The stability of the A-Trait subscale of the STAI for stress and passage of time.

One hundred and eighty-eight surgical patients completed the A-Trait subscale of a Dutch version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-DY) on the day before the operation and again 3 days later. A-Trait total-scores were significantly lower in the second measurement (p less than .01), and weighted kappa techniques showed disagreement in 8 of 20 pre-postsurgery items. Nine to 12 months postsurgery, 90 patients completed the measure again. Total-scores in session 3 were significantly higher than in session 2 (p less than .02), and 15 items showed disagreement between both sessions, with more agreement in Anxiety-present than in Anxiety-absent items. The ranges of the A-Trait score-changes between the different sessions turned out to be rather wide. These results indicate some instability of the A-Trait subscale of the STAI and argue for a cautious interpretation of individual scores.