Older males are significantly different in terms of levels of anxiety

than younger females

G-20694856

PS2010 - Lab report

08/07/2020

University of Central Lancashire

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 CONTENT:

 Title

 Abstract

 Introduction

 Methods

 Results

 Discussion

 References

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Older males are significantly different in terms of levels of anxiety
than younger females.

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 Abstract

The purpose of this work is to examine the levels of anxiety between the sexes(male and
female). The research was carried out between 32 men and 78 women aged 18-31+ and
showed that older men differ dramatically in anxiety levels towards younger women.
Nevertheless, these results of our present survey were positive based on the questionnaire
given to the participants to complete. Through similar research done in the past, it is essential
to point out that the age difference also plays a vital role in the different levels of stressful
behaviors. Our results also point out that the mono variable analysis of the tests and the zero
assumption that the dependent variable's error variance is equal between the groups. In
closing, Kenerley (1999) noted that stress is a state of imbalance between the demands of a
situation and the individual's ability to meet those demands. We will discuss these in more
detail in the following pages.

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 Introduction
Anxiety is a complex and multi-layered condition that impacts both the soul and the bodily
functions of man and particular manifestations in the body and behavior. Anxiety defined as
an emotional state that involves the person's assessment that he is facing an uncertain and
uncontrollable threat and accompanied by a subjective feeling of antagonistic anticipation
and fear of imminent harm or danger. Each person has a certain degree of anxiety, which is
considered normal. Likewise, anxiety is necessary for survival, as it motivates it in case of
danger to take action and change the potentially threatening situation. Various types of
anxiety have been described, depending on its intensity, frequency, circumstances in which it
occurred, and whether it leads to productivity or quagmire. An essential separation of anxiety
is that between state and structural stress, which also examined in this study (Spielberger
1972). The science of psychology has dealt quite a with stress as emotion and factor that
affects many aspects of a person's life. The situation defined as the stress caused by a
particular circumstance, which the person perceives as threatening, and which subsides when
it elapses. Structural stress is, as the situation, a reaction to a person-threatening situation, but
it differs from that in the intensity, duration, and extent of the circumstances that cause it.
People with a high level of structural anxiety equal a much more intense degree of stress in a
wide range of situations, activities, and events of everyday life than other people. In this
sense, structural stress considered a characteristic of personality.

Social anxiety refers to the anxiety a person experiences about how others see it (Leary &
Kokwalski, 1995). It considered contributing to the development of adaptive social behavior.
Feelings of social anxiety may be behind behaviors such as social withdrawal of adolescents
and children, the withdrawal from peer-to-peer activities, which are essential for socialization
and smooth social development (La Greca, & Stone, 1993). As has been found, social anxiety
is one of the psychosocial difficulties, the existence of which considered to contribute to the
physical self's negative image.

Infrequently, various definitions and theories about stress have presented that vary according
to the school and psychological vision. Several famous psychologists have studied stress and
its effects. According to Borrow (2000), concern grows reinforcements in physical and
mental performance, as it is a reasonable and useful element of human personality. Walter
Cannon (1915) claims that people confuse concern with anxiety and fear, but fear defined as
a feeling associated with stress, which concerns a realistic sense like stress. However,
according to Cannon's theoretical principles, pressure differs far from fear. This person
perceives the threat and recognizes the source of fear processes and prepares his behavior and
its effects internally. In comparison, stress has no unique object. It refers to an uncertain
threat, a future, and the potential danger of the person not being aware of it, and thus it is
challenging to plan for action.

However, Freud (2014) states that psychological symptoms include anxiety and impatience,
vague apprehension and depression, nervousness, agitation, attention problems, and
diminished capacity to perceive. Physical signs include shortness of breath, choking
sensation, feeling a knot in the throat, chest pain, dysphasia, palpitations, cold hands, fainting,

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dry mouth, anorexia, nausea, vertigo, stomach discomfort, tense muscles, motor anxiety,
tremor, fatigue, dizziness, vomiting, excessive urination, and anxiety attacks. Freud was the
first who recommend the crucial role that stress plays in the formation of neurotic and
psychosomatic conditions. He concluded that understanding anxiety was "the most difficult
task that came before us," a task, whose solution required "the creation of the right abstract
ideas and their application to the raw material of observations, to bring order and clarity to it"
(Spielberger, 1982). Stress acts as a "signal" that the Ego threatened (Freud, 1926), which is
why it can put the defense mechanisms into operation. There are different kinds of anxiety.
One species is the moral anxiety created by the superego's demands and the violations of
internalized parental values. Similar is neurotic anxiety caused by real or imaginary conflicts
with parents (or other forms that exercise control over our impulses). In 2014 stress this is
linked to experiences of hard or indifferent parents and the fear that internal motivations
cannot be controlled. Different is the stress created by pursuing opposing goals, and which
has to do with the perception of reality (Hall & Lindsey,1985; Weiner, 1985).

On the other hand, Hoehn-Saric and McLeod (1988) described stress as a warning
mechanism, which relates to uncertainty and gives warning signals in severe cases, such as
when the stress is too serious, persists beyond risk exposure, arises in situations which are
objective to not threatened and does not seem irrational. After the Lazarus (1966) and
Bandura's (1977) theories, the cognitive model of Aaron Tim Beck (Beck & Clark, 1997)
presented as a well-crafted model of clinical anxiety. This model argues that in anxiety
disorders, which defined as thought disorders, there is a relationship between emotions and
thinking. People interpret events and situations rather than in the facts themselves. Such
definitions, in effect, produce several negative emotions such as fear, frustration, and
depression that are characterized by non-realism in the case of clinical anxiety,
overestimation of the probability of appearance, and the degree of severity of unfortunate
circumstances.

Besides, symptoms of anxiety are perceived as further threats, leading to a series of vicious
cycles that maintain and enhance stress intensity. The cognitive model of anxiety by
Blackburn and Davidson (1995) consists of stimulus, mediation, and response. The
intermediation between a stimulus and a reaction represents the interaction of active cognitive
shapes and processes with automatic thoughts. According to Blackburn and Davidson (1995),
the negative way a person perceives or thinks about himself, the world, and the future defines
the anxiety triangle, whereby people with anxiety consider themselves vulnerable, the world-
threatening, and the future unpredictable. The treatment of anxiety based on cognitive theory
focuses on discovering automatic negative thoughts, recognizing possible consequences, and
the effort to replace these thoughts with other, more functional thoughts (Beck, 1997).
Consequently, the "Theory of Objectification," as proposed by Fredrickson and Roberts
(1997), argues that in Western societies, the female body emerges as a social parameter and is
structured as the object others see and evaluate. Thus, slowly the person who feels that he is
going through such an assessment learns to internalize the observer's perspective on their
physical self. Similar methods that Elliot and Eisdorfer (1982), and others put forward. Some
even talk about the presence of an objective, universal stressor causing anxiety, irrespective
of perception, age, gender, social status, special education (Aldwin, 2007). The
objectification of the self is described as a form of self-consciousness characterized by an
almost mechanical and continuous self-observation of the external appearance of the body.

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Internalizing the observer's point of view can lead to an increase in shame and anxiety about
the collection and presence.

Concluding anxiety and many mental states expressed that adults are rooted in childhood and
infancy. The expectations they have about trainers reflect the experiences of their childhood
and especially the feelings towards their parents, hopes, and dreams that never came true. It
has also found that the exasperation of others as 'better' or 'better educated' often causes
anxiety and stress reactions (Rogers, 1999). Other causes that enhance the feeling of anxiety
in adults are the awareness of the aging process, physical fatigue, and weakening of memory
abilities.

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 Methods

Design :

Using a between study – Factorial Anova 1 common approach, we have investigated that
older males are significantly different from younger females in terms of anxiety levels.

Participants:

Our research involved a total of 110 participants. Of these participants, 32 were men, and 78
were women. To run the research and have a significant effect, we chose our participants
aged 18-31+.

Materials:

Using social media (Facebook, Viber, and Instagram) and Qualtrics, we sent the participants
a questionnaire which was divided by forty questions that they answered and took out our
results.

Procedure:

This research was related to the stress levels of men and women in terms of the age
difference. Participants answered a questionnaire consisting of 40 different questions about
anxiety and had to answer from one to five to how much they agreed or disagreed with each
query. (strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat agree, strongly
disagree). The questionnaire sent through Social Media (Facebook, Viber, and Instagram); we
informed them that they were anonymous and that if they felt uncomfortable, they were free
to withdraw. So when all the questionnaires were over, we got the results through the SPSS in
a between-subject Functorial ANOVA analysis with the dependent variable, the anxiety, and
the independent variable the gender in contrast with age.

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 RESULTS

Between Subjects Factorial ANOVA 1

"Univariate Analysis of Variance

Between-Subjects Factors
Value Label N
Sex 1 Male 32
2 female 78
Age_Groups 1.00 Young age 18-23 44
2.00 Middle age 24-30 36
3.00 Older age 31+ 30

Descriptive Statistics
Dependent Variable: Anxiety
Sex Age_Groups Mean Std. Deviation N
Male Young age 18-23 17.9333 4.69752 15
Middle age 24-30 15.8571 4.73704 14
Older age 31+ 17.3333 1.52753 3
Total 16.9688 4.53292 32
female Young age 18-23 17.5862 4.63309 29
Middle age 24-30 16.5909 4.82710 22
Older age 31+ 15.2963 4.31290 27
Total 16.5128 4.62557 78
Total Young age 18-23 17.7045 4.60323 44
Middle age 24-30 16.3056 4.73781 36
Older age 31+ 15.5000 4.15020 30
Total 16.6455 4.58275 110

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This survey involved 110 participants, of whom 32 were male and 78 women. We chose ages
from 18-31+. Then, 15 men and 29 women were aged 18-23, 14 men and 22 women from 24-
30 years old and 3 and 27 women aged 31 and over.

a,b
Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances
Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig.
Anxiety Based on Mean .901 5 104 .483
Based on Median .752 5 104 .586
Based on Median and with .752 5 99.721 .586
adjusted df
Based on trimmed mean .902 5 104 .483
Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups.
a. Dependent variable: Anxiety
b. Design: Intercept + Sex + Age_Groups + Sex * Age_Groups

Levene's Test of Error Variances under the zero hypothesis shows us that the dispersions are
equal gives us the p-value = 0.483 and p-value = 0.586. The condition of equality of
dispersions is also valid.

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable: Anxiety
Type III Sum of Partial Eta
Source Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Squared
Corrected Model 109.876a 5 21.975 1.049 .393 .048
Intercept 17198.761 1 17198.761 820.756 .000 .888
Sex 4.629 1 4.629 .221 .639 .002
Age_Groups 48.324 2 24.162 1.153 .320 .022
Sex * Age_Groups 16.668 2 8.334 .398 .673 .008
Error 2179.297 104 20.955
Total 32767.000 110
Corrected Total 2289.173 109
a. R Squared = .048 (Adjusted R Squared = .002)

F-Test: The check here is done under the zero assumption that the average values of ages
based on gender are equal for each level of anxiety.

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 T-Test

Group Statistics
Sex N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Anxiety Male 32 16.9688 4.53292 .80131
female 78 16.5128 4.62557 .52374

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
    for Equality of t-test for Equality of Means
Variances
Std. 95% Confidence
    Sig. (2- Mean Error Interval of the
F Sig. t df Difference
tailed) Difference Differenc
    e Lower Upper
Equal variances
0.075 0.784 0.472 108 0.638 0.45593 0.9655 -1.45786 2.36972
assumed
Anxiety
Equal variances
    0.476 58.822 0.636 0.45593 0.95729 -1.45973 2.37159
not assumed

The first table contains the averages and standard deviations of the values of the dependent
variable (anxiety) of the two groups (men-women). In the second table, the first line refers to
Levene's control for equality of anxiety. Depending on the value of the significance of this
audit, we accept the assumption of equal fluctuations or not (here the validity of the case of
equal anxiety is 0.78, greater from 0.05, so we accept that the anxiety levels are equal). So we
control the importance of the t-test on the front line."

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 Discussion
Anxiety is present at both a younger and older age and seems not to be directly related to it.
Some research has found that anxiety occurs and peaks between the ages of 18 – 31+. At the
same time, other researchers argue that stress tends to appear more pronounced at the age of
50. Often the elderly, suffering from anxiety disorders, were also suffering when they were
younger. Other research also shows that stress rates in mature age are around 10 to 20 %,
almost double dementia rates (8%). What happens is that those over 60 years of age are
unaware and ignoring symptoms and have never taken care of before, while they were young,
to deal with them. However, although excessive stress creates difficulties and afflicts people's
mental health, older people are also associated with additional aggravating issues. Emotional
factors seem to interfere and affect the memory of the elderly: since a large part of our mental
energy is spent trying to manage stress, it is almost impossible to keep reserves so that other
cognitive mechanisms such as memory, attention, and concentration work smoothly.

The results of this research showed that anxiety rates ranging from moderate to high are
greater than older males than younger females. Based on our questionnaire, we find that most
men age 31 and above, like several women, resort to specialist psychologists to combat
anxiety. This quantitative survey results confirmed our original hypothesis that older men
differ significantly in terms of anxiety levels than younger women. The convergent validity
of anxiety rates within the older male population was more doubtful than with the younger
females. If poor outcome relationships based on the three stress measures indicate issues
within the measures, or highly differentiated anxiety, is uncertain. From the results of this
study and the responses, our participants gave us were almost identical in both sexes between
older and younger adults. Hence, it found that variations in age are small in terms of stress
behavior. However, our results are in contrast to McDonald's (1973) proposals that stress can
be presented differently in older adults.

Besides, another related study conducted by Fuentes and Cox (2000 ) found that both older
and younger adults had equal scores on measures of anxiety. Their research focused on the
prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, rather than anxiety disorders identified by DSM. If the
conditions diagnosed in this sample were similar to those identified on anxiety scales, levels
among older and younger age groups would likely have been similar. The insufficient
representation sizes were one drawback to that research. Some of the significant determining,
such as low internal enhancements in the younger population, and the three sub-scales of
stress levels, may be primarily responsible for random samples.

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However, anxiety levels may explain the differences between current studies and newer that
focused on prior studies. A further caution applies to inter-sectoral approaches. Like all cross-
sectoral studies, the degree to which the actual results are affected by the effects of the
population and not by age-related differences can not ascertain. More rigorous and more
representative sample sizes and different methodologies are required to help explain and
validate findings in this field. One of the purposes of this study was to investigate whether
self-reporting stress measures with older people retain their psychometric properties.
Whereas the current study offers some preliminary support for the standard measure of
existence and anxiety in the elderly, further work is required to clarify findings in this field
with broader and more representing the interests data collection of different sizes strategies.

To conclude, anxiety management can be challenging and painful, especially for people who
feel alone in this battle. Many ways can apply to daily life to improve the symptoms of
anxiety and change the negative way of thinking (Borrow et al., 2017). There are therapeutic
methods that can help overcome stress and do what love. Find the right psychotherapist for
and start the journey to a happy and healthy life. Psychotherapy is the most common form of
treatment to treat symptoms of anxiety. The psychotherapist will help identify the causes of
stress and find effective ways to deal with these causes and live a healthy and quality life.
There are many forms of psychotherapy available (Meichenbaum, 2007). The sessions are
typically held in the psychotherapist's office, discussing what concerns and learning how to
deal with things. As technology evolves, there are more options available. Can do sessions
online. Also, do group psychotherapy along with other people who are experiencing some
anxiety disorder. Sometimes it is hard for someone to start psychotherapy. An excellent
choice is online sessions as talk to the psychotherapist according to schedule and receive the
appropriate guidance on the challenges of everyday life.

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 References:

"Aldwin, C. M. (2007). Stress, coping, and development: An integrative perspective. Guilford

Press.

Aldwin, C. M., Levenson, M. R., Spiro,.A. & Bosse, R. (1989). Does Emotional-ity Predict
Stress? Findings From the Normative Aging Study. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 56, 618-624.

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioural change.

Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.

Beck, A. T., & Clark, D. A. (1997). An information processing model of anxiety: Automatic
and strategic processes. Behaviour research and therapy, 35(1), 49-58.

Blackburn, I. M., & Davidson, K. (Eds.). (1995). Cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety.
John Wiley & Sons.

Borrow, A. P., & Handa, R. J. (2017). Estrogen receptors modulation of anxiety-like behavior.
In Vitamins and hormones (Vol. 103, pp. 27-52). Academic Press.

Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of gender development and
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Freeman, A., Pretzer, J., Fleming, B., Simon, K.M. (1990). Clinical applications of cognitive
therapy, Plenum, New York.

Freud, S. (1926/1959). Inhibitions, symptoms, and anxiety. In Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939: The
standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol.14) (pp.117-140).
London: Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (2014). Inhibitions, symptoms, and anxiety. Read Books Ltd.

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Hoehn-Saric, R., & McLeod, D.R. (1988). Panic and Generalized Anxiety Disorders. In C.G.
Last & M. Hersen, Handbook of Anxiety Disorders, Pergamon Press, Oxford.

Lewis, J. F., Lin, L., McGorray, S., Pepine, C. J., Doyle, M., Edmundowicz, D., ... & Sharaf, B.
L. (1999). Dobutamine stress echocardiography in women with chest pain: pilot phase data
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(WISE). Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 33(6), 1462-1468.

Spielberger, C.D. (1966b). Theory and research on anxiety. In C. D. Spielberger, Anxiety, and
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Spielberger CD (1972). Anxiety. Current Trends in Theory and Research: vol 1. New York,
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Williamson, D. E., Coleman, K., Bacanu, S. A., Devlin, B. J., Rogers, J., Ryan, N. D., &
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 Appendices:

Between Subjects Factorial ANOVA 1

Univariate Analysis of Variance

Between-Subjects Factors
Value Label N
Sex 1 Male 32
2 female 78
Age_Groups 1.00 Young age 18-23 44
2.00 Middle age 24-30 36
3.00 Older age 31+ 30

Descriptive Statistics
Dependent Variable: Anxiety
Sex Age_Groups Mean Std. Deviation N
Male Young age 18-23 17.9333 4.69752 15
Middle age 24-30 15.8571 4.73704 14
Older age 31+ 17.3333 1.52753 3
Total 16.9688 4.53292 32
female Young age 18-23 17.5862 4.63309 29
Middle age 24-30 16.5909 4.82710 22
Older age 31+ 15.2963 4.31290 27
Total 16.5128 4.62557 78
Total Young age 18-23 17.7045 4.60323 44
Middle age 24-30 16.3056 4.73781 36
Older age 31+ 15.5000 4.15020 30
Total 16.6455 4.58275 110

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 a,b
Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances
Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig.
Anxiety Based on Mean .901 5 104 .483
Based on Median .752 5 104 .586
Based on Median and with .752 5 99.721 .586
adjusted df
Based on trimmed mean .902 5 104 .483
Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups.
a. Dependent variable: Anxiety
b. Design: Intercept + Sex + Age_Groups + Sex * Age_Groups

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable: Anxiety
Type III Sum of Partial Eta
Source Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Squared
Corrected Model 109.876a 5 21.975 1.049 .393 .048
Intercept 17198.761 1 17198.761 820.756 .000 .888
Sex 4.629 1 4.629 .221 .639 .002
Age_Groups 48.324 2 24.162 1.153 .320 .022
Sex * Age_Groups 16.668 2 8.334 .398 .673 .008
Error 2179.297 104 20.955
Total 32767.000 110
Corrected Total 2289.173 109
a. R Squared = .048 (Adjusted R Squared = .002)

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 T-Test

Group Statistics
Sex N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Anxiety Male 32 16.9688 4.53292 .80131
female 78 16.5128 4.62557 .52374

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test
    for Equality of t-test for Equality of Means
Variances
Std. 95% Confidence
    Sig. (2- Mean Error Interval of the
F Sig. t df Difference
tailed) Difference Differenc
    e Lower Upper
Equal variances
0.075 0.784 0.472 108 0.638 0.45593 0.9655 -1.45786 2.36972
assumed
Anxiety
Equal variances
    0.476 58.822 0.636 0.45593 0.95729 -1.45973 2.37159
not assumed

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