Spatial skills are a strong predictor of achievement and pursuit of employment in STEM fields. However, some individuals experience anxiety arising from situations that require performing spatial tasks in an evaluative context, and as a result, may avoid spatial related mental activities and exposure to spatially relevant experiences. We sought to generate and validate an instrument capable of reliably measuring individual differences in experiences of spatial anxiety. We developed a spatial anxiety data-driven approach, wherein an exploratory factor analysis was conducted within the framework for different types of spatial skills outlined by Uttal et al. (2013; https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028446). In Study 1, factor analyses revealed that items loaded on three factors that corresponded well with some of the most common spatial abilities that have been discussed in the broader literature: navigation, mental-manipulation and imagery. The three subscales were high in internal reliability and between-scale selectivity. Study 2 then established that external validity was good for the navigation and manipulation subscales: higher anxiety ratings uniquely predicted lower objective performance and lower attitude/ability ratings on established measures within the respective subdomains. External validity was acceptable for the imagery subscale, uniquely predicting lower attitude/ability ratings on an established spatial imagery questionnaire. The overall result is an empirically validated Spatial Anxiety scale for use with adults that also respects the multifaceted nature of spatial processing. This questionnaire has the potential to provide a more comprehensive screening tool for spatial anxiety, and is a step toward identifying potential barriers to STEM education.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated form, DHEA-S, peak in young adulthood and then decrease dramatically with age. However, there is extensive variation in this age-related hormone decline, suggesting an early decrement may be associated with lower vitality and be prognostic of poor health in old age. To determine whether DHEA-S and DHEA are correlated with physical indices of vitality, hormone levels were analyzed with respect to clinical health histories, physical functioning including grip strength, gait speed and repetitive standing, and self-reported chronic pain. The participants (N = 1,214) were 35–86 years of age from a nationally representative survey, Midlife Development in the United States. DHEA-S and DHEA below age-expected levels were associated with more chronic illness conditions and self-reported persistent pain and pain sensitivity upon manual palpation. Additionally, lower DHEA-S and DHEA correlated with poorer performance on tests of physical functioning by middle age suggesting a more precipitous decline is already indicative of reduced vigor and physical strength. When considered with respect to age- and gender-typical norms, larger decrements in DHEA-S and DHEA may be causally related to the loss of physical vitality. Conversely, when hormone secretion is sustained in older adults, it conveys reduced risk for the physical weakness and ailments that precede frailty.