Students from different undergraduate courses participated in this investigation; they were recruited through posters displayed in the university premises, posts uploaded on social media and the set up of an exhibition stand on campus. These students were welcomed by a project of the Rede de Apoio ao Estudante (Student Support Network) that offers individual or group psychological care to students at the Serviço de Psicologia Aplicada (Applied Psychology Service) of this institution.

Participants who did not have a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder, according to the DSM-5 (American Psychological Association [APA], 2014), as well as subjects who had comorbidities, such as a diagnosis of depression, schizophrenia and use of drugs, were excluded from this study. For inclusion, participants should have a diagnosis of anxiety as presented in the DSM-5 (APA, 2014), be enrolled and attending university and obtain a score considered to be at least 30 points in the Spielberg State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, 1970.

Each participant was informed that his/her participation was voluntary and was assured that they could withdraw their consent at any time, without having to explain their reasons and without any type of penalty. They were also assured that any information that identified them would not be disclosed and would be maintained as strictly confidential. At the end of data collection, names were removed and replaced with codes so that there would be no possibility of identifying the participants.

Although the risks of this study were minimal, subjects were warned that there was a possibility of feeling some emotional discomfort when answering some questions on the scales used. Should the respondents feel uncomfortable, the execution of the protocol would be discontinued and the data collected would be discarded. Further, all interviewees had the right not to answer any specific question that was asked.

The results of the evaluations were used exclusively for research purposes and would be disclosed in articles to be published. Since the end of data collection, all material has been kept in a confidential file starting with the beginning of the data collection process and will remain so for at least 5 years, in accordance with Resolution No. 466/12 (Ministério da Saúde, 2012).

Before the start of data collection, all participants were informed about the investigation and about their rights; they all filled out and signed the Free and Informed Consent Form, approved by the Local Scientific Research Ethics Committee (Project No. 1,184,920).

Sociodemographic data form: a digital form to be self-filled out with sociodemographic data at the beginning of the interview with information about life, health, academic experience and family.

Five Digit Test (FDT): The Five Digit Test aims to assess the processing speed, executive functions and attention of patients regardless of their native language, using reading and counting. The FDT has four stages: reading, counting, choosing and alternating. In the first stage, digits are presented in quantities that correspond to their values, where the subject must simply recognize and name the numbers. In the second stage, some asterisks are presented, which must be counted. In the third stage, numbers are presented again, but in quantities different from those they represent, and the subject must count them and return out loud the number of numbers present. In the last stage, some groups of numbers are delimited by a thicker border, and the individual must alternate between the rules of the first and third stages, depending on the thickness of the border surrounding each set of numbers (Campos et al., 2016). The assessment is made considering the time it takes the individual to read/count each sign and inhibit automatic responses in the four stages. As measures, two executive indices were adopted: inhibition (selection time) and flexibility (alternation time).

Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS): This scale has 30 questions related to manifestations of impulsivity which must be self-answered, Each question must be answered considering one’s own behavior on a four-point Likert-type scale, as follows: 1 = rarely or never; 2 = once in a while; 3 = frequently; 4 = almost always/always. The score can range between 30 and 120, with high scores indicating impulsive behavior (Malloy-Diniz et al., 2010).

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: This inventory has two scales. In the state version, the participant should answer the questions describing how he or she feels at that particular moment, “now”. In the trait format, the patient describes how he or she feels “generally”. Both scales are scored on a 4 point Likert-type scale; the state version scores range between: 1- not at all; 2- a little; 3- quite a lot; 4- very much; the trait version scores range between: 1- almost never; 2- sometimes; 3- frequently; 4- almost always (Fioravanti et al., 2006).

N-back: The participant is exposed to a sequence of numbers after being instructed to identify the stimulus that is presented at the same time (0-back), one (1-back), two (2-back), three (3-back) positions prior to each new stimulus. This task involves maintenance, updating and manipulation of information and is considered a measure that assesses auditory working memory. The maximum number of correct answers that the participant can achieve in each series is 10, considering two numerical sequences for each of the four conditions. The result is calculated by summing the correct answers at all levels, considering a single value as a measure of working memory (De Nardi et al., 2013).

Bateria Psicológica para a Avaliação da Atenção (BPA, Psychological Battery for the Assessment of Attention): These are three tests, which assess attention modalities individually (concentrated, divided and alternating). The number of items follows a pattern of 400 stimuli, and in each test, they are distributed in 20 lines with 20 stimuli each. The measurement is calculated considering the target stimuli that the person marked correctly, subtracted from the errors and omissions that they made. The index of general attention capacity is calculated by adding the points of each of the tests, with a maximum 360 possible points (Marín Rueda & Monteiro, 2013).

Tower of London: In this test, the participant must arrange three colored spheres on three vertical rods of different sizes. The first rod holds three spheres, the second two and the third only one. A total of 12 problems are presented and the participant is asked to solve them by assigning each sphere to the respective rod shown, using a limited number of movements and moving only one sphere at a time. After each problem, the spheres return to their initial position, and through this task it is possible to observe and analyze the participant’s planning ability. The answers are calculated based on the number of movements performed in each problem. Correct answers represent that the solution was reached with the minimum number of movements. A correct answer on the first attempt is worth 3 points, on the second two points and on the third, one point, which totals a maximum 36 possible points (Paula et al., 2012).

STROOP: The test consists of three 21.5 x 14 cm cards, each containing six rows of four items, totaling 24 items on each card. The first card consists of rectangles arranged in six rows of four items, to which the participant is asked to name the colors of the stimuli presented. On the second card, instead of rectangles, there are words (each, never, today, everything) printed in capital letters, in the colors green, pink, blue and brown, randomly arranged. On this card, the participant was asked to name the colors of the words. On the last card, the stimuli were names of colors (brown, blue, pink and green) printed in the colors green, pink, blue and brown, in such a way that the ink color of the print and the name of the color written on the card never matched. In this last stage, the subject was asked to name the colors of the print and avoid reading the names of the colors. Scores are given according to the execution time and correct answers on each card. The interference effect is observed in the third card, as reading must be inhibited in order to name the color (Silva et al., 2017).

Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS): The BDEFS is a self-report scale in which the participant indicates the frequency of certain behaviors and thoughts related to deficits in executive functions. It is a usual 4-points Likert-type scale. Questions 1-21 are related to time management; questions 22-45 are related to self-organization/problem solving; 46-64 to self-restraint; 65-76 to self-motivation and questions 77-89 to emotions self-regulation (Godoy et al., 2015).

The survey was conducted in a bright, quiet, comfortable setting on the university campus with few distracting stimuli. A side table and two chairs were used, one for the participant and one for the surveyor. In addition, a computer was used for participants to respond in the self-report instruments, and for the surveyor to record scores and observations of the neuropsychological tests. Additionally, printed material related to the applied tasks was used as well as a clock to measure the time of some activities. Participants performed all tasks seated and were required to turn off their electronic devices so that there would be no external interruption during the investigation activities.

Data collection was carried out in two meetings. The first was with a psychiatrist from the team who was in charge of diagnosing anxiety based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) (APA, 2014). At that meeting, participants were informed about the content of the survey; they were given the Free and Informed Consent Form; the participants were allowed to ask any questions about the investigation, its processes, and how to fill out the inventories. Participants were also informed about the possibility of interrupting their activities or even withdrawing from the study if they felt any discomfort.

The second meeting lasted an average of one hour and thirty minutes, during which the neuropsychological assessment protocol developed for this investigation was applied. In the protocol first stage, the Sociodemographic Form was filled out, followed by the Five-Digit Test. Next, participants responded to the Barratt Impulsivity Scale and the IDATE-state. Subsequently the participants performed the N-Back, the Psychological Battery of Attention, the Tower of London and the STROOP tasks. Finally, the participants responded to the BDEFS.