Similarities between retrospective and actual anxiety states

The purpose of the study was to examine the fit and calibration of the items in Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene's (1970) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory during measurement of actual and retrospective anxiety. Subjects in the actual anxiety situation (n = 113) and in the retrospective anxiety situation (n = 55) were administered the inventory, and 20 scale items were analyzed individually by the probabilistic Rasch Model (Wright & Masters, 1982). Comparisons between the items' values in both situations revealed that 17 of the 20 items were rated similarly. In the retrospective anxiety state, 9 items (misfits) failed to discriminate between high- and low-anxious subjects, but only 6 failed to do so in the actual anxiety state. Despite the similarities, we recommend that the scales be modified to yield a more reliable measure of anxiety and to discriminate more accurately among subjects with varying levels of anxiety.