General versus Situation-Specific Trait Anxiety in Prediction of State Anxiety during Group Therapy

Abstract

This study examined the relative strength of a general trait anxiety (A-Trait) measure and a situation-specific A-Trait measure in predicting state anxiety (A-State) among patients during the initial session of a therapy group. Forty patients who participated in group therapy at a university counseling center were administered at the time of referral a general A-Trait scale and a situation-specific A-Trait scale designed to measure proneness toward experiencing anxiety in a therapy group. Although both measures were significantly correlated in a positive direction with A-State scores during the first session, the general A-Trait measure tended to be more predictive of A-State than the situation-specific A-Trait measure. The findings were discussed in terms of the possibility that the relative effectiveness of general A-Trait measures in predicting A-State reactions is enhanced in situations where there is a threat to self-esteem, and when the subject has had little prior knowledge and no experience related to the feared situation.