Monthly prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico

AbstractObjective: Estimate the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) from April to June 2020. Methods: Repeated cross-sections design based in the ENCOVID-19 – a series of monthly mobile surveys with representative samples of Mexico (N= 833- 1,674). The questionnaire includes the GAD-2 scale, and, in July, the GAD-7 scale was added; we examined its internal validity with confirmatory factor analysis and its concurrent validity with sociodemographic variables. Using GAD-7 as criterion, we analyzed the predictive validity of the GAD-2. We estimated the monthly prevalence with the GAD-2. Results: The GAD-7 and the GAD-2 are reliable and valid. The GAD-2 has a sensitivity of 0.87 and a specificity of 0.90. The monthly prevalence remains high and stable, between 30.7 and 32.6%. GAD concentrated in women, unemployed and persons with low socioeconomic status. Conclusions: GAD is a public health problem that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Resumen Objetivo: Estimar la prevalencia de ansiedad generalizada (GAD) entre abril y junio de 2020. Material y Métodos: Diseño transversal repetido basado en la ENCOVID-19 –serie de encuestas telefónicas mensuales con muestras representativas de México (N= 833- 1,674). El cuestionario incluye la escala GAD-2 y en julio se añadió la GAD-7; se examinó su validez interna con análisis factorial confirmatorio y su validez concurrente con variables sociodemográficas. Con la GAD-7 como criterio, se calculó la validez predictiva de la GAD-2. Se estimó la prevalencia mensual con la GAD-2. Resultados: La GAD-7 y la GAD-2 son confiables y válidas. La GAD-2 tiene una sensibilidad de 0.87 y una especificidad de 0.90. La prevalencia mensual se mantuvo alta y estable, entre 30.7 y 32.6%. El GAD se concentró en mujeres, personas desocupadas y de bajo nivel socioeconómico. Conclusiones: El GAD es un problema de salud pública que se agravó con la pandemia por COVID-19.

Download Full-text

The French Version of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) in a Nonclinical Sample

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000158 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 74 (3) ◽

pp. 119-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Martine Bouvard ◽

Anne Denis ◽

Jean-Luc Roulin

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Child Anxiety ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

French Version ◽

Confirmatory Factor

This article investigates the psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). A group of 704 adolescents completed the questionnaires in their classrooms. This study examines potential confirmatory factor analysis factor models of the RCADS as well as the relationships between the RCADS and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders-Revised (SCARED-R). A subsample of 595 adolescents also completed an anxiety questionnaire (Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised, FSSC-R) and a depression questionnaire (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D). Confirmatory factor analysis of the RCADS suggests that the 6-factor model reasonably fits the data. All subscales were positively intercorrelated, with rs varying between .48 (generalized anxiety disorder-major depression disorder) and .65 (generalized anxiety disorder-social phobia/obsessive-compulsive disorder). The RCADS total score and all the RCADS scales were found to have good internal consistency (> .70). The correlations between the RCADS subscales and their SCARED-R counterparts are generally substantial. Convergent validity was found with the FSSC-R and the CES-D. The study included normal adolescents aged 10 to 19. Therefore, the findings cannot be extended to children under 10, nor to a clinical population. Altogether, the French version of the RCADS showed reasonable psychometric properties.

Download Full-text

Psychometric Analysis Of The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale And The Patient Health Questionnaire Using Mokken Scaling And Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Health and Primary Care ◽

10.15761/hpc.1000145 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luke Boothroyd ◽

David Dagnan ◽

Steven Muncer

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Psychometric Analysis ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Mokken Scaling ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Patient Health

Download Full-text

(Re)examining the Factorial sstructure of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 in a College Students Sample

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1879 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S109-S109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Monteiro ◽

A. Bártolo ◽

A. Torres ◽

A. Pereira

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Factor Structure ◽

Factor Model ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Self Report ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Cross Sectional

IntroductionGeneralized anxiety in young adults during college career is a serious public-health problem that untreated has a chronic course. Research has shown that the self-report questionnaire generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) is a reliable and valid measure to assess generalized anxiety symptoms severity in heterogeneous psychiatric samples. However, GAD-7 is not available for non-clinical populations and their factor structure has not been re-examined.ObjectivesOur objective was to examine factor structure and measurement invariance of the GAD-7 among college students testing two alternatives models.AimsThe original model fit of single-factor was compared to two-factor model that considered in comprehensive approach of generalized anxiety the assessment of cognitive-emotional nature and somatic symptoms.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study the GAD-7 was administrated to college students (n = 1031) recruited in the six schools which compose the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal. Confirmatory factor analysis was used testing two models.ResultsAmong college students, 32.8% reported significant generalized anxiety symptoms. The original unidimensional structure of GAD-7 was confirmed but the two-factor model comprising cognitive–emotional and somatic factors presented better fit to the data (χ2(1) = 21.01, P < 0001). This latent factor were positively associated (r = 0.51, P < 0.001) and presented a good internal consistency (α = 0.85 and α = 0.86 for cognitive-emotional and somatic items, respectively). The invariance factor of two-factor model across gender was also confirmed.ConclusionsResults indicate that within college communities the GAD-7 integrates two stable generalized anxiety factors related but independent structure. The GAD-7 can be an adequate measure to detected generalized anxiety symptoms in this population.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Download Full-text

The 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale as a Tool for Measuring Generalized Anxiety in Multiple Sclerosis

International Journal of MS Care ◽

10.7224/1537-2073.2014-008 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 49-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Alexandra L. Terrill ◽

Narineh Hartoonian ◽

Meghan Beier ◽

Rana Salem ◽

Kevin Alschuler

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Root Mean Square ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Mean Square ◽

Confirmatory Factor

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is common in multiple sclerosis (MS) but understudied. Reliable and valid measures are needed to advance clinical care and expand research in this area. The objectives of this study were to examine the psychometric properties of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) in individuals with MS and to analyze correlates of GAD. Methods: Participants (N = 513) completed the anxiety module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (GAD-7). To evaluate psychometric properties of the GAD-7, the sample was randomly split to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results: Based on the exploratory factor analysis, a one-factor structure was specified for the confirmatory factor analysis, which showed excellent global fit to the data (χ212 = 15.17, P = .23, comparative fit index = 0.99, root mean square error of approximation = 0.03, standardized root mean square residual = 0.03). The Cronbach alpha (0.75) indicated acceptable internal consistency for the scale. Furthermore, the GAD-7 was highly correlated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale–Anxiety (r = 0.70). Age and duration of MS were both negatively associated with GAD. Higher GAD-7 scores were observed in women and individuals with secondary progressive MS. Individuals with higher GAD-7 scores also endorsed more depressive symptoms. Conclusions: These findings support the reliability and internal validity of the GAD-7 for use in MS. Correlational analyses revealed important relationships with demographics, disease course, and depressive symptoms, which suggest the need for further anxiety research.

Download Full-text

Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000470 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 878-890 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Marcusson-Clavertz ◽

Oscar N. E. Kjell

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Desirability ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Experience Sampling ◽

Well Being ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Psychological Variables

Abstract. Thinking about task-unrelated matters (mind wandering) is related to cognition and well-being. However, the relations between mind wandering and other psychological variables may depend on whether the former commence spontaneously or deliberately. The current two studies investigated the psychometric properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales (SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013 ). Study 1 evaluated the stability of the scales over 2 weeks ( N = 284 at Time 1), whereas Study 2 ( N = 323) evaluated their relations to Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, Openness, Social desirability, and experience-sampling reports of intentional and unintentional mind wandering during an online cognitive task. The results indicated that the SDMWS were better fitted with a two-factor than a one-factor solution, although the fit was improved with the exclusion of one item. The scales exhibited strong measurement invariance across gender and time, and moderately high test-retest reliability. Spontaneous mind wandering predicted Generalized anxiety disorder and experience-sampling reports of unintentional mind wandering, whereas Deliberate mind wandering predicted Openness and experience-sampling reports of intentional mind wandering. Furthermore, Spontaneous mind wandering showed a negative association with social desirability of weak-to-medium strength. In sum, the scales generally showed favorable psychometric properties.

Download Full-text