When Anxiety Meets Impulsivity: A Risk Factor for Poor Effortful Control

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. Child and Youth Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Master

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Faculty of Social Sciences

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of Child and Youth Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Brock University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Bush, Chae Lynn

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Tekok-Kilic, Ayda

• Trait anxiety
• Impulsivity
• Effortful control
• Self-regulation
• Eye tracking

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10464/19672

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:brocku.scholaris.ca:10464/19672