New approaches on the study of the psychometric properties of the STAI

Authors

  • Javier Ortuño-Sierra Department of Psychology, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain
  • Lorena García-Velasco Department of Psychology, International University of La Rioja, Spain
  • Félix Inchausti Hospital Benito Menni of Elizondo, Spain
  • Martin Debbané Office Médico-Pédagogique, Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Switzerland; Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero Department of Educational Sciences, University of La Rioja, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM)

Keywords:

Anxiety, STAI, Validation, Psychometric properties, Self-report, Validity

Abstract

Introduction. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI1 ). Previous studies have indicated different factor solutions. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of consensus about the best dimensional model of STAI scores.

Method. The sample consisted of 417 participants, composed of 387 (29.71% male) healthy participants (comparison group: M=35.5 years; SD=8.40), and 30 (36.66% male) patient (clinical group M=35.8 years; SD=12.94).

Results. The internal consistency evaluated through Ordinal Alpha was good, 0.98 and 0.94 in the non-clinical and the clinical samples, respectively. Test-retest reliability (two weeks) for Total Score was 0.81 for the non-clinical subsample, and 0.93 for the clinical subsample. Confirmatory factor analyses supported both a four factor model and bifactor model. Also, STAI scores showed statistically significant correlations with Burns Anxiety Inventory (Burns-A) scores. Furthermore, results showed statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the STAI between the clinical and the non-clinical subsamples.

Conclusions. The psychometric properties of the STAI were adequate. The present study contributes to better understand the STAI structure through the comparison of new approaches in the study of the STAI internal structure. The results found may contribute in the efforts to improve the evaluation and identification of anxiety symptoms and disorders.

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Published

2016-05-01

How to Cite

Ortuño-Sierra, Javier, et al. “New Approaches on the Study of the Psychometric Properties of the STAI”. Actas Españolas De Psiquiatría, vol. 44, no. 3, May 2016, pp. 83-92, https://actaspsiquiatria.es/index.php/actas/article/view/873.

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 3 (2016)

Section

Original