Open AccessPsychometric properties of the dimensional anxiety scales for DSM‐5 in a Brazilian community sample
Author(s) -
DeSousa Diogo A.,
Moreno André L.,
Osório Flávia L.,
Crippa José Alexandre S.,
LeBeau Richard,
Manfro Gisele G.,
Salum Giovanni A.,
Koller Silvia H.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of methods in psychiatric research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.275
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1557-0657
pISSN - 1049-8931
DOI - 10.1002/mpr.1531
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , agoraphobia , measurement invariance , clinical psychology , convergent validity , panic disorder , generalized anxiety disorder , social anxiety , categorical variable , anxiety disorder , reliability (semiconductor) , psychometrics , discriminant validity , specific phobia , psychiatry , internal consistency , confirmatory factor analysis , structural equation modeling , statistics , power (physics) , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics
The DSM‐5 highlights the use of dimensional assessments of mental health as a supplement to categorical diagnoses. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales in a Brazilian community sample. Dimensional scales for generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and specific phobia were administered to 930 adults aged 18 to 70, 64.2% female. Psychometric properties investigated were: unidimensionality; measurement invariance; internal consistency; composite reliability; test–retest reliability; convergent and divergent validity; category thresholds and item performance analyses. Analyses revealed unidimensionality for all scales except for specific phobia. Measurement invariance, high internal consistency and composite reliability, and convergent and divergent validity were demonstrated. Test–retest reliability was high for all scales but generalized anxiety disorder. Item‐based analyses evidenced that none of the items were very easy to endorse and that the scales offered more information about subjects with high severity estimates of anxiety. The DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales are a valid and reliable alternative to assess anxiety symptomatology in community settings, although further evaluation is needed, especially for specific phobia. The scales seem to be more useful for characterizing dimensionality of symptoms for subclinical or clinical cases than for slight or mildly anxious subjects.