İrem DURMUŞ, Merve Bulun YEDİYILDIZ, Irmak ÇİMENOĞLU
Medical Science and Discovery - 2026;13(8):191-197
Objective: Parental perioperative anxiety may affect a child's perioperative experience; however, risk factors for parental anxiety remain incompletely defined. This study aimed to assess preoperative state anxiety among parents of children scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia and to identify factors associated with preoperative state anxiety. Methods: This single-center, prospective cross-sectional study included 100 parents accompanying children aged 0-18 years who were scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia from April to June 2026. Parents completed a structured survey and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) on the day of surgery, before the child was transferred to the operating room and before premedication was administered. The primary outcome was the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S) score. Results: The mean STAI-S score was 36.1 +/- 9.7, whereas the mean State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait (STAI-T) score was 39.4 +/- 8.9. Elevated state anxiety was observed in 24 parents. Fear that the child would not wake up (63.0%) and fear of pain (61.0%) were the most frequently reported concerns. The regression model explained 36.0% of the variance in STAI-S scores, and the concurrently measured STAI-T score was the only independent correlate (p < 0.001). Receipt of preoperative information was not associated with STAI-S scores. Conclusion: Approximately one in four parents exceeded the prespecified threshold for elevated preoperative state anxiety. The STAI-T score was more strongly associated with STAI-S scores than the assessed sociodemographic, procedural, and information-related factors. These findings support further investigation of trait anxiety as a potential component of parental risk assessment. Further studies are needed to confirm its clinical relevance.
