Measurement of anxious traits: a contemporary review and synthesis

Trait anxiety is a characteristic predisposition to appraise stimuli as threatening and respond with anxiety. Trait anxiety is proposed to serve as a vulnerability factor for greater frequency and intensity of anxiety experiences as well as the development of anxious pathology. Cognitive, behavioral, and physiological components of trait anxiety have been described. Common self-report measures of trait anxiety are reviewed with an emphasis on: components assessed, factor structure, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity. Measures were selected if instructions ask individuals to endorse items based on their characteristic, rather than a time sensitive, response. Selection criteria resulted in a focus on the following measures: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory-Trait (BAIT), Cognitive Somatic Anxiety Questionnaire (CSAQ), Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales-Trait (EMAS-T), Four Systems Anxiety Questionnaire (FSAQ), State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA), and the Three Systems Anxiety Questionnaire (TSAQ). While the STAI has the advantage of normative data and frequent use in prior research, newer measures, such as the BAIT and the STICSA, demonstrate greater discriminant validity. The strengths and weaknesses of each of the reviewed measures are highlighted. Recommendations for measure selection and future research are provided.