Holtzman Inkblot Anxiety and Shading Scores Related to State and Trait Anxiety

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the group Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT) were administered to 52 college Ss in order to determine the relationship between HIT Anxiety (Ax) and Shading (Sh) scores and A-Trait and A-State scores. Neither Ax or Sh correlated with A-Trait. Ax correlated with A-State, both before and during the administration of the inkblots. To determine the influence of productivity or inhibition, inkblot protocol word counts were obtained. Word count failed to correlate with the sc ores on the STAI, but did correlate significantly with the HIT scores.     

State–trait anxiety and existential fear: an empirical analysis

The Fear Checklist consists of 18 items (e.g. intimacy, loss of control, failure) a respondent checks to signify areas that have been or currently are personal sources of concern and/or apprehension. Total scores on the Fear Checklist, along with scores on each of its three subscales (Social, Control, Identity), were correlated with the state (A-State) and trait (A-Trait) anxiety scales of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Both the A-State and A-Trait scales demonstrated significant association with the total Fear Checklist score (r_stat =0.48, r_trait=0.50) and each of its three subscales in a group of 135 male federal prisoners. Despite substantial overlap between the A-State and A-Trait scales (r=0.76), each achieved significant partial correlations with the total Fear Checklist score when the other scale was controlled (i.e. the A-Trait score was controlled in the state anxiety–fear relationship and the A-State score was controlled in the trait anxiety–fear relationship). These results lend preliminary support to the notion that existential fear, as measured by the Fear Checklist, is sensitive to both dispositionally (A-Trait) and situationally (A-State) based anxiety, although the majority of variance shared by the STAI and Fear Checklist was common to both STAI scales.     

The effects of two stressors on state anxiety for students who differ in trait anxiety

The role of individual differences in speech trait anxiety as they related to the magnitude of A-State responses in two stressful situations was examined. Measures of anxiety were obtained before, during, and immediately after Ss gave a speech (ego-stressor) and blew up a balloon until it burst (physical stressor). While exposure to each stressor resulted in dramatic changes in A-State, it was found that differential A-State increases for the high and low speech trait anxious Ss occurred only during the ego-stressor condition. These findings were discussed in terms of Trait-State Anxiety Theory with particular reference to the differential stressful effects of ego and physical stressor on A-State for Ss who differ in A-Trait.     

Reliability and factorial structure of the Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

The Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered to 2150 Chinese secondary-school students. Reliability data revealed that the A-State and A-Trait scales had a high internal consistency, and high item-total correlations were found for most of the items under each scale. Factor analytic data showed that while two factors were abstracted from the A-Trait scale (Anxiety Present and Anxiety Absent), two (Anxiety Present and Anxiety Absent) or three (Anxiety Present, Calmness, and Happiness) factors were abstracted from the A-State scale. By randomly splitting the total sample into two subsamples, factors extracted from the first two factor-solutions could be reproduced reliably and high coefficients of congruence were found. These findings generally suggest that the Chinese A-State and A-Trait scales possess acceptable psychometric properties and the factor analytic data tend to support Spielberger's conception of the multidimensional nature of the A-State and A-Trait scales.This work was supported by UPGC Grant CPAS/714.     

The effects of stress on state and trait anxiety in emotionally disturbed,normal, and delinquent children

The effects of stress on trait and state anxiety of emotionally disturbed, normal, and delinquent children were assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). This scale measures both transitory feelings of apprehension and tension that vary over time as a function of situational stress (A-State) and individual differences in the disposition to experience such anxiety states (A-Trait). Results indicated that A-State increased as a function of stress, whereas A-Trait was relatively stable and impervious to the temporary effects of stress. Use of the STAIC with normal and deviant populations was supported.     

Assessing the Level of Structural Integration Using Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD): Implications for DSM–5

In order to investigate the state-trait anxiety distinction in emotionally disturbed and normal children, the responses of 120 emotionally disturbed children and 126 normal children to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (Spielberger, 1973) were factor analyzed separately. For the emotionally disturbed group two A-State and two A-Trait factors were found with the A-State factors accounting for significantly more of the variance than did A-Trait factors. For the normal group four A-State and two A-Trait factors were found, but there was not a significant difference between the amount of variance accounted for by A-State and A-Trait factors. Results were discussed as supporting the state-trait distinction and as having several implications for future research on anxiety.     

Quantitative difference in the experience of state-trait anxiety in emotionally disturbed and normal children

In order to investigate the state-trait anxiety distinction in emotionally disturbed and normal children, the responses of 120 emotionally disturbed children and 126 normal children to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (Spielberger, 1973) were factor analyzed separately. For the emotionally disturbed group two A-State and two A-Trait factors were found with the A-State factors accounting for significantly more of the variance than did A-Trait factors. For the normal group four A-State and two A-Trait factors were found, but there was not a significant difference between the amount of variance accounted for by A-State and A-Trait factors. Results were discussed as supporting the state-trait distinction and as having several implications for future research on anxiety.     

Trait anxiety,stress, and learning a test of Saltz's hypothesis

Behavioral predictions from Saltz's, Spence's, and Spielberger's interpretations of trait anxiety were tested in a complex verbal learning task. Fifty-three high-anxious and 52 low-anxious male college students were randomly distributed to test conditions of failure-stress, pain-stress, or neutral instructions. The learning data revealed that high-anxious-failure and low-anxious-pain Ss were disrupted and supported Saltz's hypothesis; self-reported anxiety (A-State scale, STAI) was observed only in high-anxious-failure Ss and supported Spielberger's theory of the arousal of state anxiety as a function of trait anxiety. However, the contradiction between self-reported anxiety and learning behavior in low-anxious-pain Ss indicated that the verbal report of these Ss was an inaccurate or insensitive index of arousal.     

Anxiety and locus of conflict in delinquents

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS) were administered to 54 juvenile delinquents (27 males, 27 females). Ratings on locus of conflict were also obtained. The STAIC A-State scale was significantly correlated with internalization but not with externalization or the total maladjustment index. Neither A-Trait nor the anxiety portion of the CMAS was correlated with locus of conflict. All measures of anxiety were significantly correlated with each other. Boys were rated as more internal, external, and maladjusted than girls despite the fact that girls reported more subjectively experienced anxiety.     

Validity of two measures of anxiety in children

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAICj and the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS) were administered to 60 emotionally disturbed children and 60 normal children matched on mental age. Emotionally disturbed children obtained significantly higher scores on the A-State and A-Trait portions of the STAIC and the anxiety portion of the CMAS, while normal children obtained significantly higher scores on the Lie scale of the CMAS. Cutoff scores which maximized the discrimination between normal and emotionally disturbed children were established. Results are interpreted as demonstrating the potential usefulness of these measures for screening.     

The Assessment of State and Trait Anxiety with the Rorschach Test

The literature on the assessment of anxiety with the Rorschach Test was reviewed in terms of Spielberger's conception of anxiety as a relatively stable personality disposition (A-Trait), and as a transitory emotional state (A-State). On the basis of the research evidence, it was concluded that: (1) Shading variables are the best Rorschach measures of A-State; (2) Movement appears to be the most promising Rorschach variable for measuring A-Trait; (3) Longer reaction times and a reduction in the total number of responses seem to reflect defensive reactions of caution and guardedness that accompany high levels of A-State; (4) Elizur's RCT anxiety scale appears to be more closely related to A-Trait than A-State, but may be a confounded measure of both.     

Effects of dogmatism on state anxiety during the analysis and synthesis of new beliefs.

Investigated the concept of dogmatism as a defense mechanism and the role of threat in the synthesis of new beliefs by examining the effects of dogmatism on changes in state anxiety (A-State) during the analysis and synthesis of new beliefs. Sixty female college students were selected on the basis of extreme scores on the Dogmatism Scale and the trait anxiety (A-Trait) scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to work on a task requiring the analysis and synthesis of new beliefs. In support of Rokeach's theory, high dogmatics displayed no change in A-State from the analysis to the synthesis period of the task, while low dogmatics exhibited a significant decline in A-State between the two periods. The clinical implications of these findings were discussed in terms of the role of dogmatism in the processing of personality interpretations and test feedback.     

The interaction model of anxiety and dental treatment

An empirical test of the interaction model of anxiety was provided by assessing the state anxiety and trait anxiety of 20 female and 7 male dental patients undergoing periodontal surgery. Measures of A-State (PARQ IV), A-Trait (S-R GTA), and perceptions (PSRF) were administered in both a high-stress condition (30 min prior to surgery) and a low-stress condition (4 to 6 days after surgery). It was hypothesized that undergoing periodontal surgery would be perceived as a combination ambiguous/physical danger situation. Accordingly it was predicted that high-ambiguous A-Trait subjects would experience greater decreases in A-State than low-ambiguous A-Trait subjects in proceeding from the high-stress to the low-stress condition. Similarly it was predicted that high-physical danger A-Trait subjects would show greater decreases in A-State than low-physical danger A-Trait subjects. Significant A-Trait × stress condition interactions were not expected to occur for noncongruent A-Trait facets (social evaluation and innocuous). Results indicated that, while the high-stress condition was perceived as an ambiguous/physical danger situation, the A-Trait × stress condition interactions were not significant for ambiguous, physical danger, or innocuous A-Trait facets. Contrary to prediction, a significant interaction was observed between social evaluation A-Trait and stress condition. This finding was explained in terms of the complex relationship between situation perception and situation reaction.     

The factor structure of the state-trait anxiety inventory for children: Kindergarten through the fourth grades

The A-State and A-Trait scales of Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) were administered to a total of 1786 kindergarten, 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-grade disadvantaged black children. For the K-2 groups, the STAIC A-State scale was administered twice; it was administered only once in the 3rd–4th grades. The A-Trait scale was administered once to all 10 groups of children. A series of factor analyses, computed separately by sex and grade level, identified 3 factors: trait anxiety and 2 distinct state anxiety factors corresponding to the anxiety-present and anxiety-absent content of the A-State items. Similar 3-factor patterns were observed for both males and females for all five grade levels. Other factor solutions were examined but considered less satisfactory in terms of simple structure and psychological meaningfulness. The results were interpreted as providing strong evidence for the state-trait distinction in anxiety research with children.     

Comparison of Two Tests of Executive Functioning

In order to investigate the effects of a difficult vs. easier task on state-trait anxiety in emotionally disturbed children (N = 30 boys and girls), older (mean age 12.81) and younger (mean age 9.89) groups were exposed to two lists of nonsense syllables, varying on meaningfulness (0% vs. 100%) with measures of A-State and A-Trait anxiety being obtained during a no-stress period and immediately after each list. The results indicated that the younger group did not show any difference in A-State following the two lists, while the older group showed significantly more A-State increase following the difficult list. Results were discussed in terms of previous research, and in terms of possible explanations for the differences between the reactions of the older and younger children.     

The multidimensionality of state and trait anxiety

Abstract.— The two major problems investigated were ( a ) the multidimensionality of trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety, and ( b ) the relationship between A-Trait and A-State under neutral conditions, using two measures of A-Trait (SR-GTA and STAI-T) and two measures of A-State (BRQ and STAI-S). These scales were administered to a sample of Swedish university students (54 males and 105 females). Factor analyses of the GTA situational scales yielded an interpersonal ego threat A-Trait factor and a physical danger A-Trait factor. Factor analyses of the GTA reaction scales and STAI-T reaction scales yielded, respectively, two and three factors providing evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Results of variance components analyses of the GTA scales provided further evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Factor analyses of the BRQand STAI-S measures yielded four and three factors, respectively, indicating the multidimensionality of A-State. The correlations between trait and state measures were higher than the correlations between the two state measures, and a factor analysis of the trait and state scales did not yield separate state and trait factors, questioning the proposition that A-Trait and A-State are distinct concepts. Via latent profile analysis, it was possible to compare A-State differences for different A-Trait profiles. Problems for further research were discussed.     

Psychometric characteristics and norms for disadvantaged third and fourth grade children on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children

The STAIC was administered to 1,522 third and fourth grade Black disadvantaged children from a large metropolitan school district. Although A-State scores were equivalent to the original normative sample, A-Trait levels for boys and girls were found to be higher. Similar alpha coefficients were observed for the A-State scale; the A-Trait scale yielded slightly lower alpha coefficients than the original sample. Norms for the STAIC scales were extended to the third grade level. The small differences between the present study and the original normative study were attributed to differences in population. The STAIC provides a valid and reliable means to measure trait and state anxiety in children of elementary school age.Portions of these data were presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, August 1974. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Charles D. Spielberger for substantial contributions to earlier versions of this paper.     

The anxiety thermometer: a validation study

The aim of our study was to provide validation and reproducible data for the anxiety thermometer. This thermometer is either a continuous or a 10-point Likert-type scale on which subjects are asked to rate their anxiety feelings at a particular moment. It is a quick way to measure state-anxiety. As a validation criterion the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) A-State scale was used. To test the reproducibility of the thermometer, a test-retest correlation coefficient was calculated, with a retrospective second thermometer score. The ego-threatening situation used was a written examination. Two experiments were carried out during different examination conditions. The data consistently indicated that the validity and reproducibility of the anxiety thermometer is fair (correlation coefficients between .60 and .78) In the second study, the possible influence of two factors on the retrospective scores were additionally tested.     

The Anxiety Thermometer: A Validation Study

The aim of our study was to provide validation and reproducible data for the anxiety thermometer. This thermometer is either a continuous or a 10-point Likert-type scale on which subjects are asked to rate their anxiety feelings at a particular moment. It is a quick way to measure state-anxiety. As a validation criterion the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) A-State scale was used. To rest the reproducibility of the thermometer, a test-retest correlation coefficient was calculated, with a retrospective second thermometer score. The ego-threatening situation used was a written examination. Two experiments were carried out during different examination conditions. The data consistently indicated that the validity and reproducibility of the anxiety thermometer is fair (correlation coefficients between .60 and .78). In the second study, the possible influence of two factors on the retrospective scores were additionally tested.     

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

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 and effort required of severely ill or handicapped patients involved in extensive assessment procedures. Another goal was to assess A-Trait with minimal overlap with content that reflects Quality of Life (QoL) and fatigue. Three groups of women either completed the original Trait scale (Groups 1 and 2) or the 10-item trait version (Group 3). In Group 1, exploratory factor analysis with the Scree test, Velicer’s MAP criteria and parallel analysis as tests for factor retention, indicated a 10-item Trait version reflecting two factors: Anxiety Present and Anxiety Absent. In the other groups, confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor short form provided the best fit. In all three groups Trait Anxiety was highly related to Neuroticism. The correlation between Overall QoL and General Health and the Anxiety Present short scale was lower than the correlation between Overall QoL and General Health and the full form (Z = 2.20, p = .03). With this short A-Trait scale it becomes possible to study the relationship between dispositional anxiety and clinically important outcome variables without inflating estimates of these relations through psychometric contamination.