Anxiety reactivity and anxiety perseveration represent dissociable dimensions of trait anxiety.

Abstract

Trait anxiety is an individual-difference variable reflecting variation in state-anxiety elevations resulting from exposure to a stressor. It is usually measured using questionnaire instruments, such as the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). The present research conceptually distinguishes, and independently assesses, two hypothetical dimensions of anxiety vulnerability which, it is argued, could plausibly make independent contributions to variance in trait-anxiety scores. These dimensions are anxiety reactivity, the probability of experiencing an anxiety reaction to a stressor, and anxiety perseveration, the persistence of anxiety symptoms once elicited. Participants were asked three questions about each STAI-T item. The traditional STAI-T question assessed how much of the time this symptom was experienced; the anxiety-reactivity question assessed the probability of experiencing the symptom in response to a stressor; and the anxiety-perseveration question assessed how long the symptom persisted, if elicited. Regression analysis determined that anxiety reactivity and anxiety perseveration scores both accounted for independent variance in trait-anxiety scores. It is argued that models of anxiety vulnerability should seek to differentiate both the causes and the consequences of elevated anxiety reactivity and increased anxiety perseveration.

Enhanced probing of attentional bias: The independence of anxiety-linked selectivity in attentional engagement with and disengagement from negative information

“…Rudaizky, Page, and MacLeod (2012) have recently demonstrated that anxiety reactivity, which reflects the elevated probability of an anxious reaction being elicited in response to a stressful situation, and anxiety perseveration, which reflects the increased tendency to experience prolonged anxious reactions to stressors, are dissociable dimensions of anxiety vulnerability. These researchers suggest that differing attentional mechanisms may underpin these two facets of anxiety vulnerability.…”

The role of automatic defensive responses in the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms in police recruits: protocol of a prospective study

“…Stress-induced lack of control over automatic defensive responses is especially problematic for people in high-risk professions, such as police officers, whose control over automatic responses is essential for optimal performance under threat (Nieuwenhuys, Savelsbergh, & Oudejans, 2012). Moreover, difficulties controlling automatic defensive responses may not only affect split-second decisions under acute threat, but also increase the risk for development and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Kozlowska, Walker, McLean, & Carrive, 2015).…”

Anxiety reactivity and anxiety perseveration represent independent dimensions of anxiety vulnerability: an in vivo study

“…While trait anxiety is commonly considered to be a unitary dimension of emotional temperament, recent research by Rudaizky, Page, and MacLeod (2012) suggests that it is possible to dissociate two different facets of anxious disposition that each account for independent variance in conventional trait anxiety scores, as measured by the STAI-T. One such dimension reflects individual differences in the intensity of a state anxiety reaction elicited by stressors, and this can be labeled as anxiety reactivity (AR). The other dimension reflects individual differences in the persistence of state anxiety elevations elicited by stressors, and this can be labeled as anxiety perseveration (AP).…”

“…For example, Beck and Clark (1997) propose that the primary anxious response is underpinned by involuntary threat appraisal mechanisms that act rapidly and outside of conscious awareness, whereas the secondary anxious response is underpinned by deliberate and effortful cognitive processing of information associated with the particular stressor responsible for the initial elicitation of the anxious response. Rudaizky et al (2012) found evidence that these two dimensions of anxiety vulnerability can be dissociated through the use of a novel questionnaire measure. In this study, participants completed three separate scales: the standard STAI-T questionnaire, followed by an AR scale and an AP scale.…”

“…Assessing AR and AP through the questionnaire introduced by Rudaizky et al (2012) requires individuals to self-report their beliefs about how they would respond to hypothetical situations, both in terms of anxiety symptoms' onset and offset. In order to more effectively capture individual differences in AR and AP, it would be preferable to record fluctuations in anxiety as these occur in relation to exposure to an actual stressor.…”