{"id":{"repo_id":"brock","oai_identifier":"oai:brocku.scholaris.ca:10464/19672"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/brock/oai:brocku.scholaris.ca:10464/19672","repository":{"repo_id":"brock","name":"Brock University","base_url":"https://brocku.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"When Anxiety Meets Impulsivity: A Risk Factor for Poor Effortful Control","abstract":"Long viewed as opposing traits, anxiety and impulsivity are increasingly recognized for their co-occurrence. Yet, effortful control (EC) in the context of impulsivity and anxiety remains underexplored. EC refers to a group of self-regulatory functions, including inhibitory control (IC), attentional control (ATTC), and activation control (ACTC), that support goal-directed behaviour. This study examined the relationships among trait anxiety, impulsivity, and EC in 104 young adults. Participants completed self-report measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), and EC functions (Adult Temperament Questionnaire), along with a mixed antisaccade eye tracking task as a behavioural measure of IC. Participants were independently categorized into high- and low-anxiety groups, as well as high-and low-impulsivity groups using a median split. Independent samples t-test revealed that high-anxious (HA) participants did not significantly differ on antisaccade performance (antisaccade correct mean reaction time, antisaccade percent correct) compared to low-anxious (LA) participants, but HA participants self-reported lower levels of EC compared to LA participants. Group differences between high-impulsive (HI) and low-impulsive (LI) participants followed a similar pattern. Moderation results showed that trait anxiety was negatively related to self-reported attentional control, but only at low and medium levels of impulsivity. These findings highlight that the relationship between trait anxiety and EC, particularly ATTC, might differ depending on the level of impulsivity. Moreover, the observed discrepancy between self-report and behavioural measures of EC emphasizes the importance of using multi-method assessments to measure self-regulatory functions.","abstract_html":"Long viewed as opposing traits, anxiety and impulsivity are increasingly recognized for their co-occurrence. Yet, effortful control (EC) in the context of impulsivity and anxiety remains underexplored. EC refers to a group of self-regulatory functions, including inhibitory control (IC), attentional control (ATTC), and activation control (ACTC), that support goal-directed behaviour. This study examined the relationships among trait anxiety, impulsivity, and EC in 104 young adults. Participants completed self-report measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), and EC functions (Adult Temperament Questionnaire), along with a mixed antisaccade eye tracking task as a behavioural measure of IC. Participants were independently categorized into high- and low-anxiety groups, as well as high-and low-impulsivity groups using a median split. Independent samples t-test revealed that high-anxious (HA) participants did not significantly differ on antisaccade performance (antisaccade correct mean reaction time, antisaccade percent correct) compared to low-anxious (LA) participants, but HA participants self-reported lower levels of EC compared to LA participants. Group differences between high-impulsive (HI) and low-impulsive (LI) participants followed a similar pattern. Moderation results showed that trait anxiety was negatively related to self-reported attentional control, but only at low and medium levels of impulsivity. These findings highlight that the relationship between trait anxiety and EC, particularly ATTC, might differ depending on the level of impulsivity. Moreover, the observed discrepancy between self-report and behavioural measures of EC emphasizes the importance of using multi-method assessments to measure self-regulatory functions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bush, Chae Lynn"],"institution":"Brock University","degree_name":"M.A. Child and Youth Studies","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Faculty of Social Sciences","degree_department":"Department of Child and Youth Studies","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Tekok-Kilic, Ayda"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025","date_published":"2025","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:23:00Z","subjects":["Trait anxiety","Impulsivity","Effortful control","Self-regulation","Eye tracking"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10464/19672","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Tekok-Kilic, Ayda"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Department of Child and Youth Studies"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bush, Chae Lynn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-09-26T12:48:51Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-09-26T12:48:51Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Brock University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Faculty of Social Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. Child and Youth Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Trait anxiety","Impulsivity","Effortful control","Self-regulation","Eye tracking"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10464/19672"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Long viewed as opposing traits, anxiety and impulsivity are increasingly recognized for their co-occurrence. Yet, effortful control (EC) in the context of impulsivity and anxiety remains underexplored. EC refers to a group of self-regulatory functions, including inhibitory control (IC), attentional control (ATTC), and activation control (ACTC), that support goal-directed behaviour. This study examined the relationships among trait anxiety, impulsivity, and EC in 104 young adults. Participants completed self-report measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), and EC functions (Adult Temperament Questionnaire), along with a mixed antisaccade eye tracking task as a behavioural measure of IC. Participants were independently categorized into high- and low-anxiety groups, as well as high-and low-impulsivity groups using a median split. Independent samples t-test revealed that high-anxious (HA) participants did not significantly differ on antisaccade performance (antisaccade correct mean reaction time, antisaccade percent correct) compared to low-anxious (LA) participants, but HA participants self-reported lower levels of EC compared to LA participants. Group differences between high-impulsive (HI) and low-impulsive (LI) participants followed a similar pattern. Moderation results showed that trait anxiety was negatively related to self-reported attentional control, but only at low and medium levels of impulsivity. These findings highlight that the relationship between trait anxiety and EC, particularly ATTC, might differ depending on the level of impulsivity. Moreover, the observed discrepancy between self-report and behavioural measures of EC emphasizes the importance of using multi-method assessments to measure self-regulatory functions."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["When Anxiety Meets Impulsivity: A Risk Factor for Poor Effortful Control"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Tekok-Kilic, Ayda"],"dc:contributor.department":["Department of Child and Youth Studies"],"dc:creator":["Bush, Chae Lynn"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-09-26T12:48:51Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-09-26T12:48:51Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025"],"dc:description.abstract":["Long viewed as opposing traits, anxiety and impulsivity are increasingly recognized for their co-occurrence. Yet, effortful control (EC) in the context of impulsivity and anxiety remains underexplored. EC refers to a group of self-regulatory functions, including inhibitory control (IC), attentional control (ATTC), and activation control (ACTC), that support goal-directed behaviour. This study examined the relationships among trait anxiety, impulsivity, and EC in 104 young adults. Participants completed self-report measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), and EC functions (Adult Temperament Questionnaire), along with a mixed antisaccade eye tracking task as a behavioural measure of IC. Participants were independently categorized into high- and low-anxiety groups, as well as high-and low-impulsivity groups using a median split. Independent samples t-test revealed that high-anxious (HA) participants did not significantly differ on antisaccade performance (antisaccade correct mean reaction time, antisaccade percent correct) compared to low-anxious (LA) participants, but HA participants self-reported lower levels of EC compared to LA participants. Group differences between high-impulsive (HI) and low-impulsive (LI) participants followed a similar pattern. Moderation results showed that trait anxiety was negatively related to self-reported attentional control, but only at low and medium levels of impulsivity. These findings highlight that the relationship between trait anxiety and EC, particularly ATTC, might differ depending on the level of impulsivity. Moreover, the observed discrepancy between self-report and behavioural measures of EC emphasizes the importance of using multi-method assessments to measure self-regulatory functions."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10464/19672"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Brock University"],"dc:subject":["Trait anxiety","Impulsivity","Effortful control","Self-regulation","Eye tracking"],"dc:title":["When Anxiety Meets Impulsivity: A Risk Factor for Poor Effortful Control"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Faculty of Social Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. Child and Youth Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:23:00Z"}