Relationships between locus of control, trait anxiety, and state anxiety: an interactionist perspective.

This study examined the relationships among generalized expectancy for internal or external control, situational expectancy of control over aversive stimuli, trait anxiety level, and state anxiety reactivity. Seventy-two male subjects, selected from the upper and lower halves of the distributions of scores from the I-E and STAI A-Trait Scales, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions of expectancy of control over electric shock. Repeated measures of state anxiety were taken at three points in the experiment, and subjects were asked to rate the degree of control they expected to have in avoiding shocks. Results, based upon analyses of variance, were interpreted as strongly supportive of the use of the interactionist model in understanding the manner in which personality trait and situational variables interact in the determination of subject expectancies of control and anxiety reactivity.     

Fear of fear,trait anxiety and aerobic fitness in relation to state anxiety during adrenalin provocation

Abstract

Psychological explanations of both spontaneous and experimentally induced panic anxiety stress the role of fear of fear, especially fear of bodily symptoms of arousal. Fear of fear is conceptually different from trait anxiety but may be associated with repeated experience of arousal symptoms in fearful situations, while frequent physical exercise may lead to habituation to these symptoms. To test this hypothesis, 44 healthy male volunteers, classified as having high or low trait anxiety and high or low aerobic fitness, underwent a single-dose adrenalin infusion (80 nanogram/kilogram bodyweight/minute). In both groups, during the experiment a significant rise in state anxiety was found; compared to the group with low trait anxiety, subjects with high trait anxiety reported higher levels of state anxiety, which could be attributed to differences in aerobic fitness. In the high-anxious group, subjects showed a greater decrease in state anxiety during the recovery phase. State anxiety during adrenalin was strongly associated with fear of bodily symptoms only in the high-anxious group. Correlations between trait anxiety and somatic anxiety were not significant; state anxiety scores tended to correlate negatively with physical fitness. It is concluded that these results lend support to a fear of fear-model of panic anxiety.     

Measurement of state and trait anxiety in elderly mental health clients

Anxiety in elderly persons is frequently discussed but rarely measured. Difficulties in measuring state and trait anxiety with mental health clients aged 55 and older using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) led the authors to validate the use of the simpler, children's form of their scale. Four types of validity data were found: (1) the childrens' form was highly correlated with the adult form, (2) both scales were significantly correlated with objective ratings of anxiety made by staff, (3) the STAI measures were not correlated with behavioral ratings other than anxiety (discriminant validity), (4) the residential clients were significantly higher in A-trait than the day clients. The nonresidential clients were not more anxious than college students. Discussion emphasizes the necessity of distinguishing between and measuring both state and trait anxiety in order to understand anxiety in the elderly.     

Adult children of workaholics: Self-concept,anxiety, depression,and locus of control

Abstract

Adult children of workaholics were compared with adult children of nonworkaholics on self-concept, anxiety, depression, and locus of control. Results indicated greater depression and external locus of control among the offspring of workaholics. Children of workaholic fathers not only had greater depression and external locus of control but also scored higher on anxiety. No significant differences were found between children of workaholic mothers and children of nonworkaholic mothers on any of the variables. Self-concept was not related to parental workaholism in any of the comparisons.     

Trait anxiety, trait depression, worry, and memory

A study is reported which investigated the proposal that high trait anxiety is associated with a memory bias for worry themes. Forty-five participants were categorised as being high or low trait anxious on the basis of scores on the (Spielberger et al., 1983) (Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y) (1983)). The participants were requested to rate a number of worry and non-worry statements for how much they generally thought about the issues represented by them. Analysis of the ratings given by the participants showed that low trait anxiety individuals thought about the non-worry items significantly more than worry items. The high trait anxiety participants, however, showed little or no difference in the amount of time spent thinking about worry and non-worry themes. In a subsequent free recall task of the statements it was observed that the low trait anxiety group recalled significantly more non-worry than worry items, whereas there was no such difference for the high trait group. It was also found that the degree of memory bias was related to both positive affectivity and trait anxiety. The implications of such findings are discussed.     

Desire for control, locus of control, and proneness to depression

Two personality constructs, desire for control and locus of control, were related to depression among college students. Measures of levels of depression, desire for control, and locus of control were taken from subjects. Approximately six months later 71% of these subjects returned a questionnaire concerning their experiences with depression during that six-month period. It was found that locus of control scores, particularly the extent to which subjects perceived that their lives were controlled by chance, were significantly related to the depression levels. It was also found that high desire for control subjects who held external perceptions of control were most likely to seek nonprofessional help for depression. In addition, high desire for control subjects who perceived their lives as generally controlled by chance were most likely to have suicidal thoughts. The results are interpreted in terms of a general style that may promote a proneness to depression for certain individuals.     

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.     

Determinants of pain experience: Perceived competence, trait anxiety, trait depression and moderator effects

The study examined determining and moderator variables of chronic pain experience. The data indicated strong influences of perceived competence as well as trait anxiety and trait depression. Furthermore some moderator effects could be detected, which were able to explain some extreme states of pain in addition to the effect of the determining variables: subjects with low perceived competence and high trait anxiety suffered significantly more from their pain than subjects with high perceived competence or low trait anxiety. The consequences for further research as well as for pain therapy are discussed.     

Perfectionism and components of state and trait anxiety

The association between dimensions of perfectionism and state and trait anxiety was examined in three studies. Study 1 and Study 2 were correlational studies that investigated the link between dimensions of perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism) and the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS). Taken together, the results indicated that self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionsim are correlated significantly with both the cognitive-worry and autonomic-arousal components of state anxiety. As for the trait anxiety measures, self-oriented perfectionism was associated with the ambiguous and social evaluation facets in Study 1, and socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with the ambiguous and daily routines facets in Study 2. The purpose of Study 3 was to examine perfectionism and state anxiety under conditions of high versus low ego involvement. It was found that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with higher state anxiety, but only in the high ego involvement condition. Self-oriented perfectionism was unrelated to state anxiety in either experimental condition. Overall, the findings indicate that socially prescribed perfectionism is the dimension linked most closely with components of state and trait anxiety, especially under conditions of ego threat. The results are discussed in terms of the need for an interactional approach to the study of the social aspects of both perfectionism and anxiety.     

Are trait self-control and self-control resources mediators of relations between executive functions and health behaviors?

This study investigated associations between executive functions (i.e., inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility) and individual differences in self-control and health behaviors. We examined whether executive functions predict physical activity, sedentary activity, and healthy and unhealthy diets, and whether trait self-control and self-control resources mediate these associations. Three hundred and eighty-five participants completed a questionnaire assessing trait self-control and self-control resources, physical activity, sedentary activity, and healthy and unhealthy diets. They also performed three randomly ordered cognitive tasks, a stop-signal task (i.e., inhibition), a letter memory task (i.e., updating), and a number-letter task (i.e., switching). Structural equation modeling revealed that self-control resources predicted positively physical activity (R² = 0.08), negatively sedentary activity (R² = 0.03) and positively healthy diet (R² = 10). Moreover, trait self-control predicted positively healthy diet (R² = 0.10) and negatively unhealthy diet (R² = 0.19). Moreover, analyses revealed that switching significantly predicted self-control resources, and highlighted three totally mediated relations between this executive function and physical activity, sedentary activity and healthy diet. However, no evidence was found supporting associations between inhibition and updating, and health behaviors, or relations mediated by self-control for these executive functions. The findings suggest the importance of trait self-control and self-control resources for health behavior adoption and pave the way for studies exploring the role of the executive functions in an affective context. Open materials [https://osf.io/hpsjw/].     

Cognitive trait anxiety,stress and effort interact to predict inhibitory control

Few studies have focussed on the link between anxiety and inhibitory control in the absence of stimulus-driven external threat. This two-part experiment examined the interactions between (1) somatic trait anxiety, somatic situational stress (i.e. threat of electric shock), and effort, and (2) cognitive trait anxiety, cognitive situational stress (i.e. ego-threat instructions), and effort, on inhibitory processes using a Go-No-Go paradigm. Trait anxiety was operationalised using questionnaire scores and effort was operationalised using a visual analogue scale. Performance effectiveness was measured using the d′ parameter from signal detection theory and processing efficiency was indexed by the ratio of d′ to response time on correct trials. Results indicated that somatic trait anxiety and stress did not predict effectiveness or efficiency. Cognitive trait anxiety and stress were associated with both inhibitory effectiveness and efficiency deficits; however, contrary to expectations these deficits were evident at higher rather than lower mental effort. Results suggest a distinction between how somatic and cognitive anxiety manifest on tasks involving inhibitory control.     

Vulnerability to false memory: The effects of stress, imagery, trait anxiety, and depression

There is now abundant evidence that false memories can be created inside and outside the laboratory, and much is known about the kinds of techniques and manipulations that encourage the creation of false memories. However, rather less is known about the influence of naturally occurring variables over which the experimenter or clinician has little or no control. The current study investigated the influence of some of these variables on false memory creation. The influence of individual differences in depression, trait anxiety, imagery vividness and the interaction of these factors with stress was studied. Subjects studied series of pictures and words and then attempted to recall all the pictures presented, at a low-stress time and then later at a high-stress time. Intrusions from words at recall were the false memories in this study. Subjects who experience more vivid imagery were more vulnerable to false memories when they were stressed. Low trait anxious subjects were more likely to assign remember judgement to a false memory when they were stressed. These findings are discussed in terms of the source monitoring framework and implications for clinical practice. The author thanks Ainslie Lown for help in collecting and analyzing data from the first part of this study.     

Vulnerability to false memory: The effects of stress, imagery, trait anxiety, and depression

There is now abundant evidence that false memories can be created inside and outside the laboratory, and much is known about the kinds of techniques and manipulations that encourage the creation of false memories. However, rather less is known about the influence of naturally occurring variables over which the experimenter or clinician has little or no control. The current study investigated the influence of some of these variables on false memory creation. The influence of individual differences in depression, trait anxiety, imagery vividness and the interaction of these factors with stress was studied. Subjects studied series of pictures and words and then attempted to recall all the pictures presented, at a low-stress time and then later at a high-stress time. Intrusions from words at recall were the false memories in this study. Subjects who experience more vivid imagery were more vulnerable to false memories when they were stressed. Low trait anxious subjects were more likely to assign remember judgement to a false memory when they were stressed. These findings are discussed in terms of the source monitoring framework and implications for clinical practice. The author thanks Ainslie Lown for help in collecting and analyzing data from the first part of this study.