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The Effect of Ethnicity, Gender, and Age on Levels of Anxiety

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The Effect of Ethnicity, Gender, and Age on Levels of Anxiety
Abstract
Anxiety is becoming a prevalent problem in American society. Bad news and tragedies that come from every source of media have got more than 18% of the adult population suffering from one of six anxiety disorders. I am researching the effects of ethnicity, gender, and age on levels of anxiety. It is hypothesized that Chinese students will be more anxious than Caucasians, females more anxious than males, and older students less anxious than younger students. The participants of this study are from the University of California, Irvine and are enrolled in SS3A in Winter quarter 2011. The students are from all majors and all class standings. Possible implications for my research included a small sample of freshmen students so the data on that may not be as accurate. Only two hypotheses were maintained; one was rejected. It was found that older students were not less anxious than younger students; again, there was not very much data collected for freshmen students.

The Effect of Ethnicity, Gender, and Age on Levels of Anxiety

Anxiety is a general mood triggered by a sense or fear that a thing or event is unavoidable (Seligman, 1994). Anxiety is not necessarily a negative thing, as it may commonly be perceived as. In fact, it typically prompts a person to recognize a negative event and begin looking for ways deal with it accordingly, which is moving toward a more positive state. Physiological responses to anxiety include shortness of breath, heart palpitations, fatigue, and nausea. The heart rate in the body speeds up as sweating increases. A normal reaction to anxiety is to cope with the negative event, and then move on. However, when anxiety is left unresolved, a sense of dread or doom may build up, leading to one of many anxiety disorders. There are several traits that can add to one’s likelihood of becoming anxious including ethnicity, gender, and age. It is important to study anxiety and the populations most affected by it. Studies



Cited: Borooah, V. (2010). Gender differences in the incidence of depression and anxiety: econometric evidence from the usa. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(6), 663-682. Comer, R. (2010). Abnormal psychology, (4th ed.) New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Splevins, K., Smith, A., & Simpson, J. (2009). do improvements in emotional distress correlate with becoming more mindful? a study of older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 3(13), 328-335. Xie, D., Leong, F., & Feng, S. (2008). culture-specific personality correlates of anxiety among chinese and caucasian college students. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 11(2), 163-174.

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