The effect of situational stress on executive functions : examination of potential moderators

Abstract

Objective: The present study examines the effects of situational stress, trait anxiety, and working memory capacity on performance effectiveness and processing efficiency of mental shifting and inhibition among Chinese young adults in Hong Kong. Method: A sample of 94 Chinese young adults participated in this study. Participants completed a package of self-report scales including the short Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Arousal Rating Questionnaire (ARQ). They also completed a package of cognitive tasks including the AOSPAN, alternating-runs paradigm, and GO/NOGO task to measure working memory capacity, effectiveness and processing efficiency of mental shifting and inhibition respectively. Result: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine three-way interaction. The results did not support the interaction model that the three-way interaction among those predictors was not significant. Nevertheless, further analyses were done to examine the interaction effect of depression and situational stress. The result showed that depression interacted with situational stress to predict mental shifting effectiveness and inhibition efficiency. Finally, the paper discussed the possible explanation on those findings and limitation of this study.