Work

Within-person variability in state anxiety across adulthood: Magnitude and associations with between-person characteristics

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Across domains of functioning, research has shown substantial within-person variability in a number of different types of variables from one measurement occasion to another. Using data obtained from a large sample ( n = 784, 18—97 years) at three separate occasions, we examined properties and correlates of short-term variability in a construct that by definition is prone to fluctuations, namely state anxiety. Our results revealed that participants exhibited sizeable across-occasion variation in state anxiety. The magnitude of variability was unrelated to age, but was associated with a number of individual difference characteristics such as self-reported health, aspects of personality, well-being, and cognition. However, after taking into account mean-level differences in state anxiety, evidence for unique associations of variability was minimal.

Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development

DOI: 10.1177/0165025408098013

Authors: Denis Gerstorf, Karen L. Siedlecki, Elliot M. Tucker-Drob, Timothy A. Salthouse

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, University of Virginia

Language: English

Topic: Mental Health Research Topics

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging