[Evaluation of trait and state anxiety in first year students]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate trait anxiety and state anxiety in first year students from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, verifying differences between three great areas of knowledge - Biomedical, Humanistic and Technological. The entrance to a University can be perceived as a threatening situation that seems to suffer influence from the different characteristics of each of these areas. 158 students, 71 females and 87 males aged 20.04 +/- 3,37 years, answered an Identification Form and the State and Trait of Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The means of trait anxiety and state anxiety observed in these students were as expected for this population although the Biomedical area is perceived as the most anxiogenic for having a dense curriculum with intense academic demands, what seems to increase the scores of the students of this area, especially of the men.