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Specificity of trait anxiety in anxiety and depression: Meta-analysis of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

ABSTRACT: The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - Trait version (STAI-T) was developed to measure an individual's tendency to experience anxiety, but it may lack discriminant evidence of validity based on strong observed relationships with measures of depression. The present series of meta-analyses compares STAI-T scores among individuals with depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and nonclinical comparison groups, as well as correlations with measures of anxiety and depressive symptom severity, in order to further examine discriminant and convergent validity. A total of 388 published studies (N = 31,021) were included in the analyses. Individuals with an anxiety disorder and those with a depressive disorder displayed significantly elevated scores on the STAI-T compared to nonclinical comparison groups. Furthermore, anxiety and depressive symptom severity were similarly strongly correlated with the STAI-T (mean r = .59 - .61). However, individuals with a depressive disorder had significantly higher STAI-T scores than individuals with an anxiety disorder (Hedges's g = 0.27). Given these findings, along with previous factor analyses that have observed a depression factor on the STAI-T, describing the scale as a measure of 'trait anxiety' may be a misnomer. It is proposed that the STAI-T be considered a non-specific measure of negative affectivity rather than trait anxiety per se.

SUBMITTER: Knowles KA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7680410 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe prevalence of depression symptoms among medical students is particularly high, and it has increased during the COVID-19 epidemic. Sleep quality and state-trait anxiety are risk factors for depression, but no study has yet investigated the mediating role of state-trait anxiety in the relationship between poor sleep quality and depression symptoms in medical students. This study aims to investigate the relationship among depression symptoms, sleep quality and state-trait anxiety in medical university students in Anhui Province.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey of 1227 students' online questionnaires collected from four medical universities in Anhui Province using a convenience sampling method. We measured respondents' sleep quality, state-trait anxiety, and depression symptoms using three scales: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). We analysed the mediating role of STAI scores on the association between PSQI scores and SDS scores through the Sobel-Goodman Mediation Test while controlling for covariates. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 74.33% (912) and 41.40% (518) of the respondents reported suffering from poor sleep quality and depression symptoms. Sleep quality, state-trait anxiety, and depression symptoms were positively associated with each other (β = 0.381 ~ 0.775, P < 0.001). State-trait anxiety partially mediated the association between sleep quality and depression symptoms (Sobel test Z = 15.090, P < 0.001), and this mediating variable accounted for 83.79% of the association when adjusting for potential confounders. Subgroup analysis further revealed that STAI scores partially mediated the association between PSQI scores and SDS scores in females and rural students and fully mediated the association between PSQI scores and SDS scores in males and urban students.ConclusionsThis study found that sleep quality and state-trait anxiety have a significant predictive effect on depression symptoms. State-trait anxiety mediated the relationship between sleep quality and depression symptoms, with a more complex mechanism observed among rural and female medical students. Multiple pathways of intervention should be adopted, such as encouraging students to self-adjust, providing professional psychological intervention and timely monitoring, enriching extracurricular activities, and making changes in policies regarding long shifts and working hours.

Project description:The present study compared emotional intelligence and anxiety between six combat sports of lower, intermediate and high-level female and male athletes. The sample was composed by 444 athletes (age: 24.7 ± 8.8 years, body mass: 72.4 ± 12.1 kg, height: 1.82 ± 0.3 m, and practice time: 13.1 ± 7.4 years) separated by sex (male n = 273, female n = 171) from different combat sports (jiu-jitsu n = 142, judo n = 137, karate n = 57, kendo n = 63, taekwondo n = 25, and freestyle wrestling n = 20) of three levels (high-level n = 57, intermediate n = 137 and low-level n = 142). Inventory of situations and anxiety response (ISRA) provided an independent evaluation for the three systems: cognitive, motor and physiological, as well as a total with four factors of analysis (anxiety before the evaluation, interpersonal, phobic and before habitual, and daily situations). Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) verified emotional intelligence scales. Descriptive results are demonstrated by percentage or median (first quartile Q1; third quartile Q3), Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were conducted to compare groups, p ? 0.05. The main results demonstrated 10% more total anxiety for wrestling and judo compared to the other groups (p ? 0.05). Female athletes showed 15% more anxiety than men, while emotional attention demonstrated 10% better results for women. Significant differences were observed between high- versus low-level athletes in the total anxiety with 85 (44; 143) versus 122 (69; 186) of ISRA index and emotional repair with 30 (25; 34) versus 27 (22; 32) of TMMS-24 index. Emotional intelligence seems to be higher in female and in higher level, while anxiety appears to be prevalent in judo and wrestling, low-level and in female athletes. These outcomes provide support for the hypothesis that emotional abilities are an important contributor to emotional intelligence, particularly differentiating high level athletes than other levels. Results can be incorporated into strategies for reducing anxiety and improving emotional intelligence, considering particularities of gender and level groups.

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Specificity of trait anxiety in anxiety and depression: Meta-analysis of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

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