SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Stress and anxiety disorders have negative impacts on the human body, and the ability to measure and predict stress and anxiety is crucial for the mental well-being of humans. Traditionally, the diagnosis of stress and anxiety disorders is carried out in clinical settings with the participation of medical professionals, which might be inconvenient and subjective. Therefore, in this project, we are motivated to explore efficient and semi-automated methodologies for the measurement and prediction of stress and anxiety by using biomarker data collected through wearable devices, combined with self-evaluation scales. We recruited 32 participants from Duke Kunshan University to take part in the experiment for this study and invited them to experience physical and mental stressors. We measured their stress and anxiety levels through self-report surveys, smartwatch applications, and we also conducted semi-structured interviews with them. The experiment data showcases the relationship between stress, anxiety, and biomarkers like heart rate variability (HRV). It also presented us with the popular sources and interventions for stress and anxiety among our research participants. These results will serve as inspirations for future development of semi-automated detection for stress and anxiety and might have industrial applications in the field of personalized healthcare.