BACKGROUND: Acute psychological stress is associated with increases in heart rate (HR) and state anxiety. Stressor-evoked perceived HR changes relate more strongly to state anxiety than actual HR reactivity. However, research has yet to examine these associations in the context of general anxiety symptoms. METHODS: Participants (N = 160) completed a resting baseline period followed by a standardized acute psychological stress task
HR was recorded throughout. After the stress task, participants rated their perceived stressor-evoked physiological arousal and anxiety intensity. Participants also completed a general anxiety symptoms measure ~17 days later. RESULTS: The a priori hypothesized model demonstrated a good fit to the data, χ LIMITATIONS: The study was correlational, which limits the ability to determine causation. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived HR, rather than actual HR, is more closely associated with anxiety intensity during acute psychological stress. Stressor-evoked perceived HR and general anxiety symptoms are related indirectly through stressor-evoked somatic anxiety intensity. The findings have implications for elucidating the mechanisms of the stress-anxiety relationship.