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History of STAR


Today’s STAR was formed in 1980, and the “founding fathers” included Charles Spielberger, Henk Van der Ploeg, and Ralf Schwarzer. Originally, the society was named the Society for Test Anxiety Research (STAR Society). However, the name was changed to the Stress and Anxiety Research Society (STAR Society) in 1991 at the Budapest conference, to better reflect the extended interests of the society while still maintaining the acronym. In 2020, the membership once again decided to modify its name into the Stress, Trauma, Anxiety, and Resilience Society (STAR Society).