MODELING STATE ANXIETY IN A MEDICAL SETTING - THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EMBARRASSMENT

Little research has been conducted on the relationship between state a nxiety and embarrassment in a medical setting. In the present study, s everal personality and situational variables were examined as antecede nts of state anxiety. A total of 277 patients who had come for an exam ination either as a response to a melanoma screening programme or due to a dermatological complaint participated in the study. Results showe d that purpose of patient visit, physician's recommendation, trait anx iety, and embarrassment, were each correlated with state anxiety. Furt hermore, using mediated regression analysis as well as structural equa tions, embarrassment was found to mediate between the above antecedent s and state anxiety. The authors proposed a model linking all the vari ables and identifying their paths. Theoretical and practical considera tions of the findings are discussed.