Researchers from the University of Waterloo conducted a groundbreaking study to examine how anxiety affects walking behavior, particularly in situations where people perceive it as posturally threatening. The study, published in the journal Experimental Brain Research, found that while simple walking is not affected by anxiety, more complex walking movements in anxiety-inducing situations can show significant differences based on an individual’s level of trait anxiety.
Walking is generally considered an automatic activity that does not require much thought. However, previous research has found that cognitive and emotional states can affect walking behavior. For example, trait anxiety (a stable aspect of personality characterized by a tendency to experience fear, worry, and negative emotions) is associated with slower walking speed and other gait changes in people with clinical anxiety. Additionally, state anxiety, a temporary emotional state triggered by certain situations, can cause people to walk more cautiously, such as when on elevated ground.
Despite these insights, the interplay between trait anxiety, state anxiety, and walking behavior in healthy young adults has not been well investigated. This study aimed to fill that gap by investigating how trait anxiety influences walking behavior in anxiety-provoking situations, particularly when attention is divided by a dual task.
The study involved 30 healthy young people (13 men and 17 women) with an average age of 23. None of the participants had a history of major surgery, trauma, cardiovascular disease, or psychiatric illness, ensuring a baseline of good health and normal functioning.
Participants first completed a series of questionnaires to assess their levels of trait anxiety, baseline state anxiety, fear of falling, and balance confidence, and then performed a dual task designed to divide their attention by recalling the frequency of numbers they heard on an audio track.
Participants then wore a virtual reality (VR) headset that simulated walking on a plank at ground level or elevated level. This VR environment was designed to induce a sense of postural threat without actual risk. Participants walked along a 6-meter-long pressure-sensitive walkway while their footsteps were recorded. Participants performed walking tasks under four different conditions: single-task walking at ground level, dual-task walking at ground level, single-task walking at elevated level, and dual-task walking at elevated level.
After each trial, participants rated their anxiety, fear of falling, and confidence in their balance. Researchers measured walking behavior by analyzing stride length variability, overall walking speed, and the time both feet were on the ground (double support time).
Results showed that trait anxiety did not significantly affect walking behavior during a simple walking task at ground level, regardless of whether subjects were also performing a dual task. However, the situation changed dramatically when subjects walked on an elevated platform.
At altitude, individuals with higher trait anxiety levels walked slower and spent more time in double support than those with lower anxiety. This cautious walking pattern was even more pronounced when participants were required to perform a dual task while walking at altitude. Higher trait anxiety levels were associated with greater stride length variability, slower walking speed, and longer double support when participants were exposed to postural threat and performing a dual task.
While this study provides valuable insights, it also has several limitations. One notable limitation is the inability to fully replicate a natural environment within a VR environment. Participants cannot see their own limbs as they can in the real world, which may affect walking behavior. Additionally, the study did not collect physiological measures of anxiety, such as heart rate or skin conductance, which would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how anxiety affects walking behavior.
Future studies should address these limitations by incorporating physiological measures of anxiety and allowing participants to view their own limbs in the VR environment, which would allow us to determine whether visual feedback influences walking behavior under anxiety-inducing conditions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to extend this study to older adults and clinical populations, as these populations may exhibit different patterns of walking behavior when exposed to threat.
The study, “The Effects of Trait and State Anxiety on Gait in Healthy Young Adults,” was authored by Pershia Norouzian, Brian C. Horslen and Kaylena A. Ehgoetz Martens.
