An empirical test of the interaction model of anxiety in an acute exercise setting

In the present study, the interaction model of anxiety was assessed by measuring both state anxiety (A-state) and trait anxiety (A-trait) of a moderately active community sample (n=44) in a non-stressful (pre-exercise) and stressful (post-exercise) situation. The physical danger facet (PD) of A-trait was examined to determine how it interacts with a congruent physically dangerous situation (i.e. a VO2max fitness test which involves cycling on a bicycle ergometer until volitional exhaustion) in inducing A-state arousal. As hypothesized, high PD A-Trait participants experienced larger increases in A-State than low PD A-Trait participants, proceeding from the non-stress to high-stress condition F (1,27)=3.94, P<0.05 (eta2=0.13). Furthermore, participants high and low on A-Trait social evaluation, daily routines, and ambiguous experienced similar increases in state anxiety suggesting that these types of A-Trait were not relevant to this exercise context. Therefore, it appears that the interactional model of anxiety is a useful theoretical tool that can be used to explain state anxiety changes associated with acute exercise.