This thesis deals with the concept of time perspective with relation to anxiety. In the theoretical part, the terms of state anxiety, trait anxiety and anxiety disorders are defined. Furthermore, a space is dedicated to self-regulatory mechanisms. To give a holistic view, possible positives and benefits of anxiety in general are outlined as well. Moreover, the concept of time perspective, approaches to its measurement and linkage to experience and behaviour of individuals are presented. Subsequently, relationships between anxiety and time perspective are discussed. Last chapter of the theoretical part focuses on possible time perspective interventions for anxious individuals. The empirical part aims at discovering relationships between the concept of time perspective and state anxiety. For this purpose, the data obtained were analysed using a questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of respondents aged in early and middle adulthood. The questionnaire battery consisted of a section gathering demographic information, STAI questionnaire measuring both state and trait anxiety and a shortened version of the ZTPI - short extended by negative future perspective. The results of our research showed a significant positive relationship between anxiety and following time perspectives: negative past and...

<p>E-mail: 400amanetta@gmail.com</p>

[pt] Os transtornos de ansiedade afetam milhares de pessoas em todo o mundo, sendo representados como um dos principais distúrbios mentais. A ansiedade é acompanhada por uma série de respostas comportamentais e fisiológicas, quando na presença de estímulos aversivos. Essas respostas provocam ações neuroendócrinas envolvendo o sistema nervoso simpático (SNS), o eixo hipotálamo-pituitária-adrenal (HPA) e o sistema renina-angiotensina (SRA). Pesquisas feitas em modelos animais possibilitam uma melhor compreensão dos mecanismos neurofisiológicos e comportamentais associados à patologias observadas em humanos. Os animais Cariocas com Alto Congelamento (CAC) e Cariocas com Baixo Congelamento (CBC) são duas linhagens condicionadas de ratos que apresentam, respectivamente, níveis altos ou baixos de respostas semelhantes à ansiedade. O presente estudo investigou os efeitos da Losartana e Valsartana, sendo ambas da classe antagonistas do receptor de angiotensina II, na modulação da ansiedade nos ratos CAC, CBC e ratos controle. O tratamento crônico com Losartana e o tratamento agudo com Valsartana não produziram efeitos significativos nas respostas comportamentais associadas à ansiedade no condicionamento de medo contextual, campo aberto e labirinto em cruz elevado. Nossos dados sugerem que nas doses e duração dos tratamentos, a administração destes medicamentos anti-hipertensivos não é capaz de modular a ansiedade nos animais CAC e CBC. / [en] Anxiety disorders affect thousands of people all around the world, being represented as the most common of mental disorders. Anxiety is associated with a number of behavioral and physiological responses when faced with aversive stimuli. These responses provoke neuroendocrine actions involving the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Studies on animal models allow for a better understanding of the neurophysiological and behavioral mechanisms associated with pathologies observed in humans. The Carioca High Freezing (CHF) and Carioca Low Freezing (CLF) are two conditioned strains of rats that present, respectively, high or low levels of anxiety-like responses. The present study investigated the effects of Losartan and Valsartan, both angiotensin II receptor blockers, on the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors of CHF, CLF and control rats. Neither chronic treatment of Losartan nor acute treatment of Valsartan yielded significant effects on anxiety measurements in the contextual fear conditioning, open field and elevated plus maze tests. Thus, our findings suggest that at the doses and durations of treatment tested, administration of these antihypertensive drugs did not play a modulating role of anxiety-like behaviors in CHF and CLF animals.

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Plusieurs jeunes ressentent de l’anxiété à l’école et cela a un effet négatif sur leur bien-être. À l’adolescence, les jeunes tendent à adopter les mêmes comportements que ceux de leurs pairs. Sachant qu’en moyenne les élèves passent 923 heures par année entourés de leurs collègues de classe, la présente étude 1) a évalué si une association existe entre le niveau d’anxiété d’état d’un élève et le niveau d’anxiété de trait des collègues de classe et 2) a examiné si cette association était différente pour les garçons et les filles ainsi que pour les élèves de niveau primaire (10-12 ans) et secondaire (15-17 ans). Pendant deux années scolaires consécutives, 1044 élèves canadiens (59% filles) de six écoles primaires et de sept écoles secondaires ont rempli un questionnaire mesurant l’anxiété d’état et l’anxiété de trait. Des analyses multiniveaux ont montré que l’anxiété d’état des filles était liée uniquement à l’anxiété de trait des autres filles de la classe (b= 0.40, p < .001). Cet effet était similaire pour les filles de l’école primaire et de l’école secondaire (b = 0.07, p = .27). En revanche, aucun effet n’a été obtenu chez les garçons, autant pour les pairs de même sexe (b = 0.11, p = .25) que ceux de sexe opposé (b = -0.01, p = 1.00). Ces résultats suggèrent que les filles et les garçons réagissent différemment à l’anxiété de leurs pairs. Des études futures devraient confirmer ces résultats et étudier les mécanismes sous-jacents à cette différence de sexe. / Many teens report experiencing anxiety in school, which can reduce their well-being. During adolescence, teens tend to adopt the same behaviors as their peers. Considering that adolescents spend on average 923 hours every year surrounded by their classmates, the current exploratory study (1) assessed if an association exists between a student’s state anxiety score and classmates’ average trait anxiety scores and (2) examined whether this association differed for boys and girls, as well as for elementary school and high school students. During two consecutive school years, 1044 Canadian students (59% girls) from six elementary schools (aged 10-12) and seven high schools (aged 15-17) completed a questionnaire assessing state and trait anxiety. Multilevel analyses revealed that a girl’s level of state anxiety was associated only with the trait anxiety of the girls in the same classroom (b = 0.40, p < .001). This effect was similar for elementary and high school girls (b = 0.07, p = .27). Interestingly, no association was found for boys, same-sex peers (b = 0.11, p = .25), or opposite-sex peers (b = -0.01, p = 1.00). Our results suggest that girls and boys react differently to the anxiety of their peers. Future studies should confirm these results and explore the mechanisms involved in this sex-specific difference.

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[pt] A suscetibilidade ao estresse é ditada por fatores externos e internos. Fatores externos estão associados a variáveis ambientais, enquanto os internos estão relacionados à função cerebral, cognição, constituição genética e epigenética e ao microbioma. Nesta tese, investigamos a influência das respostas individuais de enfrentamento ao medo sobre os efeitos do estresse crônico e sua modulação por uma dieta rica em calorias. Nesse intento, foram usadas as linhagens de cruzamento bidirecional Carioca como modelos de respostas opostas ao medo contextual condicionado. Inicialmente, caracterizamos essas linhagens quanto às suas respostas de congelamento após a aprendizagem e a extinção de medo. Em seguida, descrevemos em uma meta-análise o envolvimento da via serotoninérgica, importante mecanismo nos transtornos de ansiedade e medo, nos efeitos do estresse crônico. Finalmente, demonstramos que o estresse crônico tem efeitos mais fortes em ratos Cariocas de alto congelamento (CHF), alterando o equilíbrio entre as respostas de enfrentamento ativas e passivas em vários paradigmas comportamentais; por outro lado, os ratos Carioca de baixo congelamento (CLF) são minimamente afetados. Além disso, uma dieta suplementada com alimentos ricos em açúcar e gordura pode proteger os ratos CHF contra os efeitos do estresse crônico. Assim, demonstramos os efeitos adversos do estresse crônico em um modelo de transtorno de ansiedade generalizada e propomos que a suscetibilidade ao estresse está ligada à características individuais e inatas de medo e de transtorno de ansiedade, podendo ser alvo de novas terapias para transtornos de humor. / [en] Susceptibility to stress is dictated by external and internal factors. External factors are associated with environmental variables, whereas the internals are related to brain function, cognition, genetic and epigenetic constitution and the microbiome. In this thesis, we investigated the influence of the individual background underlying fear-coping responses on the effects of chronic stress and its modulation by a palatable diet. We used the Carioca bidirectional breeding lines as models of opposing conditioned contextual fear responses. At first, we characterize these lines concerning their freezing responses after fear learning and extinction. Then, we describe in a meta-analysis the involvement of the serotoninergic pathway, an important mechanism in anxiety and fear disorders, in the effects of chronic stress. Following, we demonstrate that chronic stress has stronger effects in the Carioca high-conditioned freezing (CHF) rats, altering the balance between active and passive coping responses in several behavioral paradigms; conversely, the Carioca low-conditioned freezing (CLF) rats are barely affected. Moreover, a diet supplemented with high-sugar and high-fat food can protect the CHF against the effects of chronic stress. Thus, we demonstrate the increased harmful effects of chronic stress in a model of generalized anxiety disorder and propose that susceptibility to stress is linked to fear and anxiety individual innate characteristics, which can be the target of novel therapies of mood disorders.

[pt] Assunto: O ingresso na universidade é um momento de transição que muitas vezes contribui para o desenvolvimento de sintomas psicológicos ou para um agravamento de sintomas pré-existentes em jovens. Objetivo: Esta dissertação é composta por dois estudos realizados durante a pandemia da covid-19. O primeiro com o objetivo de investigar, por meio de Revisão Sistemática da literatura, as prevalências de sintomas de ansiedade e depressão em estudantes universitários em diferentes continentes do mundo. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo rastrear os sintomas psicológicos apresentados por alunos da graduação da PUC-Rio. Método: A Revisão sistemática foi feita a partir de 9 bases de dados acessados em agosto de 2021. Após aplicados os critérios de inclusão e exclusão, foram selecionados 77 estudos para a pesquisa. A coleta de dados para a pesquisa com alunos de graduação foi conduzida entre junho e setembro de 2021, com amostra composta por 1.189 alunos através da aplicação de questionário online com dados sociodemográficos, dados acadêmicos, histórico de saúde mental e duas escalas de Rastreio: Escala Transversal de Sintomas de Nível 1 do DSM-5 e a Escala de Medo da Covid-19. Resultado: No estudo de revisão, o resultado aponta maior índice de prevalência de sintomas de ansiedade (52,7 por cento) e depressão (81,4 por cento) na América do Sul. Os resultados do estudo quantitativo sugerem grau moderado para sintomas de ansiedade (M=3,08) e leve a moderado para sintomas depressivos (M=2,65). Conclusão: Nos dois estudos foi possível identificar a prevalência de sintomas de ansiedade e depressão na população universitária. / [en] Subject: The admission to university is a time of transition that often contributes to the development of psychological symptoms or to a worsening of pre-existing symptoms in young people. Objective: This dissertation is composed of two studies carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first aimed to investigate, through a Systematic Review of the literature, the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in university students in different continents of the world. The second study aimed to track the psychological symptoms presented by undergraduate students at PUC-Rio. Method: The systematic review was carried out from 9 databases accessed in August 2021. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 77 studies were selected for the research. Data collection for the survey with undergraduate students was conducted between June and September 2021, with a sample composed of 1,189 students through the application of an online questionnaire with sociodemographic data, academic data, mental health history and two Screening scales: Scale Cross-sectional DSM-5 Level 1 Symptoms and the COVID-19 Fear Scale. Result: In the review study, the result points to a higher prevalence rate of symptoms of anxiety (52.7 percent) and depression (81.4 percent) in South America. The results of the quantitative study suggest a moderate degree for anxiety symptoms (M=3.08) and mild to moderate for depressive symptoms (M=2.65). Conclusion: In both studies it was possible to identify the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in the university population.

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Ergänzend zu bestehenden Verfahren Bewältigungsverhalten zu erfassen, versucht die vorliegende Studie mittels eines mehrdimensionalen Ansatzes neue Wege der psychosomatischen Grundlagenforschung zu eröffnen. Anhand des Biopsychologischen Belastungstests werden erlebens- (Annäherungsmotivation, Meidungsmotivation, Traitangst), verhaltens- und peripherpsychologische (Herzfrequenz, Hautleitwertreaktion) Parameter einer heterogenen Stichprobe aus gesunden Kontrollprobandinnen und psychosomatischen Patientinnen erhoben. Diese Parameter sollen eine Einteilung der Testpersonen in Untergruppen ermöglichen, um die Identifizierung von repressiv, optimistisch und konflikthaft bewältigenden Personen vornehmen zu können. In den Analysen lässt sich die Aufteilung der Untergruppen im hypothetisierten Rahmen allerdings nicht wiederfinden. Es zeigen sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Motivationsebenen der Testpersonen (Annäherungsmotivation/Meidungsmotivation jeweils hoch/niedrig), sowie kontinuierlich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den gesunden Kontrollprobandinnen und den psychosomatischen Patientinnen. Zusätzlich finden sich enge Parallelen zwischen Traitangst und Meidungsmotivation. / The following study proposes additionally to present methods a new multidimensional approach in psychosomatic research. Experience (approach motivation, avoidance motivation, trait-anxiety), behavioural, and peripher-psychological (heart frequency, skin conductance response) parameters are collected utilizing the Biopsychologischer Belastungstest (BBT). Using these parameters it is intended to separate test persons into clusters allowing the discrimination of coping patterns repression, optimism, and intra-personal approach avoidance conflict. The hypothesized subgroups can not be approved by the results of cluster analysis. However, significant differences between high and low approach respectively avoidance motivated test persons are found. Furthermore, throughout the analysis significant differences between "healthy" control persons and the psychosomatic patients are visible. In addition it can be emphasized that trait-anxiety is closely related to avoidance motivation.