Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:760-763
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
The effect of state anxiety on personality measurement
J Reich, R Noyes Jr, W Coryell and TW O'Gorman
The authors examined the effect of state anxiety on the personality test
scores of 56 patients receiving treatment for panic disorder and
agoraphobia. The tests were administered before treatment and again 6 weeks
later. For the 40 patients who improved by 5 or more points on the Hamilton
Anxiety Rating Scale, significant changes in personality measures were
observed at week 6, including increased emotional strength and extraversion
and decreased interpersonal dependency. The authors conclude that state
anxiety, like depression, is a possible confounding factor in personality
measurement, and adjustment for it should be made in future studies.
