Anxiety in patients awaiting primary medical care

Adult patients in a family medicine clinic were surveyed to identify variables related to situational anxiety in a relatively unthreatening medical setting. Anxiety scores ranged from extremely calm to extremely anxious, with the average near the midpoint. Scores on other variables were reliably related to degree of reported anxiety. Multiple regression and discriminant analyses revealed the following to be the strongest predictors of higher anxiety: a passive orientation toward the visit; uncertainty about the state of one's health; expectations of physical discomfort, embarrassment, and invasion of privacy; a shorter time waiting; and few previous exposures to the clinic, physician, and procedure. Results are discussed in terms of implications for practice and for future research.