The Effect of Anxiety on Time Interval Estimation Ability of Adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3951Keywords:
anxiety, time perception, adolescents, time reproductionAbstract
Time perception is a complex cognitive function deeply intertwined with daily life. A wide range of factors, including anxiety, influence temporal processing. Over the last few decades, anxiety levels, especially in adolescents, have increased significantly, which may impact their time perception ability. This study investigates the effect of state-anxiety on time perception in adolescents. Forty high school students first completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S); participants with a score of 40 or higher were labeled anxious (A) (N=19), and those with a score of 39 or lower were labeled non-anxious (NA) (N=21). They then completed time reproduction tasks of three intervals (500, 1000, and 1500 ms). We hypothesized that state anxiety would negatively correlate with time interval estimation ability in adolescents. The mean absolute error (AE) and mean relative error (Ratio) were calculated to assess temporal performance. A t-test for two independent means was used to calculate the differences between the mean AE of anxious and non-anxious participants. Anxious participants significantly overestimated the 1500 ms interval compared to non-anxious participants, but no significant differences were observed in the 500 ms or 1000 ms intervals. The combined average of the three intervals revealed a significant difference between A and NA participants. Because aging influences time perception, anxiety may affect the time perception of adolescents and adults differently. Differences in methodologies make comparisons to other research examining time reproduction difficult. Time reproduction tasks may be an objective measure of anxiety in adolescents.
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