Definition of Trait Anxiety

Trait anxiety is defined as the tendency to experience anxiety. Trait anxiety is considered to be a characteristic of personality that endures over time and is manifest across a variety of situations.

State Anxiety

• Trait anxiety is contrasted to state anxiety, which is the temporary, uncomfortable experience that occurs when a person feels threatened by a situation. Trait anxiety is the potential, or tendency to experience state anxiety.

Individual Differences in Trait Anxiety

• A person can be either high or low in trait anxiety depending on how often they tend to experience state anxiety. A person high in trait anxiety experiences state anxiety more often.

Measurement of Trait Anxiety

• The most widely used measurement of State and Trait Anxiety is Charles Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI).

Experiential Basis of Trait Anxiety

• Much of the research on trait anxiety comes out of a psychology tradition that focuses on how experience alters the appraisal or interpretation process. The effect of individual differences in experience is that some people have a greater inclination to perceive situations as potentially threatening, and they consequently tend to experience more anxiety. Some researchers have focused on stable personality traits, such as "neuroticism" that incline a person toward high trait anxiety.

Genetic Causes of Trait Anxiety

• Psychiatric research employs different terminology and measures, but nonetheless examines individual differences in the tendency to experience anxiety. Genetic factors are implicated in various anxiety disorders. For example, the catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) gene is linked to the likelihood of anxiety disorders. This gene heightens anxiety symptoms because of its effect on the level of the chemical messenger norepinephrine in the brain.