Discriminative differences among high, medium, and low worriers and their ability to discriminate high, medium, and low anxious material

Abstract

This study investigated the discriminative abilities of 173 undergraduate males and females who were presented with scenarios in which levels of worry were manipulated. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ: (Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Borkovec, 1990) assessed participants level of trait anxiety (worry) and categorized them into high, medium, or low worry groups. Participants who scored high on the PSWQ were able to discriminate among the three levels of worry as well as the medium and low worry groups. People who scored high on the PSWQ were significantly more likely to report feeling less likely to cope with worry producing situations than the medium and low worry groups.