking, inflexibility of thinking and problems with social interactions, suggesting that autistic traits may exacerbate factors that maintain the eating disorder rather than cause the eating disorder directly. Using screening instruments may improve understanding of patients' problems, leading to better tailoring of intervention. We

Mind-Body Interactions in Anxiety and Somatic Symptoms.

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Mallorquí-Bagué, Núria; Bulbena, Antonio; Pailhez, Guillem; Garfinkel, Sarah N; Critchley, Hugo D

2016-01-01

Anxiety and somatic symptoms have a high prevalence in the general population. A mechanistic understanding of how different factors contribute to the development and maintenance of these symptoms, which are highly associated with anxiety disorders, is crucial to optimize treatments. In this article, we review recent literature on this topic and present a redefined model of mind-body interaction in anxiety and somatic symptoms, with an emphasis on both bottom-up and top-down processes. Consideration is given to the role played in this interaction by predisposing physiological and psychological traits (e.g., interoception, anxiety sensitivity, and trait anxiety) and to the levels at which mindfulness approaches may exert a therapeutic benefit. The proposed model of mind-body interaction in anxiety and somatic symptoms is appraised in the context of joint hypermobility syndrome, a constitutional variant associated with autonomic abnormalities and vulnerability to anxiety disorders.

[The interdependence of coronary pain control and level of anxiety in women with ischiaemic heart disease].

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Gleba, Elzbieta; Nasiłowska-Barud, Alicja; Wysokiński, Andrzej; Jedrych, Marian

2012-01-01

Interdependences between pain and anxiety in cardiac ischaemia are multidimensional and complex. Both of these phenomena share a lot of traits and they tend to reinforce each other at physiological level. Apart from arduousness of pain, cognitive understanding of its nature becomes an important mediating factor. One of important characteristics of the patient's attitude towards their illness is localization of pain control. The aim of the study was to analyze an interdependence between an anxiety as a state and as a trait and the localization of pain control in women with coronary heart decease. The study included 52 female patients hospitalised at The Department of Cardiology of The Medical University of Lublin who underwent coronarography. The used methods included an interview, State - Trait Anxiety Inventory of Spielberger (STAI) and The Beliefs about Pain Control Questionnaire (BPCQ). The results did not confirm an often suggested opinion that internal localization of pain control reduces anxiety and activates the patient. The intensity of the internal localization of pain control correlates significantly with the intensity of the dependence of pain of activity of the doctors as well as on the anxiety as trait. It is higher in women with lower education. Perhaps better educated patients, not so ready to react with anxiety, can treat pain more realistically as a sign of a pathological process which can be understood and evaluated not so much as a catastrophe. They do not feel personally responsible for the pain, either, and are able to accept the limits of the doctor's assistance, having no unrealistic expectations with regard to the pain treatment. The results of the research indicate that in women with ischiaemic heart decease better adjustment to the illness and a lower level of anxiety as a trait are connected with the understanding and acceptance of their situation by the patient, rather than with too big extent of expectations towards the control of pain

Factors associated with social anxiety disorder in a group

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Özşahin, Akatlı Kürşad; Altıntaş, Ebru

2018-04-30

Background/aim: Mental disorders may accompany obesity. This study aims to evaluate the association between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and obesity and the risk factors for SAD in obese female patients. Materials and methods: A total of 114 obese patients and 110 healthy controls were included. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI I-II), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) were administered to assess anxiety, depression, and social anxiety levels. Scale scores were analyzed statistically. Results: The rate of SAD in obese female patients was found to be 8.8%. Anxiety, depression, and social anxiety levels were significantly higher in the obesity group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). According to linear regression analyses, a significant association between LSAS anxiety level and age, prior surgery, social support, history of being teased, BDI, and BAI was found. Conclusion: The present study shows that many factors are related to obesity and SAD in obese female patients. The clinical implications of these findings should be considered. Interventions for these factors may help prevent SAD in obese female patients.

The Effect of Aromatherapy on Anxiety in Patients

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Barati, Farzaneh; Nasiri, Ahmad; Akbari, Negarin; Sharifzadeh, Gholamreza

2016-01-01

Background Anxiety is the most common mental disorder in end-stage renal disease patients. The use of aromatherapy as a treatment for anxiety has increased substantially in most countries. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effect of inhaling rose water aromatherapy on anxiety in hemodialysis patients. Methods This randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out in the hemodialysis ward of Birjand Vali-Asr hospital on 46 patients who were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The standard state-trait anxiety inventory of Spielberger was used to investigate the anxiety level of the samples. The experimental group inhaled rose water for 4 weeks, but the control group did not undergo any intervention. At the end of week 2 and week 4, the participants’ anxiety was measured, and the results were statistically analyzed. Results Mean scores of state and trait anxiety in the experimental group before intervention were 47/47 ± 7/6 and 49/56 ± 13/8, respectively; those after week 4 following the intervention were reduced to 37/1 ± 6/5 and 42/9 ± 10/1; inhalation of rose water fragrance in the experimental group caused a significant decrease (P < 0.001) in the state and trait anxiety levels compared with controls (P = 0.43). Conclusions According to the present study, rose water noticeably reduces the anxiety of hemodialysis patients. Therefore, inhalation of rose water can improve the patient’s emotional and spiritual condition during hemodialysis treatment. PMID:27878109

Social Anxiety and Aggression in Behaviorally Disordered Children.

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Gonzalez, Ketty P.; And Others

1996-01-01

Thirty-nine boys in classes for students with behavioral disturbances were given questionnaires on trait anxiety, social anxiety, empathy, depression, and self-esteem, while teachers rated their aggression. Results showed that anxiety and empathy scores were not correlated with aggression, while social anxiety was positively correlated with trait…

No relationship between baseline salivary alpha-amylase and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Score in drug-naïve patients with short-illness-duration first episode major depressive disorder: An exploratory study.

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Szarmach, Joanna; Cubała, Wiesław-Jerzy; Landowski, Jerzy; Chrzanowska, Anna

2017-04-01

Salivary α-amylase (sAA) activity alternations are observed in major depressive disorder (MDD) being associated with depression severity and its specific psychopathological dimensions with anxiety being attributed to distress. No data is available on sAA in MDD according to Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The exploratory study examines whether and to what extent baseline sAA level is interrelated to the psychopathological features including severity of symptoms and specific psychopathological dimensions. The basal, non-stimulated sAA activity was studied in 20 non-late-life adult, treatment-naïve MDD patients with short-illness-duration and in 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls along with psychometric assessments with Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Significantly lower ( p =0.011) sAA activity was observed in MDD as compared to controls. No significant correlations were observed between sAA activity and the total HAMD-17 score as well as with regard to the specific core depression, insomnia, anxiety and somatic HAM-D psychopathological dimensions. No significant correlations were also found between sAA and STAIX-1 and STAIX-2 scores. Low baseline sAA levels in MDD with no correlations between sAA and psychopathological features including severity of symptoms and specific psychopathological dimensions was found. Key words: Salivary alpha-amylase, major depressive disorder, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.

Influences of age and anxiety on processing of emotional information in children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinholdt-Dunne, Marie Louise; Mogg, Karin; Esbjørn, Barbara Hoff

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disturbances in childhood (Costello 2003). Theorists suggest that information-processing biases for emotional information play an important role in the development of anxiety disorders (Kendall & Ronan, 1990), and that development/age affects...... information-processing biases due to its significant relationship with executive functioning levels and cognitive maturation (Lonigan et al., 2004). The present study aimed to further investigate the relationships between information-processing biases and childhood development. Information-processing bias...... was assessed using an emotional Stroop paradigm with angry, happy and neutral faces. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C; Spielberger et al., 1983). There were four groups of schoolchildren (N = 67, aged 7 - 14) divided by median splits on trait anxiety...

Compensatory internet use among individuals higher in social anxiety and its implications for well-being

OpenAIRE

Weidman, Aaron C.; Fernandez, Katya C.; Levinson, Cheri A.; Augustine, Adam A; Larsen, Randy J.; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.

2012-01-01

The social compensation hypothesis states that the internet primarily benefits individuals who feel uncomfortable communicating face-to-face. In the current research, we tested whether individuals higher in social anxiety use the internet as a compensatory social medium, and whether such use is associated with greater well-being. In Study 1, individuals higher in social anxiety reported greater feelings of comfort and self-disclosure when socializing online than less socially anxious individu...

Efficiency of brainwave entrainment by binaural beats in reducing anxiety

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Ahmad Alipoor

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Anxiety is a fundamental phenomenon that is a common symptom in all mental disorders. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of brainwave entrainment on anxiety reduction using binaural beats. Methods: In this experimental double-blind study, 30 employees were selected from an engineering research firm through random sampling and replacement and divided into two groups: control group and experimental group. All participants completed the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI. Then, the experimental group listened to binaural beats which was recorded on a non-vocal piece of music for 4 weeks, 3 sessions each week. Each session lasted about 20 minutes. At the same time, the control group listened to the background music without any entrainment sound. At the end, both groups completed the anxiety questionnaire and the anxiety scores of both groups obtained before and after intervention were analyzed by ANCOVA. Results: The findings showed that the brainwave entrainment using binaural beats led to the significant reduction of state anxiety (P<0.001 and trait anxiety (P<0.018. Conclusion: Brainwave entrainment using binaural beats is an effective factor in decreasing state and trait anxiety; so, it can be used to reduce anxiety in mental health centers.

Effects of computer-based immediate feedback on foreign language listening comprehension and test-associated anxiety.

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Lee, Shu-Ping; Su, Hui-Kai; Lee, Shin-Da

2012-06-01

This study investigated the effects of immediate feedback on computer-based foreign language listening comprehension tests and on intrapersonal test-associated anxiety in 72 English major college students at a Taiwanese University. Foreign language listening comprehension of computer-based tests designed by MOODLE, a dynamic e-learning environment, with or without immediate feedback together with the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) were tested and repeated after one week. The analysis indicated that immediate feedback during testing caused significantly higher anxiety and resulted in significantly higher listening scores than in the control group, which had no feedback. However, repeated feedback did not affect the test anxiety and listening scores. Computer-based immediate feedback did not lower debilitating effects of anxiety but enhanced students' intrapersonal eustress-like anxiety and probably improved their attention during listening tests. Computer-based tests with immediate feedback might help foreign language learners to increase attention in foreign language listening comprehension.

Philanthropic Commitment Traits for Waqf in Higher Education

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Siti Khadijah, A. M.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Philanthropic commitment in the form of waqf is important particularly among younger working adults in ensuring sustainable flow of funds for charitable purposes. One of the vital usages of such funds is funding for higher education. A question is raised on the commitment of younger adults in such giving. This study examines waqf commitment traits among waqif (waqf contributors for higher education funding. The specific objective of this study is to measure the factors that influence the waqif to contribute their property or income into waqf for higher education fund. For the purpose of this study, 400 questionnaires have been distributed to working young adult respondents in the Klang Valley area. Waqf commitment attributes comprising of Religiosity, Trust, Altruism, Personal Characteristics, SelfImage, Psychological Benefits, Social Norms and Personal Satisfaction are examined. The findings reveal that Religiosity, Altruism, Personal Satisfaction and Commitment are significant attributes in explaining waqf commitment. However, Trust and Social Norm are not significant.

Insecure Attachment, Maladaptive Personality Traits, and the Perpetration of In-Person and Cyber Psychological Abuse.

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Bui, Nghi H; Pasalich, Dave S

2018-02-01

Although past findings show that insecure attachment and maladaptive personality traits confer risk for perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV), little is known about how these factors may underpin psychological abuse (PA) committed in-person and via technology. This study examined whether borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits and psychopathic traits account for indirect effects of insecure attachment on the perpetration of face-to-face and cyber PA. Participants included a community-based sample ( N = 200; M age = 22.28 years) in Australia who completed a battery of online questionnaires. Results from bivariate correlations showed that elevated levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance, and higher scores on BPD traits and psychopathic traits, were significantly associated with the perpetration of both face-to-face and cyber PA. Findings from mediation analysis indicated that attachment anxiety was indirectly linked with the perpetration of both forms of PA via elevated scores on BPD traits and psychopathic traits. High levels of psychopathic traits accounted for the indirect effects of attachment avoidance on both forms of PA. Results support the theory that insecure attachment and maladaptive personality functioning might be involved in the development and/or maintenance of the perpetration of PA. These findings have implications for preventive and treatment programs for the perpetration of IPV in terms of shedding new light on potential risk factors for engagement in face-to-face and technology-based PA.

Correlação entre ansiedade e performance comunicativa Correlation between anxiety and communicative performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Alice Figueirêdo de Almeida

2011-12-01

anxiety (LA and high anxiety (HA. Psychological parameters (STAI and vocal parameters (self-assessment through the vocal signs and symptoms questionnaire and the Voice-Related Quality of Life - V-RQoL protocol; perceptual, auditory and visual assessment of vocal behavior with the description of voice, speech and body parameters; and acoustic analysis. The sustained production o the vowel /a/, counting numbers, and a discourse regarding the subjects' greatest anxiety moments constituted the analyzed material. RESULTS: The higher the trait anxiety indicated by STAI, the greater the evidence of anxiety in connected speech and discourse; the higher the vocal pitch, the greater the impairment in speech articulation, coordination between breathing and speech, body movement and facial expression. The higher the state anxiety, the greater the evidence of anxiety in various parameters of the speech, with imbalance in vocal resonance, alterations in the modulation and articulation of speech and in facial expression. CONCLUSION: The trait and state of anxiety differentiated the communicative behavior of individuals, involving changes in the body, speech and voice.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome: the effects on state and trait anxiety and the autonomic nervous system during induced rectal distensions - An uncontrolled trial.

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Edebol-Carlman, Hanna; Schrooten, Martien; Ljótsson, Brjánn; Boersma, Katja; Linton, Steven; Brummer, Robert Jan

2018-01-26

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), is a common multifactorial gastrointestinal disorder linked to disturbances in the microbe gut-brain axis. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in face-to-face format has showed promising results on IBS and its associated psychological symptoms. The present study explored for the first time if CBT for IBS affects the autonomic nervous system (ANS) during experimentally induced visceral pain and cognitive stress, respectively. The levels of state and trait anxiety, current and perceived stress were also evaluated. In this uncontrolled trial, individual CBT was performed in face-to-face format for 12 weeks in 18 subjects with IBS. Heart rate variability and skin conductance were measured during experimentally induced visceral pain and during a cognitive task (Stroop color-word test), before and after intervention. The levels of state and trait anxiety as well as self-rated current and perceived stress were also measured before and after the intervention. CBT did not affect ANS activity during experimentally induced visceral pain and cognitive stress. The sympathetic activity was high, typical for IBS and triggered during both visceral pain and cognitive stress. The levels of state and trait anxiety significantly decreased after the intervention. No significant changes in self-rated current or perceived stress were found. Results suggest that face-to-face CBT for IBS improved anxiety- a key psychological mechanism for the IBS pathophysiology, rather than the autonomic stress response to experimentally induced visceral pain and cognitive stress, respectively. This study indicates that IBS patients present high levels of stress and difficulties coping with anxiety and ANS activity during visceral pain and a cognitive stress test, respectively. These manifestations of IBS are however not targeted by CBT, and do not seem to be central for the study participants IBS symptoms according to the current and our previous study. Face-to-face CBT

Personality traits and gender-specific income expectations in Dutch higher education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Need, Ariana; Jong, Uulkje de

2008-01-01

In this article we examine gender differences in income expectations of students in higher education. We found quite large gender differences. Men and women differ significantly in the income they expect to earn at the top of their career. We examined how much personality traits contribute to

The Relationship between the Physical Activity Environment, Nature Relatedness, Anxiety, and the Psychological Well-being Benefits of Regular Exercisers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma Lawton

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Research from a variety of scientific fields suggests that physical activity in nature and feelings of connection to nature enhance psychological health and well-being. This study investigated the psychological health and well-being impact of the physical activity environment for those already undertaking the recommended weekly amount of physical activity. This topic is important for the design of health and well-being environments and interventions involving physical activity. Participants (N = 262 aged 18–71 years (M = 34.5, SD = 13.1 who met the UK physical activity guidelines completed the Nature Relatedness Scale, the trait section of the State Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. Analysis via Multivariate ANOVA indicated that participants who engaged in outdoor physical activity reported significantly lower somatic anxiety levels and higher Nature Relatedness experience (NRexp. Significant results were not evident for wellbeing. Hierarchical regressions revealed that the psychological well-being facet of autonomy, NRexp, and outdoor physical activity predicted lower somatic anxiety, whereas indoor physical activity predicted higher somatic anxiety. Results indicate that somatic anxiety is lower for outdoor physical activity participation, and that outdoor activity, in conjunction with autonomy and NRexp, predicts lower anxiety levels. The findings extend previous work by demonstrating the impact of the physical activity environment on anxiety levels, as well as the contribution of outdoor physical activity and well-being facets to the previously established Nature Relatedness-anxiety relationship.

The Relationship between the Physical Activity Environment, Nature Relatedness, Anxiety, and the Psychological Well-being Benefits of Regular Exercisers

Science.gov (United States)

Lawton, Emma; Brymer, Eric; Clough, Peter; Denovan, Andrew

2017-01-01

Research from a variety of scientific fields suggests that physical activity in nature and feelings of connection to nature enhance psychological health and well-being. This study investigated the psychological health and well-being impact of the physical activity environment for those already undertaking the recommended weekly amount of physical activity. This topic is important for the design of health and well-being environments and interventions involving physical activity. Participants (N = 262) aged 18–71 years (M = 34.5, SD = 13.1) who met the UK physical activity guidelines completed the Nature Relatedness Scale, the trait section of the State Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. Analysis via Multivariate ANOVA indicated that participants who engaged in outdoor physical activity reported significantly lower somatic anxiety levels and higher Nature Relatedness experience (NRexp). Significant results were not evident for wellbeing. Hierarchical regressions revealed that the psychological well-being facet of autonomy, NRexp, and outdoor physical activity predicted lower somatic anxiety, whereas indoor physical activity predicted higher somatic anxiety. Results indicate that somatic anxiety is lower for outdoor physical activity participation, and that outdoor activity, in conjunction with autonomy and NRexp, predicts lower anxiety levels. The findings extend previous work by demonstrating the impact of the physical activity environment on anxiety levels, as well as the contribution of outdoor physical activity and well-being facets to the previously established Nature Relatedness-anxiety relationship. PMID:28694788

Media multitasking is associated with symptoms of depression and social anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Mark W; Alzahabi, Reem; Hopwood, Christopher J

2013-02-01

We investigated whether multitasking with media was a unique predictor of depression and social anxiety symptoms. Participants (N=318) completed measures of their media use, personality characteristics, depression, and social anxiety. Regression analyses revealed that increased media multitasking was associated with higher depression and social anxiety symptoms, even after controlling for overall media use and the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion. The unique association between media multitasking and these measures of psychosocial dysfunction suggests that the growing trend of multitasking with media may represent a unique risk factor for mental health problems related to mood and anxiety. Further, the results strongly suggest that future research investigating the impact of media use on mental health needs to consider the role that multitasking with media plays in the relationship.

[Premorbid stage in the development of anxiety in children].

Science.gov (United States)

Savost'ianova, O L

2002-01-01

The peculiarities of premorbid stage in children, aged 5-15 years, with ICD-10 diagnosis of anxiety-phobic disorders have been studied. The patient's mental state has been described earlier (Savostyanova, 2001). Retrospective evaluation of the patient's state in premorbid allowed to detect the disturbances in personality formation, anxiety phobic reactions and autochthon phases, represented by continuum of subclinical disorders, from floating anxiety to the signs of vital anxiety. These traits are distinguished by instability and inconsistency as well as by mild expression, which did not reach a level of manifest disorders. Personality of the children, who develop anxiety phobic disorders, may be emotionally labile as well as rigid one inclining to negative effectiveness. Hereditable and environment factors influencing anxiety phobic disorders development were detected. The premorbid traits are concluded to reflect inherited anxiety diathesis, which determines the peculiarities of reaction to negative environment and results not only in personality development but also in the large spectrum of future anxiety phobic symptoms.

The Effects of Social Anxiety and State Anxiety on Visual Attention: Testing the Vigilance-Avoidance Hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, J Suzanne; Capozzoli, Michelle C; Dodd, Michael D; Hope, Debra A

2015-01-01

A growing theoretical and research literature suggests that trait and state social anxiety can predict attentional patterns in the presence of emotional stimuli. The current study adds to this literature by examining the effects of state anxiety on visual attention and testing the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis, using a method of continuous visual attentional assessment. Participants were 91 undergraduate college students with high or low trait fear of negative evaluation (FNE), a core aspect of social anxiety, who were randomly assigned to either a high or low state anxiety condition. Participants engaged in a free view task in which pairs of emotional facial stimuli were presented and eye movements were continuously monitored. Overall, participants with high FNE avoided angry stimuli and participants with high state anxiety attended to positive stimuli. Participants with high state anxiety and high FNE were avoidant of angry faces, whereas participants with low state and low FNE exhibited a bias toward angry faces. The study provided partial support for the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis. The findings add to the mixed results in the literature that suggest that both positive and negative emotional stimuli may be important in understanding the complex attention patterns associated with social anxiety. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Fifteen-minute music intervention reduces pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients.

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Chen, Lee-Chen; Wang, Tze-Fang; Shih, Yi-Nuo; Wu, Le-Jung

2013-08-01

Oncology patients may respond to radiation treatment with anxiety expressed as stress, fear, depression, and frustration. This study aimed to investigate effects of music intervention on reducing pre-radiotherapy anxiety in oncology patients. Quasi-experimental study with purposeful sampling was conducted in the Department of Radiation Oncology, at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Subjects were assigned into a music group (n = 100) receiving 15 min of music therapy prior to radiation and a control group (n = 100) receiving 15 min rest prior to radiation. Both groups were evaluated for pre- and post-test anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Physiological indicators of anxiety were measured pre- and post-test. Baseline State/Trait scores and vital signs were comparable between groups (P > 0.05). Mean change in pre- and post-test State/Trait scores showed significant decreases from baseline to post-test in both groups (all P music therapy and control groups in mean change of State anxiety scores (mean decreases 7.19 and 1.04, respectively; P music and control groups (-5.69 ± 0.41 mmHg vs. -0.67 ± 1.29 mmHg, respectively; P = 0.009). Music therapy decreased State anxiety levels, Trait anxiety levels and systolic blood pressure in oncology patients who received the intervention prior to radiotherapy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The status of depression and anxiety in infertile Turkish couples

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Mert Kazandi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Infertility is a major psychosocial crisis as well as being a medical problem. The factors that predict psychosocial consequences of infertility may vary in different gender and different infertile populations.Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether Turkish infertile couples had higher levels of depression and anxiety when compared to non-infertile couples. Our secondary aim was to evaluate the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and levels of depression and anxiety in Turkish infertile couples.Materials and Methods: We designed a descriptive cross sectional study of 248 infertile women and 96 infertile men with no psychiatric disturbance and 51 women and 40 men who have children to evaluate the depression and anxiety levels between infertile couples and fertile couples. A gynecologist evaluated participants for demographic data and then they were visited by a psychologist to perform questionnaire scales which were The Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for the evaluation of the degree of psychopathology. The data were statistically analyzed, with p<0.05 as the level of statistical significance.Results: We observed significant differences between the infertile couples and fertile couples with respect to state and trait anxiety (p<0.0001 while no difference was regarding with depression, both of women and men. Anxiety and depression were observed as independent from gender when infertile women and men were compared (p=0.213.Conclusion: We believed that the psychological management at infertile couples must be individualized with cultural, religious, and class related aspects.

The Relations of Self-Reported Aggression to Alexithymia, Depression, and Anxiety After Traumatic Brain Injury.

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Neumann, Dawn; Malec, James F; Hammond, Flora M

To compare self-reported aggression in people with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI) and examine the relations of aggression to alexithymia (poor emotional insight), depression, and anxiety. Rehabilitation hospital. Forty-six adults with moderate to severe TBI who were at least 3 months postinjury; 49 healthy controls (HCs); groups were frequency matched for age and gender. Cross-sectional study using a quasi-experimental design. Aggression (Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire); alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20); depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9); and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Participants with TBI had significantly higher aggression scores than HCs. For participants with TBI, 34.2% of the adjusted variance of aggression was significantly explained by alexithymia, depression, and anxiety; alexithymia accounted for the largest unique portion of the variance in this model (16.2%). Alexithymia, depression, and anxiety explained 46% of the adjusted variance of aggression in HCs; in contrast to participants with TBI, depression was the largest unique contributor to aggression (15.9%). This was the first empirical study showing that poor emotional insight (alexithymia) significantly contributes to aggression after TBI. This relation, and the potential clinical implications it may have for the treatment of aggression, warrants further investigation.

The Youth Anxiety Measure for DSM-5 (YAM-5): Correlations with anxiety, fear, and depression scales in non-clinical children.

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Muris, Peter; Mannens, Janne; Peters, Lisanne; Meesters, Cor

2017-10-01

The Youth Anxiety Measure for DSM-5 (YAM-5) is a newly developed rating scale for assessing anxiety disorder symptoms of children and adolescents in terms of the contemporary classification system. In the present study, 187 children aged 8-12 years completed the new measure as well as the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), the Short Form of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R-SF), the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ), and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Results indicated that part one of the YAM-5, which measures symptoms of the major anxiety disorders, was most substantially linked with the trait anxiety scale of the STAIC, whereas part two, which measures phobic symptoms, was most clearly associated with the FSSC-R-SF. The correlation between the YAM-5 and the SCAS was also robust, and particularly strong correlations were found between subscales of both questionnaires that assessed similar symptoms. Further, the selective mutism subscale of the YAM-5 was most clearly linked to the SMQ. Finally, the YAM-5 was also significantly correlated with depression symptoms as indexed by the CDI. These findings provide further support for the concurrent validity of the YAM-5. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emotion and affect in mental imagery: Do fear and anxiety manipulate mental rotation performance?

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Sandra eKaltner

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Little is known about the effects of fear as a basic emotion on mental rotation performance. We expected that the emotional arousal evoked by fearful stimuli presented prior to each mental rotation trial would enhance mental rotation performance. Regarding the influence of anxiety, high anxious participants are supposed to show slower responses and higher error rates in this specific visuo-spatial ability. Furthermore, with respect to the embodied cognition viewpoint we wanted to investigate if the influence of fear on mental rotation performance is the same for egocentric and object-based transformations. Results show that fear enhances mental rotation performance, expressed by a higher mental rotation speed. Interestingly, this influence is stimulus-specific: it is restricted to egocentric transformations. Both observation of emotional stimuli and egocentric strategies are associated with left hemisphere activation which could explain a stronger influence on this type of transformation during observation. Another possible notion is the conceptual link between visuo-spatial perspective taking and empathy based on the co-activation of parietal areas. Stronger responses in egocentric transformations could result from this specific link. Regarding the influence of anxiety, participants with high scores on the trait-anxiety scale showed poor results in both reaction time and mental rotation speed. Findings of impoverished recruitment of prefrontal attentional control in patients with high scores in trait anxiety could be the explanation for this reduced performance.

Neuroendocrine models of social anxiety disorder

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van Honk, Jack; Bos, Peter A.; Terburg, David; Heany, Sarah; Stein, Dan J.

2015-01-01

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a highly prevalent and disabling disorder with key behavioral traits of social fearfulness, social avoidance, and submissiveness. Here we argue that hormonal systems play a key role in mediating social anxiety, and so may be important in SAD. Hormonal alterations,

Neuroticism modulates brain visuo-vestibular and anxiety systems during a virtual rollercoaster task.

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Riccelli, Roberta; Indovina, Iole; Staab, Jeffrey P; Nigro, Salvatore; Augimeri, Antonio; Lacquaniti, Francesco; Passamonti, Luca

2017-02-01

Different lines of research suggest that anxiety-related personality traits may influence the visual and vestibular control of balance, although the brain mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. To our knowledge, this is the first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that investigates how individual differences in neuroticism and introversion, two key personality traits linked to anxiety, modulate brain regional responses and functional connectivity patterns during a fMRI task simulating self-motion. Twenty-four healthy individuals with variable levels of neuroticism and introversion underwent fMRI while performing a virtual reality rollercoaster task that included two main types of trials: (1) trials simulating downward or upward self-motion (vertical motion), and (2) trials simulating self-motion in horizontal planes (horizontal motion). Regional brain activity and functional connectivity patterns when comparing vertical versus horizontal motion trials were correlated with personality traits of the Five Factor Model (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion-introversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). When comparing vertical to horizontal motion trials, we found a positive correlation between neuroticism scores and regional activity in the left parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC). For the same contrast, increased functional connectivity between the left PIVC and right amygdala was also detected as a function of higher neuroticism scores. Together, these findings provide new evidence that individual differences in personality traits linked to anxiety are significantly associated with changes in the activity and functional connectivity patterns within visuo-vestibular and anxiety-related systems during simulated vertical self-motion. Hum Brain Mapp 38:715-726, 2017. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relations among Social Anxiety, Eye Contact Avoidance, State Anxiety, and Perception of Interaction Performance during a Live Conversation.

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Howell, Ashley N; Zibulsky, Devin A; Srivastav, Akanksha; Weeks, Justin W

2016-01-01

There is building evidence that highly socially anxious (HSA) individuals frequently avoid making eye contact, which may contribute to less meaningful social interactions and maintenance of social anxiety symptoms. However, research to date is lacking in ecological validity due to the usage of either static or pre-recorded facial stimuli or subjective coding of eye contact. The current study examined the relationships among trait social anxiety, eye contact avoidance, state anxiety, and participants' self-perceptions of interaction performance during a live, four-minute conversation with a confederate via webcam, and while being covertly eye-tracked. Participants included undergraduate women who conversed with same-sex confederates. Results indicated that trait social anxiety was inversely related to eye contact duration and frequency averaged across the four minutes, and positively related to state social anxiety and negative self-ratings. In addition, greater anticipatory state anxiety was associated with reduced eye contact throughout the first minute of the conversation. Eye contact was not related to post-task state anxiety or self-perception of poor performance; although, trends emerged in which these relations may be positive for HSA individuals. The current findings provide enhanced support for the notion that eye contact avoidance is an important feature of social anxiety.

Anxiety, splint treatment and clinical characteristics of patients with osteoarthritis of temporomandibular joint and dental students – a pilot study.

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Tomislav Badel

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of splint treatment for therapy of osteoarthritis of temporomandibular joint, and to compare the level of anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory,STAI and clinical characteristics between 16 patients and 20 asymptomatic dental school students. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI was used for all subjects. Dental students showed a statistically signiicant higher capacity of mouth opening (p<0.05, and lower level of anxiety (p<0.05 for STAI 1, and p<0.001 for STAI 2 than patients. Patients who had suffered chronic pain before splint treatment had a higher value of anxiety by STAI 1 test (p<0.05.

The influence of gender on social anxiety spectrum symptoms in a sample of university students.

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Dell'Osso, Liliana; Abelli, Marianna; Pini, Stefano; Carpita, Barbara; Carlini, Marina; Mengali, Francesco; Tognetti, Rosalba; Rivetti, Francesco; Massimetti, Gabriele

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to explore social anxiety spectrum gender differences, in a sample of university students. Overall, 823 University of Pisa students were assessed by Social Anxiety Spectrum Self-Report Questionnaire (SHYSR). Using a total score of 68 as the optimal diagnostic threshold, we classified students into two groups with levels of severity: low scorers (60%), significant gender differences emerged for 6 items: females reported higher rates of items related to “Performance fears”, that seemed to confirm the new DSM-5 specifier named “Performance only”, while males reported higher rate in a single item related to “Behavioural inhibition”. Females showed a significant higher total score and “Specific anxieties and phobic features” and “Interpersonal sensitivity” domain scores compared to males, in low severity subgroup, and males showed significant higher “Social phobic traits during childhood and adolescence” and “Behavioural inhibition and somatic symptoms” domain scores compared to females in the high severity subgroup. Finally, rate of individuals declaring to consume alcohol was significantly higher in males than females. Among university students, social anxiety spectrum seems to be more frequent in females than males. In males, social anxiety spectrum is more frequently associated with an early onset, behavioural inhibition and somatic symptoms and, consequently, with higher severity.

Scales for evaluating self-perceived anxiety levels in patients admitted to intensive care units: a review.

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Perpiñá-Galvañ, Juana; Richart-Martínez, Miguel

2009-11-01

To review studies of anxiety in critically ill patients admitted to an intensive care unit to describe the level of anxiety and synthesize the psychometric properties of the instruments used to measure anxiety. The CUIDEN, IME, ISOC, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PSYCINFO databases for 1995 to 2005 were searched. The search focused on 3 concepts: anxiety, intensive care, and mechanical ventilation for the English-language databases and ansiedad, cuidados intensivos, and ventilación mecánica for the Spanish-language databases. Information was extracted from 18 selected articles on the level of anxiety experienced by patients and the psychometric properties of the instruments used to measure anxiety. Moderate levels of anxiety were reported. Levels were higher in women than in men, and higher in patients undergoing positive pressure ventilation regardless of sex. Most multi-item instruments had high coefficients of internal consistency. The reliability of instruments with only a single item was not demonstrated, even though the instruments had moderate-to-high correlations with other measurements. Midlength scales, such the anxiety subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory or the shortened state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory are best for measuring anxiety in critical care patients.

The association between anxiety and measures of glycaemia in a population-based diabetes screening programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aujla, N.; Davies, M. J.; Skinner, T. C.

2011-01-01

diabetes underwent an oral glucose tolerance test and HbA 1c measurement, detailed history, anthropometric measurements and completed the short-form Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results Anxiety was significantly higher in South Asian participants (mean 34.1; sd0.37) compared with White...... European participants (mean 29.8; sd0.13). Significant correlations were not identified between anxiety and fasting (r=-0.01, P=0.75), 2-h glucose (r=-0.10, P=0.24) or HbA 1c (r=0.01, P=0.40). Conclusions Anxiety levels at screening were greater among South Asian people. Fasting, 2-h plasma glucose and Hb......A 1c are not affected by anxiety during screening tests for diabetes. Current and proposed screening methods for diagnosis of diabetes are not affected by anxiety at screening....

Effect of Preoperative Play Interventions on Post Surgery Anxiety

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Narges Alirezaei

2008-12-01

Full Text Available "n "nObjective: Many studies have shown that the level of postoperative distress and anxiety in children is associated with the amount of anxiety during the pre operative period. In this study, we compared the effect of pre-operational attending in a playroom and using play activities on the level of anxiety increment after surgery in an intervention and a control group of Iranian children. "n "nMethod: In a clinical trial, 75 children aged 5 to 12 enrolled in the intervention and the control group. The anxiety symptoms were assessed using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Yale modified Pre operative Anxiety Scale. The mean differences of pre and post operative anxiety scores were calculated and compared using the ANCOVA statistical method. "n "nResults: The two groups had similar demographic characteristics except for age which was higher in the control group. The baseline anxiety score was lower in the intervention compare to the control group and was statistically significant. There was a significant reduction in the trend of anxiety increment after surgery in the intervention group in comparison to the control group. "n "nConclusion: Attending in playrooms and using play activities may reduce the trend of increment in the anxiety level induced by surgical procedures.

Emotional stability, anxiety, and natural killer activity under examination stress.

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Borella, P; Bargellini, A; Rovesti, S; Pinelli, M; Vivoli, R; Solfrini, V; Vivoli, G

1999-08-01

This study was performed to evaluate the relation between a stable personality trait, a mood state and immune response to an examination stress. A self-reported measure of emotional stability (BFQ-ES scale) was obtained in a sample (n = 39) randomly selected from 277 cadets; this personality trait was also investigated by completing a neuroticism scale (Eysenck personality inventory) and a trait-anxiety scale (STAI). Natural killer (NK) cell activity was measured at baseline, long before the examination time and the examination day. The state-anxiety scale evaluated the response to the stressful stimulus. Taking subjects all together, the academic task did not result in significant modification over baseline in NK cell activity. Subjects were then divided into three groups based on emotional stability and state-anxiety scores: high emotional stability/low anxiety, medium, and low emotional stability/high anxiety. Examination stress induced significant increases in NK cell activity in the high emotional stability/low anxiety group, no effect in the medium group, and significant decreases in the low emotional stability/high anxiety group. The repeated-measure ANOVA revealed a significant interaction of group x period (baseline vs. examination) for both lytic units and percent cytolysis. The results did not change after introducing coffee and smoking habits as covariates. Our findings suggest that the state-anxiety acts in concert with a stable personality trait to modulate NK response in healthy subjects exposed to a psychological naturalistic stress. The relation between anxiety and poor immune control has been already described, whereas the ability of emotional stability to associate with an immunoenhancement has not yet reported. The peculiarity of our population, a very homogeneous and healthy group for life style and habits, can have highlighted the role of emotional stability, and may account for the difference with other studies.

Predictors of distress and anxiety during pregnancy | Roos | African ...

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Objective: There is a high incidence of distressing psychological symptoms including anxiety in pregnancy. Nevertheless, predictors of distress and anxiety during pregnancy have not been well characterized. We determined whether temperament and character, trait anxiety, resilience, and social support predicted distress ...

Referral for Fetal Echocardiography is Associated with Increased Maternal Anxiety

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Rosenberg, Katherine B.; Monk, Catherine; Kleinman, Charles S.; Glickstein, Julie S.; Levasseur, Stephanie M.; Simpson, Lynne L.; Williams, Ismee A.

2010-01-01

Background Referral for fetal echocardiography is an acute stressor that may induce significant maternal anxiety. To promote good clinical management of expectant mothers in this situation, including adequate screening for possible psychiatric interventions, data is needed regarding the psychosocial functioning of women scheduled for fECHO procedures. Objective To investigate the association between fECHO and maternal anxiety. Methods Pregnant women answered two questionnaires prior to first fECHO. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) assessed how subjects feel “now” (state) versus how they “usually feel” (trait). Separate state and trait anxiety scores were calculated; scores were compared between the study cohort and a gestational age-matched historical cohort of 31 pregnant women who did not undergo fECHO. A second questionnaire developed by the investigators ascertained pregnancy specific concerns and characteristics. Results 40 subjects were enrolled. The mean state score of the fECHO cohort (42.1±15.1) differed from the historical cohort (32.8±11.3; p=0.006); however there was no difference between trait scores (34.7±10.8 vs. 35.4 ±12.8; p=0.8). A multivariate linear regression model controlling for race and maternal age demonstrated that fECHO was a strong independent predictor of maternal state anxiety score (p=0.004, β=10.4). Conclusions Pregnant women presenting for fECHO report high anxiety levels compared with women not presenting for fECHO. Clinician awareness and sensitivity is recommended and further investigation of modifiers of anxiety in this high risk group should be explored. PMID:20443657

Using Media While Interacting Face-to-Face Is Associated With Psychosocial Well-Being and Personality Traits.

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Lee, Mindy; Murphy, Karen; Andrews, Glenda

2018-01-01

Positive face-to-face human interactions are known to benefit well-being. Drawing upon previous work regarding the interference of media (via technological devices or print) in social interaction, the aim of this study was to identify whether using media during face-to-face interaction could potentially limit the positive effect of interaction on well-being. Participants were 437 university students who completed an online survey which assessed media multitasking behaviors, well-being (trait depression, trait anxiety, social anxiety, empathy, and psychological well-being), and personality traits (Big-5 and narcissism). Face-to-face interaction was positively associated with well-being. However, when media use during face-to-face interaction was considered, there was a negative relationship with well-being (more depression, more anxiety, and less psychological well-being). Those who used certain media types, such as phone or video chatting, listening to music, and gaming, while interacting with others, also had lower scores on measures of empathy. Regression analyses showed significant contributions by these media types to empathy levels, even after controlling for age, gender, and personality traits. Face-to-face media multitasking was related to higher levels of narcissism and neuroticism, and lower levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. This study provides insight into the possible role of media multitasking during face-to-face interaction on psychosocial outcomes.

Co-rumination, anxiety, and maladaptive cognitive schemas: when friendship can hurt

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Carlucci L

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Leonardo Carlucci, Ines D’Ambrosio, Marco Innamorati, Aristide Saggino, Michela Balsamo Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, “G. d’Annunzio” University, Chieti, Italy Background: This study investigated maladaptive cognitive schemas as mediators of the relationship between co-rumination and anxiety. Methods: Self-report measures of co-rumination, trait cognitive and somatic anxiety, and early maladaptive cognitive schemas were provided to a nonclinical sample of 461 young adults. Mediation of co-rumination and trait somatic and cognitive anxiety by each early maladaptive schema domain was tested using nonparametric, bootstrap-based resampling. Results: Significant associations between co-rumination and trait and cognitive anxiety were mediated by schema domains related to Rejection and Disconnection, Overvigilance and Inhibition, and Impaired Autonomy. The association between co-rumination and somatic anxiety was mediated by domains related to Rejection and Disconnection and Impaired Autonomy. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that those who engage in co-rumination, potentially resulting in clinical levels of anxiety, might benefit from treatment that focuses on themes of rejection sensitivity and belonging, beliefs about autonomy, and when the anxiety is more cognitive, treatment that focuses on hypercriticalness and emotional inhibition too. Keywords: anxiety, communication, domain, mediation, adults

Cancer or no cancer: the influence of trait anxiety and diagnosis on quality of life with breast cancer and benign disease: a prospective, longitudinal study

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Keyzer-Dekker, Claudia M. G.; de Vries, Jolanda; Mertens, Marlies C.; Roukema, Jan A.; van der Steeg, Alida F. W.

2013-01-01

High trait anxiety (HTA) causes an impaired quality of life (QOL) and fatigue in women with breast cancer (BC) and benign breast disease (BBD). We examined whether the lowered QOL was determined solely by the personality characteristic HTA or by the combination of personality and diagnosis. In a

Identification of subgroups of patients with tension type headache with higher widespread pressure pain hyperalgesia.

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Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, César; Benito-González, Elena; Palacios-Ceña, María; Wang, Kelun; Castaldo, Matteo; Arendt-Nielsen, Lars

2017-12-01

Identification of subgroups of patients with different levels of sensitization and clinical features can help to identify groups at risk and the development of better therapeutic strategies. The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of patients with tension type headache (TTH) with different levels of sensitization, clinical pain features, and psychological outcomes. A total of 197 individuals with TTH participated. Headache intensity, frequency, and duration and medication intake were collected with a 4-weeks diary. Pressure pain thresholds were assessed bilaterally over the temporalis muscle, C5-C6 joint, second metacarpal and tibialis anterior muscle to determine widespread pressure pain hyperalgesia. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale assessed anxiety and depression. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory evaluated the state and trait levels of anxiety. The Headache Disability Inventory evaluated the burden of headache. Health-related quality of life was determined with the SF-36 questionnaire. Groups were considered as positive (three or more criteria) or negative (less than three criteria) on a clinical prediction rule: headache duration patients with TTH with higher sensitization, higher chronicity of headaches and worse quality of life but lower frequency and duration of headache episodes. This subgroup of individuals with TTH may need particular attention and specific therapeutic programs for avoiding potential chronification.

Personality change following internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for severe health anxiety.

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Erik Hedman

Full Text Available Personality traits have traditionally been viewed as stable, but recent studies suggest that they could be affected through psychological treatment. Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT for severe health anxiety (DSM-IV hypochondriasis has been shown to be effective in reducing health anxiety, but its effect on measures of personality traits has not been investigated. The main aim of this study was to investigate the impact of ICBT on personality traits in the three broad dimensions--neuroticism, extraversion and aggression. We hypothesized that participants in ICBT would reduce their level of neuroticism compared to controls that did not receive the active treatment. No specific predictions were made regarding extraversion and aggression. Data from a randomized controlled trial were used in which participants were allocated to 12 weeks of ICBT (n = 40 or to a basic attention control condition (n = 41. Personality traits were assessed with the Swedish Universities Scales of Personality and the primary outcome of health anxiety was the Health Anxiety Inventory. There was a significant interaction effect of group and time on neuroticism-related scales, indicating larger pre- to post-treatment reductions in the Internet-based CBT group compared to the control condition. Analyses at 6-month follow-up showed that changes were stable. Traits relating to extraversion and aggression were largely unchanged. This study is the first to demonstrate that a brief ICBT intervention for severe health anxiety causes long-term changes in measures of personality traits related to neuroticism. The treatment thus has a broader impact than just reducing health anxiety.Clinicaltrials.gov (ID NCT00828152.

Patient anxiety before invasive diagnostic examinations: coronarography, arteriography, and colonoscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gryz, J.; Izdebski, P.

2005-01-01

The aim of this study was to answer such questions as: 1) Do patients show higher levels of anxiety (cognitive and/or physiological rates) before invasive examinations? 2) Does the type of invasive diagnostic examinations influence the patients' anxiety level? 3) Does the level of the patients' knowledge about coronarography, arteriography, or colonoscopy cause differences in their anxiety levels? The study was conducted at the Military Clinical Hospital in Bydgoszcz in the Departments of Gastroenteriology, Radiology, and Cardiology and in the Clinic of General Surgery, Chest and Vessels, and lasted seven months, from August 2002 to February 2003. 93 patients (29 women and 64 men) qualifying for different invasive examinations participated in the study. The participants were divided in three groups. The first consisted of patients awaiting coronarography, the second arteriography of the lower limbs, and the third colonoscopy. The participants were chosen on the basis of medical criteria. A structured interview was used to assess their levels of knowledge about the invasive examination they were to undergo. Anxiety was assessed with the Inventory of State and Trait Anxiety and by blood pressure measurement. On the basis of the obtained data we conclude that patients awaiting invasive examinations have higher physiological anxiety rates and that the type of invasive examination significantly influences patient anxiety levels. The type of examination did not differentiate patients according to their cognitive rates of anxiety: the level was average. The levels of patient knowledge about coronarography, colonoscopy, and arteriography did not cause any differences in physiological and cognitive rates of anxiety. The authors conclude that the cognitive aspects of anxiety do not influence the way patients experience physiological anxiety before invasive examinations. (author)

Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults with ADHD.

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Edel, M-A; Rudel, A; Hubert, C; Scheele, D; Brüne, M; Juckel, G; Assion, Hans-Jörg

2010-09-24

given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 73 German adults with ADHD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria participated. We used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) to assess different features of social anxiety, and we applied the German "Experience of Emotions Scalerdquor; (SEE) to measure emotion processing. 40% of the sample were found to meet the DSM-IV criteria of social anxiety disorder, and about 22% were highly alexithymic according to a TAS-20 total score ≥ 61; however, the mean TAS-20 total score of 50.94 ± 9.3 was not much higher than in community samples. Alexithymic traits emerged to be closely linked to emotion processing problems, particularly 'difficulty accepting own emotions', and to social anxiety features. our findings suggest interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing dysfunction, and social anxiety in adults with ADHD, which may entail the therapeutic implication to thoroughly instruct these patients to identify, accept, communicate, and regulate their emotions to aid reducing interaction anxiety.

Acute Stress and Anxiety in Medical Residents on the Emergency Department Duty

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Joaquín M. González-Cabrera

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this longitudinal study were to compare salivary cortisol release patterns in medical residents and their self-perceived anxiety levels between a regular working day and a day when on call in the emergency department (ED-duty day and to determine any differences in cortisol release pattern as a function of years of residency or sex. The study included 35 residents (physicians-in-training of the Granada University Hospital, Granada, Spain. Acute stress was measured on a regular working day and an ED-duty day, evaluating anxiety-state with the Spanish version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Physiological stress assessment was based on salivary cortisol levels. Cortisol release concentrations were higher on an ED-duty day than on a regular working day, with a significantly increased area under the curve (AUC (p < 0.006. This difference slightly attenuated with longer residency experience. No gender difference in anxiety levels was observed (p < 0.001. According to these findings, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and anxiety levels of medical residents are higher on an ED-duty day than on a regular working day.

Mechanisms of attentional selection bias for threatening emotions of anger and disgust in individuals with high-trait anxiety.

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Xia, Luyao; Cui, Lixia; Zhang, Qin; Dong, Xiaofei; Shi, Guangyuan

2018-03-07

There are still some controversies that attentional bias to negative emotions in individuals with high-trait anxiety (HTA), as compare with those with low-trait anxiety (LTA), occurs in the engagement or disengagement facet of attentional selectivity and whether this attentional bias is affected by negative emotional types. In this study, we explored the different attentional selectivity mechanisms for threatening emotions of anger and disgust between individuals with HTA and LTA using the variant attentional-probe paradigm. The results showed that under the engagement condition, the HTA group's attentional bias index of the anger mood was negative and was significantly less than the disgusting mood (positive) and that the P1 was smaller with angry faces as compared with neutral faces, which was separate from the results of the disgusted faces, having a significant difference with neutral faces on P1 component. In the LTA group, under the disengagement condition, the attentional bias index of the disgusting mood was significantly bigger than the attentional bias index of the anger mood. Moreover, the P1 of the disgusted faces was significantly bigger than the P1 of the angry faces. The topographical maps were also made to reveal the different neural underpinnings. The results suggested that there were different mechanisms of selective attentional bias for threatening emotions of anger and disgust in individuals with HTA. HTA individuals were characterized by facilitated attentional engagement with angry faces and impaired attentional engagement with disgusted faces. LTA individuals had different neural underpinnings and had impaired attentional disengagement with disgusted faces.

Thought-action fusion and anxiety disorders symptoms in normal adolescents.

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Muris, P; Meesters, C; Rassin, E; Merckelbach, H; Campbell, J

2001-07-01

The present study examined thought-action fusion (TAF) in a large sample of normal adolescents (n=427). Participants completed the Thought-Action Fusion Questionnaire for Adolescents (TAFQ-A) and scales measuring trait anxiety, symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, other anxiety disorders, and depression. Results showed that the TAFQ-A is a reliable instrument assessing two dimensions of TAF, viz. Morality (i.e., the belief that unacceptable thoughts are morally equivalent to overt actions) and Likelihood (i.e., the belief that thinking of an unacceptable or disturbing situation will increase the probability that that situation actually occurs). Furthermore, TAF was not only associated with symptoms of OCD, but also with symptoms of other anxiety disorders and depression. However, when controlling for levels of trait anxiety, most connections between TAF and anxiety disorders symptoms disappeared. Symptoms of OCD and generalised anxiety remained significantly related to TAF. Altogether, the data are supportive of the notion that TAF is involved in a broad range of anxiety disorders and in particular OCD.

The Efficacy of Prescribed Casual Videogame Play in Reducing Symptoms of Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study.

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Fish, Matthew T; Russoniello, Carmen V; O'Brien, Kevin

2014-10-01

Anxiety is a natural reaction to stress, but when excessive, it can develop into a debilitating disorder. Traditional treatments such as pharmaceuticals and psychotherapy have demonstrated efficacy in alleviating anxiety symptoms but are often costly and stigmatizing. This study tested whether a regimen of prescribed casual videogame (CVG) play could reduce individuals' anxiety symptom severity in a depressed population. CVGs are defined as fun, easy to play, spontaneous, and extremely popular. Data were taken from a larger study on depression and CVGs. Participants were screened for depression using a score of ≥5 (mild depression) on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. After completing pre-intervention questionnaires, participants were randomized into the experimental (n=30) or control (n=29) group. Participants in the experimental group were prescribed a CVG of their choice to play three times per week, for 30 minutes, over a 1-month period. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to test the hypothesis. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant interaction of group by time for state and trait anxiety measures, supporting the hypothesis that anxiety severity would be different by group post-intervention. When state and trait anxiety measures were compared using within-subjects contrasts and between-group analyses, significant decreases in anxiety symptom severity were demonstrated. A prescribed regimen of CVG play significantly reduced state and trait anxiety symptom severity as measured by the STAI. Clinicians should consider using these easy-to-use and low-cost CVGs to address symptoms associated with state and trait anxiety.

Anxiety in close relationships is higher and self-esteem lower in patients with irritable bowel syndrome compared to patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

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Bengtsson, Mariette; Sjöberg, Klas; Candamio, Martina; Lerman, Annie; Ohlsson, Bodil

2013-04-01

Previous research has suggested an interaction between personality factors and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as well as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We therefore aimed to elucidate differences in psychological and coping functioning between patients with IBD and IBS, and to assess the relationship of disease activity with these functions. Seventy-four patients with IBD (mean age 43±17 years, range 18-82 years) and 81 patients with IBS (mean age 37±12 years, range 21-66 years) completed the questionnaires; Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Toronto Alexithymia, Experiences in Close Relationships, and Sense of Coherence. Disease activity was evaluated either by the Harvey-Bradshaw index, the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index, or the Visual Analogue Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The study revealed that patients with IBS had higher degree of anxiety in close relationships than patients with IBD (p=0.003), and lower self-esteem (p=0.001). No other statistical differences between the whole groups IBS and IBD or between subgroups were seen. The fact that patients with IBS seem to have higher levels of anxiety in relationships and lower self-esteem could influence the way the patient deal with the disease and how the communication with health care professionals works out. A higher awareness of the importance of past negative life events should be taken into consideration. Whether the disease or the personal traits are the primary event should be addressed in future research. Copyright © 2012 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of social anxiety on student learning and well-being in higher education

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Russell, G.; Topham, P.

2012-01-01

Background: This paper reports findings from two complementary web-surveys conducted in the UK, in\\ud which 787 university students described their experiences of social anxiety.\\ud \\ud Aims: The aim was to explore the impact of social anxiety on student learning and well-being in the context of higher education.\\ud \\ud Method: Participants self-selected using a screening tool and completed a web-based questionnaire.\\ud \\ud Results: The findings are consistent with previous research on social...

[The degree of asthma severity in children and the level of maternal anxiety and depression].

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Witkowska-Płusa, Urszula

2015-02-01

Care for sick children most often falls to mothers, which may affect their mental state, causing the states of depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the severity of asthma in children and the level of anxiety and depression in mothers, taking into account the importance of the material status of the family, the educational level of the mothers, the presence of critical events, as well as the coexistence of allergic diseases in other family members. The study included 60 mothers of children with bronchial asthma. Age of mothers in the investigated families was on average 37.28 +/- 6.24 years, and most had a high school education (55.0%) or higher (28.3%). 16.7% of mothers and 8.3% fathers suffered from asthma. 13.3% of mothers of children with asthma were brought child alone. To assess the level of anxiety the inventory for measuring state and trait anxiety (STAI - State Trait Anxiety Inventory) developed by Spielberger, Gorsuch'a and Lushene'a was applied. To determine the changes in depressive the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI - Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire) was used. The Student's t test was included for two independent populations and a comparison of the results obtained in the questionnaire for diagnosing the level of anxiety and depression. For other parameters the correlation coefficient r-Pearson rank and Kendall's tau were performed. Mothers of children with moderate asthma compared to mothers of children with mild asthma had higher levels of anxiety (both state and properties), and also a slightly higher level of depression. Maternal age was connected positively and moderately strongly with the number held by children (r = 0.380; p = 0.003) and age of a child with asthma (r = 0.613, p = 0.0005). The duration of the child's disease was associated positively and moderately strongly with the level of state anxiety mother (X-1) (r = 0.345; p = 0.007) and a bit less and also positively with the

A common genetic variant in the neurexin superfamily member CNTNAP2 is associated with increased risk for selective mutism and social anxiety-related traits.

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Stein, Murray B; Yang, Bao-Zhu; Chavira, Denise A; Hitchcock, Carla A; Sung, Sharon C; Shipon-Blum, Elisa; Gelernter, Joel

2011-05-01

Selective mutism (SM), considered an early-onset variant of social anxiety disorder, shares features of impaired social interaction and communication with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) suggesting a possible shared pathophysiology. We examined association of a susceptibility gene, contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2), for ASDs and specific language impairment with SM and social anxiety-related traits. Sample 1 subjects were 99 nuclear families including 106 children with SM. Sample 2 subjects were young adults who completed measures of social interactional anxiety (n = 1028) and childhood behavioral inhibition (n = 920). Five single nucleotide polymorphisms in CNTNAP2 (including rs7794745 and rs2710102, previously associated with ASDs) were genotyped. Analyses revealed nominal significance (p = .018) for association of SM with rs2710102, which, with rs6944808, was part of a common haplotype associated with SM (permutation p = .022). Adjusting for sex and ancestral proportion, each copy of the rs2710102*a risk allele in the young adults was associated with increased odds of being >1 SD above the mean on the Social Interactional Anxiety Scale (odds ratio = 1.33, p = .015) and Retrospective Self-Report of Inhibition (odds ratio = 1.40, p = .010). Although association was found with rs2710102, the risk allele (a) for the traits studied here is the nonrisk allele for ASD and specific language impairment. These findings suggest a partially shared etiology between ASDs and SM and raise questions about which aspects of these syndromes are potentially influenced by CNTNAP2 and mechanism(s) by which these influences may be conveyed. Copyright © 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparing Facebook Users and Facebook Non-Users: Relationship between Personality Traits and Mental Health Variables - An Exploratory Study.

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Brailovskaia, Julia; Margraf, Jürgen

2016-01-01

Over one billion people use Facebook as a platform for social interaction and self-presentation making it one of the most popular online sites. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in various personality traits and mental health variables between Facebook users and people who do not use this platform. The data of 945 participants (790 Facebook users, 155 Facebook non-users) were collected. Results indicate that Facebook users score significantly higher on narcissism, self-esteem and extraversion than Facebook non-users. Furthermore, they have significantly higher values of social support, life satisfaction and subjective happiness. Facebook non-users have (marginally) significantly higher values of depression symptoms than Facebook users. In both groups, extraversion, self-esteem, happiness, life satisfaction, resilience and social support, on the one hand, and depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, on the other hand, are negatively correlated. Neuroticism is positively associated with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. However, significant differences exist between Facebook users and Facebook non-users regarding some associations of personality traits and mental health variables. Compared to Facebook non-users, the present results indicate that Facebook users have higher values of certain personality traits and positive variables protecting mental health. These findings are of particular interest considering the high importance of social online-platforms in the daily life of many people.

Comparing Facebook Users and Facebook Non-Users: Relationship between Personality Traits and Mental Health Variables - An Exploratory Study.

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Julia Brailovskaia

Full Text Available Over one billion people use Facebook as a platform for social interaction and self-presentation making it one of the most popular online sites. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in various personality traits and mental health variables between Facebook users and people who do not use this platform. The data of 945 participants (790 Facebook users, 155 Facebook non-users were collected. Results indicate that Facebook users score significantly higher on narcissism, self-esteem and extraversion than Facebook non-users. Furthermore, they have significantly higher values of social support, life satisfaction and subjective happiness. Facebook non-users have (marginally significantly higher values of depression symptoms than Facebook users. In both groups, extraversion, self-esteem, happiness, life satisfaction, resilience and social support, on the one hand, and depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, on the other hand, are negatively correlated. Neuroticism is positively associated with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. However, significant differences exist between Facebook users and Facebook non-users regarding some associations of personality traits and mental health variables. Compared to Facebook non-users, the present results indicate that Facebook users have higher values of certain personality traits and positive variables protecting mental health. These findings are of particular interest considering the high importance of social online-platforms in the daily life of many people.

Depression and anxiety among parents of phenylketonuria children

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Gunduz, Mehmet; Arslan, Nur; Unal, Ozlem; Cakar, Sevim; Kuyum, Pınar; Bulbul, Selda F.

2015-01-01

Objective: To investigate the existence of depression and/or anxiety with underlying risk factors among parents of children with classical phenylketonuria (PKU). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Division of Pediatric Metabolism, Ankara Children’s Hospital, Dokuz Eylul University, Kırıkkale University, and Erzurum Local Research Hospital, Turkey, between January and July 2014. Parents of 61 patients and 36 healthy controls completed the self-report questionnaires. We used Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess the parental depression and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory S-T (STAI S-T) to assess parental anxiety. Results: Depression and anxiety scores were significantly higher in the case group (BDI 12.3±9.1; STAI-S: 38.2±9.6; STAI-T: 43.2±6.9) than controls (BDI: 5.4±4.1 p=0.000; STAI-S: 31.8±7.6 p=0.001; STAI-T: 37.0±7.2 p=0.000). Mothers of the patients had higher scores than the other parental groups (BDI: p=0.000, STAI-S: p=0.001 and STAI-T: p=0.000). Logistic regression analysis showed that low educational level of the parent was the only independent factor for depression (OR 9.96, 95% CI: 1.89-52.35, p=0.007) and state anxiety (OR: 6.99, 95% CI: 1.22-40.48, p=0.030) in the case group. Conclusion: A subset of parents with PKU patients have an anxiety or depressive disorder. Supportive services dealing with the parents of chronically ill children such as PKU are needed in order to reduce the level of anxiety. PMID:26492114