The impact of self-reported levels of anxiety on respiratory sinus arrhythmia levels in adults who stutter.

Purpose: This study investigated whether subjective levels of anxiety predict respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) levels in adults who stutter (AWS) compared to (ANS) during baseline and social stress situations. 

Methods: Participants were eight AWS and 10 ANS who performed a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-M). For this, participants were required to prepare and deliver a 5-minute speech and perform a nonword reading task in front of what was perceived as a group of professionals trained in public speaking. Measures of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were calculated for baseline and TSST-M conditions. Participants also completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), both the trait (STAI-T) and state (STAI-S) portion, which served as subjective anxiety ratings. Univariate analyses of variances (UNIANOVA) were used to assess the effects of the STAI-T and STAI-S anxiety on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) levels at pre-stress and TSST-M conditions. RSA, an index of parasympathetic nervous system activity, is considered to be a measure of emotional regulation. The strength of the effects of STAI-T and STAI-S on RSA levels was evaluated with the unstandardized coefficients for each group separately. 

Results: Results showed a significant difference between groups for the effects of STAI-T on RSA values for the pre-stress nonword reading task. No other significant differences were found between groups for the pre-stress or TSST-M conditions. Slope estimates showed that STAI-T was a significant predictor of RSA values for pre-stress speaking conditions for the AWS but not ANS. No significant fixed effects or interaction effects were found for the STAI-S and RSA levels in the AWS or ANS. Nor were there significant effects of STAI-T on RSA levels in the AWS or ANS for TSST-M conditions. Descriptive analysis revealed the effects found in the AWS during pre-stress conditions were attributed to a subgroup of AWS who reported low self-reports of anxiety (i.e. STAI-T) and high levels of emotional regulation (i.e. RSA) across social stress conditions. 

Discussion: Low self-reported STAI-T scores simultaneous with high RSA levels in some AWS may reflect a self-regulatory strategy adapted in response to chronic, daily stress associated with stuttering. 

Keywords: Adults who stutter; Emotional regulation; Respiratory sinus arrhythmia; Social anxiety; Trait anxiety.