Anxiety and performance in runners: Effects of stress and anxiety on physical performance

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of state and trait anxiety on physical performance under both neutral and stressful conditions. In Study I, 43 male and female track athletes answered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and twice underwent ergometric testing in the physiology laboratory after receiving a neutral or a stress-inducing instruction. In Study II, these 43 runners completed the state scale shortly before a test run in a practice session and once again just before the start in an official competition. Results showed a significant increase in self-reported state anxiety under the stress condition in both the laboratory and the field setting. At the same time, the mean physical performance, measured as physiological performance parameters (maximum oxygen intake, physical work capacity) or as running performance, significantly deteriorated under stress. The induced stress affected the heart rate in addition to the mere physical work load, with no sign of compensation occurring during the entire period of ergometric testing. Effects of anxiety on performance were tested by separate 2(trait) × 3(state) ANOVAs for each situation. For both laboratory situations, and for the practice situation as well, no significant relationships, neither linear nor nonlinear, were detected. In the competition situation, however, an inverted-U relationship was found in the low trait-anxious subgroup.     

Anxiety and coping dispositions as predictors of the visual interaction between mother and child

Abstract

The “model of coping modes” distinguishes four dispositionally determined patterns of behavior (coping modes) which become apparent in stressful situations: repression, sensitization, nondefensiveness, and high anxiety. Following from this model, the present study is aimed at assessing associations between coping modes and children's looking behavior towards their mothers in a moderately stress-inducing laboratory setting. The visual exchange of 63 mothers and their eight- to 14-year-old children was observed during a ten-minute planning period for a Punch and Judy show which the child had to later perform. A close visual orientation toward the mother was registered for sensitizers. While repressers showed a heightened frequency of gazes at their mothers, their total time of looking was comparatively short. In high-anxious children, frequency of gazes as well as total time of looking were low.     

Effects of exercise on anxiety: A review

Abstract

The focus of this review is physical exercise and its possible effectiveness as a means of reducing anxiety. This review is based on English language literature and covers the time period from 1958 to 1988. It provides an overview of the results of research studies carried out in the area of physical fitness and psychological health, more specifically anxiety. In doing so, it draws attention to methodological limitations associated with a number of these research studies. In addition, it describes the level of exercise considered necessary to achieve improved cardio-respiratory fitness (training effect). Conclusions are made which suggest mild support for the positive effect of exercise with some individuals for reducing anxiety. Some speculative explanations as to why exercise may be effective in reducing levels of state anxiety are discussed.     

Correlates of Victimization in a Juvenile Justice Population

The Practical Adolescent Dual Diagnostic Interview is a structured diagnostic interview designed to gather basic information about mental health conditions; past emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; suicide attempts; and substance use disorders. This instrument was administered to 435 males and 61 females in juvenile justice facilities and adolescent diversion courts to assess prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders relative to maltreatment (defined as physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse). Results showed that the majority of juveniles who experienced maltreatment were more likely to have diagnostic indications of behavioral health conditions. Additionally, for both males and females the odds of the individual having attempted suicide were more than twice as high for those acknowledging some form of maltreatment.     

The Association of Child Abuse and Eating Disorder Symptomatology

Abstract

Using self-report questionnaires, symptoms of eating disorders were examined in relation to child sexual (CSA), physical (CPA), and emotional abuse (CEA), and adult rape among 301 college women. CPA and adult rape were associated with fear of fatness and bulimic behavior. CEA, family cohesion and expressiveness, and adult rape were related to difficulties recognizing emotional states and satiety. Individuals who reported multiple forms of child abuse or who were revictimized exhibited the highest levels of symptoms. Revictimized women were more likely to report clinical levels of symptoms compared with individuals reporting adult rape without child abuse or child abuse without adult rape. Findings support the assumption that negative experiences in addition to CSA, such as adult rape and other forms of child abuse, influence eating pathology, and suggest a cumulative impact of abuse.     

Childhood Adverse Experience: Yes or No? Mothers' Decision-Making Process When Responding to Survey Questions

The aim of this pilot study was to assess how difficult it is for mothers to answer questions regarding adversities their children might have experienced, and to investigate their considerations in the decision-making process. A nonrepresentative community sample of 628 mothers of 6- to 8-year-old children responded to an online survey. The mothers answered questions regarding adversities, rated the acceptability of these questions, and reported on any difficulties they had in responding. Based on the mothers' reports, qualitative analyses were conducted to identify metacategories of arguments. The study highlights the need for increased awareness of the complexity involved in soliciting information about adverse experiences in research and clinical settings, and for caution in interpreting epidemiological results in this field.     

Religion-Related Child Physical Abuse

Abstract

Religious beliefs can foster, encourage, and justify child abuse, yet religious motivations for child abuse and neglect have been virtually ignored in social science research. In this paper, we compare victims' retrospective reports of religion-related child physical abuse to other reported cases of child physical abuse. We describe in statistical detail the nature and circumstances of the abuse, characteristics of victims and perpetrators, and the spiritual and psychological impact of the abuse. Results indicate that although the basic characteristics of religion-related physical abuse are similar to non-religion-related physical abuse, religion-related abuse has significantly more negative implications for its victims' long-term psychological well-being.     

The Relationships among Childhood Maltreatment,Emotion Regulation,and Sexual Risk Taking in Men from Urban STD Clinics

This study sought to examine the relationships among emotion regulation difficulties, childhood maltreatment, and risky sexual behavior in a sample of 320 heterosexual men recruited from urban sexually transmitted disease clinics. Overall childhood maltreatment and several specific types of child abuse were significantly associated with emotion dysregulation, number of sexual partners, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis. There was evidence of an additive effect of multiple forms of maltreatment on difficulties with emotion regulation and sexual risk taking. Impulse control difficulties and access to emotion regulation strategies, two components of emotion dysregulation, were related to measures of risky sexual behavior. Furthermore, limited access to emotion regulation strategies mediated the relationship between frequency of childhood sexual abuse and a greater number of lifetime sexual partners. This study has important implications for developing effective interventions to reduce the spread of STIs and HIV by expanding affect regulation and distress tolerance strategies among men who have experienced childhood maltreatment.     

Age and Gender Differences in Teen Relationship Violence

Research shows that abuse in adolescence can start early and current literature regarding gender differences in teen relationship violence (TRV) is inconsistent. Age and gender differences in TRV were examined. Measures assessing TRV and its correlates were completed by 231 teens from 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade classes. A 2 (gender) by 3 (grade) multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant effects for grade and gender indicating that 7th graders have lower perpetration and victimization of TRV, less anger control, and fewer positive conflict resolution behaviors than 9th and 11th graders. Furthermore, girls perpetrate more physical and emotional abuse, whereas boys perpetrate more sexual abuse. Results have implications for timing and content of prevention programs addressing dating violence in adolescence.     

Relationships among Dispositional Attributional Style,Trauma-Specific Attributions,and PTSD Symptoms

The learned helplessness model and its various revisions suggest that causal attributions influence responses to events. This study examined relationships among the 3-factor symptom clusters of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represented in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and the individual dimensions of dispositional attributional style and trauma-specific attributions (i.e., internal–external, stable–unstable, global–specific). Relationships among attributions and clusters of PTSD symptoms represented by the 4-factor dysphoria model were also examined. Trauma-specific attributions were most predictive of PTSD symptoms, with higher associations for avoidance and numbing symptoms compared to arousal symptoms in the three-factor model and higher associations for dysphoria symptoms compared to arousal and avoidance symptoms in the four-factor dysphoria model. Results suggest that cognitive vulnerabilities could underlie the comorbidity between PTSD and depression and might represent a high-impact target for treatment.