based on a
(STAI) is The STAI
The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
of 40 questionson a
abou an event, and trait
, or anxie positively
measures two t es of anxiety - state anxiet IC. lg er scores are an It IS
anxiet or anxietyleve as a persona c arac curren revision IS orm Y
correlatedwit I er eves o anxie y. s most
o eredinl languages.
ielberger, R.L. Gorsuch and R.E.
It was developedby psychologists,Charles S that
was to crea e a set of•questionsnew
Lushene. Their goal in creatingthe inventory anxiet . This would
be a
appliedtowards assessin differentt es of on one type of anxiety at
developmentbecause all other questionnairesfocused
the time.
assessed other
Spielberger also created other questionnaires,like the STAI, that
State-Trait Anger
emotions. These are the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS), for Children
Expression Inventory (STAXI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
(STAIC).
requires a
The STAI can be utilizedacross a range of socio-economicstatuses and medical
sixth grade reading level. It is used in diagnoses, in both clinical and other
settings, as well as in research and differentiatingbetween anxiety and depression.
History of the STAI
Spielberger wae not alone in creatingthe STAI, R.L. Gorsuch, and R.E. Lushene
also contributedto its development.It underwentrevision to its current form in
1983. It was developedas a methodto assess the two types of anxiety, state and
trait, in the fields of practice and research.The inventorywas developed in a way
so that it could be one set of questionsthatwhen given the proper direction, could
be applied towards the assessment of a specific type of anxiety. Some of the
information used in the inventorywas taken from other forms of measurement, and
in the case of The AffectAdjectiveCheck List (AACL), was even subject to the
slight change of its current adjectives.After the inventoryhad been developed it
underwent research to determineif it could be concluded as a valid source of
assessment before it could be taken any further.
The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
The State Trait Anxiety Inventoryis a test/questionnairegiven to adults that shows
how strong a person's feelings of anxiety are. It is offered and translated in twelve
languages. English, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Norwegian,
Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai. It was developed to provide both short
and reliable scales based on a person's answers to access state and trait anxiety,
Anxiety
Feelings of unease, worry, tension, and stress can be defined as anxiety, It is
usually accompanied by a situationthat causes these feelings for example, a big
caused by anxietydisorders such as obsessi'e
test or interview.It can also be anxiety disorder,
compulsive disorder or generalized The STAI tests two diffnent
anxiety,
types of anxiety, state and trait
State Anxiety discomfort, etc.
as fear, nervousness,
state anxiety (S-anxiety) can be defined tem person
nervous sys
anxiety refers more to ow a
that are perceived as dan erous. This type of is consideredtemporary.
IS ee Ing a e me o a perceivedthreatand confronted by a large, strange animal.
Examples: A child feels anxious when fly somewhere for the first
time.
A person feels anxious to get on an airplane and
Trait Anxiety
stress, worry, discomfort,
Trait anxiety (T-anxiety) can be defined as feelings of perceived as how
etc. that one experiences on a day to day basis. This is usually a daily basis.
people feel across typical situationsthat everyone experiences on
always a little on
Examples: A child is socially anxious in all situationsand anxious in an
edge throughouttheir childhoodand into adulthood.A person is and going to
array of differentnormalsituationssuch as going to the grocery store
work the majority of the time where others are usually not.
Forms
This inventoryis made up of 40 questions,and distinguishes between a person's
state anxiety and their 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 differbetweenthe two types of anxiety. There are two main forms
of the Inventory, Form X and Form Y.
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form X)
Form X of the STAI was revised from the original STAI to develop a better way of
measuring both state and trait anxieties. This was done in order to better
differentiate between patients suffering from anxiety and depressive disorders
when being diagnosed. By revising the STAI, many questions from the original
inventory were replaced.
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y)
Form Y of the STAI was constructedby replacingitems from Form X. By doing so,
Form Y in turn has better defined state and trait anxiety factors. The major
difference between Form X and Form Y is that Form Y has a better simple
structure, as well as the anxiety factors being betterdifferentiatedand stable than
Form X. This form of the STAI is currentlybeing used more often than the original
Form X.
Description of Measure:The State-TraitAnxietyInventory(STAI) is a commonly
used measure of trait and state anxiety (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, &
Jacobs, 1983). It can be used in clinical settinqs to diaqnose anxiety and to
distinguish it from depressive syndromes. It also is often used in research as an
indicator of caregiver distress.
and
its most p opular
items include: "l am tense; I am worrie
and 20 for state anxiety. State anxiety over
include: "l worry too much All
"l feel calnm I feel secure." Trait anxiety items person."
content; I am a steady
something that really doesn't matter"and "l am Never" to "Almost Alwa
s").
items are rated on a 4-point scale (e.g., from "Almost have
appropriatefor those who
Hiqher scores indicate greater anxiety. he STAI is
at least a sixth-grade reading level.
from .86 to .95; test-
Internal consistency coefficientsfor the scale have ranged 2-month interval
etest reliabilitycoefficients have ranged from .65 to .75 over a in the present
(Spielberger et al., 1983). Tes -retest coefficientsfor this measure construct and
study ranged from .69 to 85)bnsiderable evide ce attests to the
concurrent validity of the scale (Spielberger, 1989).
over
Studies also have shown that it is a sensitive predictorof caregiver distress other
time, and that it can vary with changes in support systems, health,Shewchuk, and
individual characteristics (Elliott, Shewchuk, & Richards, 2001;
Richards & Elliott, 1998).
Scoring
The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory is one of the first tests
trait anxiety separately. Each type of anxiety has its own scale of 20 different
questions that are scored. Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores
correlatin with greater anxiety. The creators of this test separated the different
anxieties so ot sca es woud be reliable.This means the S-anxiety scale would
only measure S-anxiety and the T-anxiety scale would only measure T-anxiety, the
ultimate goal in creating this test. They found they could not achieve this if the
questions were the same to examine both types of anxiety. Each scale asks twenty
questions each and are rated on a 4-pointscale. (81Low scores indicate a mild
form of anxiety whereas median scores indicatea m6äEFäE7ÖFFTäfiiiéf¯äfid
hi h scores In Icate a severe ormo anxiety. ot scales have anxietyabsentG7
anxiety present questions. maey absent questions represent the absence of
anxiety in a statement like, "l feel secure." Anxiety present questions represent the
presence of anxiety in a statementlike "l feel worried."More examples from the
STAI on anxiety absent and present questions arealisted below. 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.
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Example Questions
State-Anxiety
Anxiety Absent S- AYYiÆe.-.akä
One " I am calm." 2 SOh•..-Q.-.k.o
Two "l feel secure."
1.1
Anxiety Present h Atte
60
One "l am tense."
Two "l am worried.
Trait-Anxiety
Anxiety Absent
One "l am content."
Two "l am a steady person."
Anxiety Present
matter."
One "l worry too much over something that really doesn't
Uses
The various State-Traittests evaluatea numberof differentemotions. The State-
Trait Anxiety inventorymeasures anxiety by assessing someone's state and trait
anxiety. The STAI was one of the first tests to examine both state and trait anxiety
at the same time. There are two differentforms of the STAI, one that evaluates
children, and one that evaluates adults. This scale is useful for many different
socio-economic backgrounds and groups and anyone that has the equivalence of a
sixth grade reading level, it thereforecan by utilizedfor many people. Clinicians
use this in diagnosing patientsin a clinical setting. It is also used to diagnosis
clinical anxiety in surgical and other medical patients besides just mental health
patients.The STAI, itself, assesses anxietybut also can be used to make a
discrimination when wondering whether a patient is experiencing anxiety or
depression. This inventory is used in differentresearch projects. Various journal
articles have used the STAI in conductingresearch and comparing different ethnic
groups, age groups, etc. regarding anxiety.
References
Elliott,T, Shewchuk, R, & Richards, J.S. (2001). Family caregiver problem solving
abilities and adjustmentduring the initial year of the caregiving role. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 48, 223-232.
Shewchuk, R. , Richards, J. S., & Elliott,T. (1998). Dynamic processes in
outcomes among caregivers of patients with spinal cord injuries. health
Psychology, 17, 125-129. Health
Spielberger, C. D. (1989). State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Bibliography
(2nd ed.).
Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R, L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R. , & Jacobs,
(1983), Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. G. A.
Palo Alto, CA: Consulting
Psychologists Press.
SR Tilton (2008), (STA),
NewsNotes, archived
Review of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
from the original on 2008-12-03, retrieved 2013-02-28
Spielberger, C.D., Gorssuch,
R.L., P.R., Vagg, P.R., & Jacobs, G.A
(1983). Manual for Lushene, Psychologists
the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Consulting
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Sydeman, (1994). (Ed.), The
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