White Agnes E, Karr Justin E
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky.
Transl Issues Psychol Sci. 2023 Dec 14. doi: 10.1037/tps0000382.
The GAD-7 is a brief, freely available questionnaire measuring anxiety, which is a common mental health problem among college students. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the GAD-7 among undergraduate students from a public midwestern university (=582; =19.0±1.0 years-old; 79.4% women; 81.6% White) who completed the GAD-7, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait subscale (STAI-T), and Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Scale-Reward subscale (BIAS-R). The psychometric properties of two GAD-7 models were examined: a one-factor model, equivalent to a single total score, and a two-factor model, including cognitive-emotional and somatic tension factors. The GAD-7 total score had excellent reliability (both and =0.91) and evidence for convergent ( with STAI-T=0.70, <.001) and discriminant validity ( with BIAS-R=-0.04, =.350). The cognitive-emotional factor had excellent reliability (=0.90; =0.91), whereas the somatic tension factor had adequate reliability (=0.76; =0.77). Both factors had evidence for convergent validity (cognitive-emotional: with STAT-T=0.70, <.001; somatic tension: with STAT-T=0.60, <.001) and discriminant validity (cognitive-emotional: with BIAS-R=-0.05, =.227; somatic tension: with BIAS-R=-0.02, =.700). Confirmatory factor analyses supported both the one-factor model (RMSEA=.098, CFI=.994) and the two-factor model (RMSEA=.069, CFI=.997), albeit with a high inter-factor correlation (=.91). Measurement invariance was supported across gender, race/ethnicity, and college class for both models. The findings support using the GAD-7 total score among U.S. college students, as is common in practice, but also provided evidence for the two-factor model in this population. Considering its parsimony, the total score would be preferable in applied settings for a quick measurement of anxiety symptom severity.
广泛性焦虑障碍量表（GAD - 7）是一份简短且免费获取的用于测量焦虑的问卷，焦虑是大学生中常见的心理健康问题。本研究考察了来自美国中西部一所公立大学的本科生（n = 582；平均年龄 = 19.0 ± 1.0岁；79.4%为女性；81.6%为白人）中GAD - 7的心理测量学特性，这些学生完成了GAD - 7、状态 - 特质焦虑量表 - 特质分量表（STAI - T）以及行为抑制/激活量表 - 奖励分量表（BIAS - R）。研究考察了GAD - 7的两种模型的心理测量学特性：一种是单因素模型，等同于一个单一的总分；另一种是双因素模型，包括认知 - 情绪和躯体紧张因素。GAD - 7总分具有出色的信度（克朗巴哈α系数和麦克唐纳ω系数均为0.91）以及聚合效度的证据（与STAI - T的相关系数为0.70，p <.001）和区分效度的证据（与BIAS - R的相关系数为 - 0.04，p =.350）。认知 - 情绪因素具有出色的信度（α系数 = 0.90；ω系数 = 0.91），而躯体紧张因素具有足够的信度（α系数 = 0.76；ω系数 = 0.77）。两个因素都有聚合效度的证据（认知 - 情绪：与STAT - T的相关系数为0.70，p <.001；躯体紧张：与STAT - T的相关系数为0.60，p <.001）和区分效度的证据（认知 - 情绪：与BIAS - R的相关系数为 - 0.05，p =.227；躯体紧张：与BIAS - R的相关系数为 - 0.02，p =.700）。验证性因素分析支持单因素模型（RMSEA =.098，CFI =.994）和双因素模型（RMSEA =.069，CFI =.997），尽管因素间的相关性较高（r =.91）。两种模型在性别、种族/民族和大学年级上均支持测量不变性。研究结果支持在实际应用中常用的在美国大学生中使用GAD - 7总分，但也为该人群中的双因素模型提供了证据。考虑到其简洁性，在应用场景中，总分对于快速测量焦虑症状严重程度更为可取。
