Anxiety disorders are highly debilitating mental illnesses. They are characterized by heightened worry, physiological arousal, and avoidance behaviours that manifest as psychological, physiological, and behavioral disturbances. Critically, a large proportion of the population suffers from elevated anxiety symptoms. Physical exercise has been proposed as a potential treatment for managing anxiety symptoms. The present study examined the effect of moderate intensity aerobic exercise training on both general and state anxiety symptoms in young adults. We hypothesized that general anxiety would be significantly lower after nine weeks of aerobic exercise training compared to no exercise training. We also hypothesized that a single bout of exercise would reduce state anxiety, and this reduction would be augmented with training. Fifty-five inactive participants (47 females, 85%) age 18 to 24 (M ± SD = 19.29 ± 1.37 years) were randomized into one of two groups: 1) exercise group, or 2) non-exercise control group. The exercise group completed three moderate intensity continuous aerobic exercise sessions per week for nine weeks, whereas the control group were asked to remain inactive. General anxiety was measured before and after the intervention using the Beck Anxiety Inventory, while state anxiety was measured twice a week using the short-form of the state scale of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. There was a significant interaction between group and baseline anxiety severity (p = .041) when controlling for aerobic fitness. Further exploration of this interaction revealed that the effect of aerobic exercise on post-intervention general anxiety was moderated by baseline anxiety severity [B = -9.84, p = .041, CI = -19.23 to -0.44]. Only the exercise subgroup with functionally-relevant baseline anxiety had lower post-intervention anxiety than the control group [B = -10.66, p = .0033, CI = -17.60 to -3.73]. Furthermore, an acute bout of exercise reduced state anxiety relative to the control group, but the effect did not emerge until weeks 4 to 6 of training (p < .001). Neither anxiety outcome was associated with changes in aerobic fitness, suggesting that some other aspect of the exercise program may have caused the benefits on anxiety. Collectively, these findings point to regular aerobic exercise as an effective tool for young adults to manage anxiety. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/23290 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Lucibello, Kristen |
| Contributors | Heisz, Jennifer, Kinesiology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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