Neuroticism, preattentive and attentional biases towards threat, and anxiety before and after a severe stressor: a prospective study

This study was designed to prospectively investigate the role of neuroticism, trait anxiety and attentional biases towards threat in the development of anxiety after a failed IVF or ICSI treatment. A subliminal and supraliminal Stroop task was administered to 49 women entering IVF or ICSI treatment as well as self-report measures of neuroticism, trait anxiety and state anxiety. The assessment of state anxiety was repeated after failed treatment. Results of concurrent analyses have indicated that there was no relationship between Stroop factors and state anxiety. As hypothesised, prospective analyses showed a significant effect for neuroticism and Stroop interference on anxiety response to failed IVF or ICSI treatment. This effect was only apparent for interference on stressor related words and not for words related to general threat. The effect of subliminal Stroop interference was more pronounced in a subsample of women showing an increase in anxiety as a result of failed treatment. It can be concluded that, in addition to neuroticism, subliminal Stroop interference is a predictor for emotional response to an aversive stressor, such as failed IVF or ICSI treatment.