ASSESSMENT OF STATE AND TRAIT ANXIETY
The Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders (1980) defines anxiety as an
apprehension, tension or uneasiness that stems from the anticipation of danger which may be
internal or external. Sometimes referred to as the psychological equivalent of physical pain,
anxiety is manifested in several ways, from being an adaptive response to initiate coping
behaviours, to the extent of developing several disorders such as phobias, Generalized
Anxiety Disorder and so on. Therefore, it is important to be aware of one’s level of anxiety.
In the study of anxiety, two important distinctions are made, namely- state and trait
anxiety. State anxiety is a temporary increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system
without any necessary pathological condition, and that occurs as a transient intense emotional
state. Trait anxiety is a part of one’s personality and is thought to be a relatively permanent
trait (Spielberger et.al. 1983). Considering the characteristics of trait anxiety, it can be
understood that persons high on this dimension are predisposed to develop stress induced
depression and anxiety disorders due to their high responsivity towards stressful situations.
The distinction of state and trait anxiety has received wide attention across psychological
literature. According to Spielberg’s early works, anxiety is a unidimensional concept
including state and trait anxiety, like two sides of a coin. But other researches including those
by Endler and Parker,1991 have suggested a multidimensionality to the same. Both state and
trait anxiety are shown to be mapped differently in the brain. The neural limbic system plays
a very crucial role in both the types of anxiety (Saviola et.al, 2020)
Factors affecting state and trait anxiety
Researches have provided evidence that persons high in trait anxiety are more likely to
develop stress induced depression and anxiety disorders. They show hyper responsiveness to
stressful situation, increased passive coping mechanisms and lower social competitiveness.
(Weger & Sandi,2018). there have been several psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, behavioural,
and biological theories that have attempted to explain the etiology and pathophysiology of
anxiety. While heredity, neurological imbalance, hormonal imbalance and illnesses could be
linked to a higher level of trait anxiety, state anxiety is mostly associated with adverse life
situations, work stress, competitions, natural calamities and lack of social support. In
competitive sports, anxiety can be a positive as well as a negative influence. If cot kept in
check, anxiety can adversely affect performance.
Impact of state and trait anxiety in sports
Anxiety is quite common in sports and other performance events and has several effects on
sports, including discontinuation of sports, decreased pleasure while playing and impaired
performance. There have been theories put forward that explain the relationship between
anxiety and performance such as the inverted-U hypothesis, Yerkes-Dodson law and so on.
The drive theory (Spence &Spence,1966) suggests that anxiety and performance have a
direct, linear relationship. The inverted-U hypothesis, suggests that performance quality
increases with arousal levels to a certain point at which performance begins to decrease with
excessive arousal (Gallucci, 2008). The Yerkes-Dodson law, indicate that the effect of
anxiety and arousal on sport performance is also dependent on task complexity. Activities
that require fine motor skills and little physical effort suffer with increasing anxiety and
arousal levels, while this same increase benefits skills that require little motor control and a
great deal of physical effort (Raglin & Hanin, 2000). Yuri Hanin (1980,1986,1997) proposed
the concept of Individualized Zone of Optimal Functioning that said that athletes have a level
of state anxiety where the best performance occurs and outside this zone, poor performance
results. All these theories argue that anxiety at an optimal level is important for enhanced
performance. An athlete with little anxiety is unable to keep up their motivation and an
athlete will too much anxiety is prone to impaired performance. A moderate level of anxiety
helps the athlete to prepare and help the athlete gear up for the competition.
Treatment of anxiety
It is important to keep anxiety in check without letting it affect an athlete’s performance.
Some techniques to reduce anxiety include Diaphragmatic breathing, relaxation techniques,
visualization, muscle relaxation and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Diaphragmatic Breathing: The diaphragm is a muscle between the chest and the
stomach cavity. The breathing done by contracting this muscle is known as
diaphragmatic breathing. It requires simple practice to learn and then it should be
repeated several times daily.
Relaxation Technique: When the athlete feels the symptoms of anxiety such as
increased heart rate, increased blood pressure or difficult breathing, a relaxation
technique can help in controlling the anxiety. In one relaxation technique, the athlete
is asked to lie down in a darkened room and think about relaxing his body from the
outside inward. As a result, the blood pressure, breathing and hearth rate normalizes.
If the anxiety attack is more severe, then massaging the body can relax the individual
to a great extent.
Visualization: Visualization is a technique, used by the athletes to control their
anxiety. In this technique one visualizes himself in a situation similar to the actual
event. The athlete visualizes himself winning in front of the entire crowd where the
event is to take place.
Muscle Relaxation: Anxiety results in stiffness of the muscles. Muscle relaxing
practices are done to avoid this happening during the actual game. In this technique,
the athlete tenses a particular muscle of the leg, abdomen, hands or face for 10
seconds with the eyes closed. After 10 seconds of tension, 20 seconds of relaxation
should be practiced before moving to the next muscle.
Focusing on What Can Be Controlled: Athletes should remind themselves that they
are better trained; they have developed better techniques, but should not try to control
things that are not in their control such as the audience or the opponent.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has become the leading treatment for anxiety,
and with good reason. Research indicates that CBT can be an effective treatment for
anxiety after as few as 8 sessions, with or without any form of medication. CBT
works by identifying and addressing how a person's thoughts and behaviours interact
to create anxiety. Therapists work with clients to recognize how negative thought
patterns influence a person's feelings and behaviours. With CBT, a therapist attempts
to intervene by changing negative thought patterns, teaching relaxation skills, and
changing behaviours that lead to the problem worsening.
METHOD
Aim: To assess the state and trait anxiety of the participant using State-Trait Anxiety
Inventory for adults
Materials Required
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: The STAI was developed by psychologists Charles
Spielberger, R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene (1983). The state-trait anxiety
inventory (STAI) consisting of 40 self-report items on a 4-point Likert scale. The
STAI measures two types of anxiety– state anxiety and trait anxiety. The two forms of
anxiety are separated in the inventory, and both are given their own 20 separate
questions. When participants rate themselves on these questions, they are given a 4-
point frequency scale. The frequency scales differ between the two types of anxiety.
Higher scores are positively correlated with higher levels of anxiety. Low scores
indicate a mild form of anxiety and high scores indicate a severe form of anxiety.
Both scales have anxiety absent and anxiety present questions. Anxiety absent
questions represent the absence of anxiety in a statement like, “I feel secure.” Anxiety
present questions represent the presence of anxiety in a statement like “I feel
worried.” Each measure has a different rating scale. The 4-point scale for S-anxiety is
as follows: 1.) not at all, 2.) somewhat, 3.) moderately so, 4.) very much so. The 4-
point scale for T-anxiety is as follows: 1.) almost never, 2.) sometimes, 3.) often, 4.)
almost always.
The state-trait anxiety inventory scoring key
Writing material
Procedure
The subject was seated comfortably and rapport was established. Later, he was interviewed
about his personal, career and social life and the following instructions were given; “this test
is used to measure your state and trait anxiety. A number of statements describing oneself is
given on both questionnaires. For the first set of statements, read them carefully and choose
the appropriate option according to how you are feeling right at this moment. Similarly, for
the second set of statements, read them carefully and choose the appropriate option according
to how you generally feel. There are no right or wrong answers. Try to answer as honestly as
possible.” After the participant’s response, the items were scored.
Precautions
1. It should be ensured that there are no distractions while the participant is
responding.
2. The participant should be encouraged to answer as honestly as possible.
3. The experimenter must see to it that no items are left unanswered.
Table 1: Details of the subject and the experimenter
Subject Experimenter
Name D.G A. G
Age 26 23
Gender Male Female
Type of Sport
Level of Sport
RESULTS
Table 2: Scores obtained by the participant
Dimension State Anxiety Trait Anxiety
Score 36 31
Total 67
DISCUSSION
The objective of the test was to assess the level of state and trait anxiety of the athlete. From
the table, it can be observed that the athlete scored highest on state anxiety as compared to
trait anxiety. Considering the scores, it is understood that he has anxiety below the average
level. It means that he feels anxious at certain events and stressful situations in life and has
feelings of insecurity, strain, confusion and unsteadiness during stress provoking events.
From the responses, it was seen that he rarely feels upset, or worried about unpredictable
misfortunes. For the trait anxiety dimension, the participant has below average level of
anxiety, which means that he does not generally feel anxious, and considers himself to be a
calm and collected person. He has a good level of self- confidence and is quite satisfied with
his way of life.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The participant has below average level of state anxiety. For situations where he might feel
anxious, techniques such as positive self-talk, relaxation techniques and visualization
methods can be applied.
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