Health and demographic correlates of trait anxiety in Israeli adults

Abstract

The major aim of this study is to gather systematic data on some health and demographic correlates of trait anxiety in the adult population. The sample was composed of 923 respondents from northern Israel sampled through a stratified, cluster area-probability sampling procedure. Data were collected on trait anxiety, along with a host of demographic and epidemiological indices. Significant sex, age, social class and cultural group differences in trait anxiety were found. Specifically, females, lower-class persons, and Orientals score higher on trait anxiety than their male, middle-class and Western counterparts, respectively. Furthermore, trait anxiety means are found to increase linearly with age. Whereas perceived ill health correlated strongly with trait anxiety, actual health indices did not. On the whole, this study supports the cross-cultural validity and generalizability of much previous research on the background and health correlates of anxiety.

Key Words:

• Trait anxiety
• demographic correlates
• epidemiology indices