Hinz Andreas, Klein Annette M, Brähler Elmar, Glaesmer Heide, Luck Tobias, Riedel-Heller Steffi G, Wirkner Kerstin, Hilbert Anja
Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
J Affect Disord. 2017 Mar 1;210:338-344. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.12.012. Epub 2016 Dec 18.
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scales GAD-7 and GAD-2 are instruments for the assessment of anxiety. The aims of this study are to test psychometric properties of these questionnaires, to provide normative values, and to investigate associations with sociodemographic factors, quality of life, psychological variables, and behavioral factors.
A German community sample (n=9721) with an age range of 18-80 years was surveyed using the GAD-7 and several other questionnaires.
Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the unidimensionality and measurement invariance of the GAD-7 across age and gender. Females were more anxious than males (mean scores: M=4.07 vs. M=3.01; effect size: d=0.33). There was no linear age trend. A total of 5.9% fulfilled the cut-off criterion of 10 and above. Anxiety was correlated with low quality of life, fatigue, low habitual optimism, physical complaints, sleep problems, low life satisfaction, low social support, low education, unemployment, and low income. Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption were also associated with heightened anxiety, especially in women. When comparing the GAD-7 (7 items) with the ultra-short GAD-2 (2 items), the GAD-7 instrument was superior to the GAD-2 regarding several psychometric criteria.
The response rate (33%) was low. Because of the cross-sectional character of the study, causal conclusions cannot be drawn. A further limitation is the lack of a gold standard for diagnosing anxiety.
The GAD-7 can be recommended for use in clinical research and routine.
广泛性焦虑障碍量表GAD - 7和GAD - 2是用于评估焦虑的工具。本研究的目的是测试这些问卷的心理测量特性，提供常模值，并调查其与社会人口学因素、生活质量、心理变量和行为因素之间的关联。
使用GAD - 7和其他几份问卷对年龄在18 - 80岁之间的9721名德国社区样本进行了调查。
验证性因素分析证实了GAD - 7在年龄和性别上的单维度性和测量不变性。女性比男性更焦虑（平均得分：M = 4.07 vs. M = 3.01；效应大小：d = 0.33）。没有线性年龄趋势。共有5.9%的人达到了10分及以上的临界标准。焦虑与低生活质量、疲劳、习惯性乐观程度低、身体不适、睡眠问题、低生活满意度、低社会支持、低教育程度、失业和低收入相关。吸烟和饮酒也与焦虑加剧有关，尤其是在女性中。在将GAD - 7（7项）与超短的GAD - 2（2项）进行比较时，就几个心理测量标准而言，GAD - 7工具优于GAD - 2。
回复率（33%）较低。由于研究的横断面性质，无法得出因果结论。另一个局限性是缺乏诊断焦虑的金标准。
GAD - 7可推荐用于临床研究和日常工作。
