Validation of a Chinese Version of the Geriatric Anxiety Scale Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Mainland China

J Cross Cult Gerontol (2017) 32:5770 DOI 10.1007/s10823-016-9302-4

Xiao-Ling Lin1 & Da-Li Lu2 & Juliana Gottschling3 & Daniel L. Segal4 & Si-Yuan Tang1

Published online: 19 August 2016# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Abstract The Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS) was developed as an international screening instrument for anxiety in older adults. The aims of the present study were to translate the GAS into Chinese and to subsequently evaluate the preliminary psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the GAS (GAS-C) among community-dwelling Chinese older adults. The translation of the GAS into Chinese was developed through a translation and back translation process. A sample of 206 community-dwelling older adults (51.9 % men, Mean age=70.70 years, SD=8.15 years) completed the GAS-C, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the GAS-C. Internal consistency and convergent validity were used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the translated measure. The factor analyses were in support of a unidimensional factor model of the GAS-C in this Chinese sample, and the item-total correlations for all 25 items ranged from 0.40 to 0.83. The internal consistency for the GAS-C total score was excellent (=0.92). The GAS-C total score were significantly and strongly correlated with the BAI (r = 0.86), the GDS (r = 0.78) and the PSQI (r = 0.63), which indicated good convergent validity of the GAS-C. The GAS-C appears to be a reliable and valid screening instrument to assess anxiety symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in mainland China.

* Daniel L. Segal [email protected]

* Si-Yuan Tang [email protected]

1 Xiangya Nursing School of Central South University, Tongzipo Road No172, Changsha, Hunan

410013, Peoples Republic of China

2 Department of Psychiatry, Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xiamen, Fujian, Peoples Republic of China

3 Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany

4 Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA

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Validation of a Chinese Version of the GeriatricAnxiety Scale Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Mainland China

58 J Cross Cult Gerontol (2017) 32:5770

Keywords Aging . Anxiety . Assessment . Geriatric Anxiety Scale . Validation

Introduction

Anxiety disorders are among...