Anxiety characteristics of soldiers in air forces and its influencing factors

AIM: To explore the anxiety characteristics and its influencing factors in soldiers of air forces. METHODS: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Symptom Check-List 90(SCL-90) and simple coping style scale were employed to evaluate 1696 air force soldiers in groups. The samples were divided into several groups according to gender, age, type of work, and the data were analyzed by t test, one way ANOVA or stepwise linear regression analysis. RESULTS: ① As compared with those of the norm, the scores of soldiers increased obviously in state anxiety inventory(SAI) and trait anxiety inventory(TAI)(P0.01). ② The characteristics of anxiety in air force soldiers were as follows: the female's scores of total anxiety(TAS), SAI and TAI were higher than the male's(P0.01); clear difference among different age groups was observed in TAS, SAI and TAI(P0.05), among which, the scores of TAS and SAI showed obviously difference between “20 years” group and “20-24 years” group(P0.05). The scores of TAI showed obvious difference between “20 years” group and “≥25 years” group(P0.05); ③ The stepwise linear regression analysis showed average scores of SCL-90 and positive coping style were the immediate factors influencing the anxiety of air force soldiers; and N, E, P of EPQ and negative coping style were mediate factors. CONCLUSION: Compared with the norm, the air force soldiers present a relatively more serious anxiety with various characteristics in different gender, age and type of work. The anxiety of air force soldiers is related to their mental health, coping style and personality.