Trait anxiety, which includes stress and anxiety, affects mental health. However, early studies using the Implicit Association Test–Anxiety (IAT–Anxiety) did not consider the participants' trait anxiety. In the present study, the hypothesis that trait anxiety would influence the results of the IAT–Anxiety was tested. A total of 148 healthy undergraduates were assessed with the Profile of Mood State (POMS) test and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to test explicit anxiety; they were then assessed for implicit anxiety with the IAT–Anxiety. High trait anxiety was positively correlated with negative mood; low trait anxiety tended to be associated with greater vigor and higher self-esteem. Significant main effects were found for both critical block and group among participants who received the IAT–Anxiety. Future studies of the IAT–Anxiety should consider trait anxiety as a within-subject factor for group matching to enhance the persuasiveness of the results.
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