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(Reference retrieved automatically from SciELO through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory applied to college students: factor analysis and relation to the Beck Depression Inventory

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Author(s):
L. Andrade [1] ; C. Gorenstein [2] ; A.H. Vieira Filho [3] ; T.C. Tung [4] ; R. Artes [5]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Universidade de São Paulo. Hospital das Clínicas. Instituto de Psiquiatria
[2] Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas. Departamento de Farmacologia
[3] Universidade de São Paulo. Hospital das Clínicas. Instituto de Psiquiatria
[4] Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Psiquiatria
[5] Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto de Matemática e Estatística. Departamento de Estatística - Brasil
Total Affiliations: 5
Document type: Journal article
Source: Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research; v. 34, n. 3, p. 367-374, 2001-03-00.
Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) and its relation to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were evaluated in a large Brazilian college student sample containing 845 women and 235 men. STAI-T scores tended to be higher for women, singles, those who work, and subjects under 30 years. Factor analysis of the STAI-T for total sample and by gender yielded two factors: the first representing a mood dimension and the second being related to worrying or cognitive aspects of anxiety. In order to study the relation between anxiety and depression measures, factor analysis of the combination of the 21 BDI items and the 20 STAI-T items was also carried out. The analysis resulted in two factors that were analyzed according to the tripartite model of anxiety and depression. Most of the BDI items (measuring positive affectivity and nonspecific symptoms of depression) were loaded on the first factor and four STAI-T items that measure positive affectivity. The remaining STAI-T items, all of them measuring negative affect, remained in the second factor. Thus, factor 1 represents a depression dimension and factor 2 measures a mood-worrying dimension. The findings of this study suggest that, although widely used as an anxiety scale, the STAI-T in fact measures mainly a general negative affect. (AU)