Cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the seven item general anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7) in college students of six countries of Latin American

Autor
Moreno-Montero, Esteban
Moreta-Herrera, Rodrigo
Rodas, Jose A.
Oriol-Granado, Xavier
Puerta-Cortés, Diana Ximena
Ferrufino-Borja, Daniela
Gismondi Diaz, Renzo
Lobos Rivera, Marlon Elías
Samaniego‑Pinho, Antonio
Buenahora-Bernal, Marcelo
Rojas-Jara, Claudio
Fecha
2025Resumen
Objective
To identify cross-cultural validity evidence for the Spanish version of the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) in a sample of university students from six Latin American countries.
Method
This study employed a descriptive, psychometric, and cross-sectional design to examine the factorial validity of the GAD-7, its measurement equivalence across nationalities, and item-level discrimination and difficulty parameters.
Participants
The sample consisted of 2278 university students from six Latin American countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Paraguay) with a mean age of 21.9 years (SD = 5.41, range = 16–59). The sample was composed of 37.4 % men (n = 851) and 62.6 % women (n = 1427).
Results
The findings confirmed the unidimensional structure of the GAD-7, along with measurement equivalence across nationalities from the six countries. The instrument demonstrated excellent internal consistency, and the discrimination and difficulty parameters for the items were found to be appropriate.
Conclusions
The GAD-7 is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing generalised anxiety in university students from Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Paraguay. Nationality does not introduce variability in the measure, supporting its cross-cultural applicability.
Fuente
Journal of Affective Disorders, 380, 598-606Link de Acceso
Click aquí para ver el documentoIdentificador DOI
doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.188Colecciones
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