The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Shadows and Lights on its Construct Validity

• Published in: Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 475 - 486
• Main Authors: Balsamo, Michela, Romanelli, Roberta, Innamorati, Marco, Ciccarese, Gabriele, Carlucci, Leonardo, Saggino, Aristide
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.12.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Confirmatory factor analysis; Discriminant validity; General factor; Measures; Mental depression; Negative emotions; Outpatients; Personality and Social Psychology; Psychological tests; Psychology; Trait anxiety; Validity; Confirmatory factor analysis; Psychological tests; Depression; Anxiety; Reliability and validity
• ISSN: 0882-2689; 1573-3505
• DOI: 10.1007/s10862-013-9354-5

Past studies on the factor validity of the Trait subscale of the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) do unanimously agree on its structure. In fact, researchers are still debating whether the STAI-T is unidimensional or multidimensional. Our aim was to clarify what the STAI-T measures. The STAI-T, the Beck Depression Inventory–II, the Teate Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were administered to 1124 psychiatric outpatients and to 877 healthy subjects. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed in order to compare various models in the literature. The internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of the STAI-T as well as its factorial subscales were assessed. The one-construct two-method (i.e., the STAI-T measures one substantive anxiety construct plus artifacts due to negative–positive item polarity) and the bifactor (i.e., the STAI-T comprises two first-order specific factors [“Anxiety” and “Depression”] and one first-order general factor) models were the best-fitting solutions for the STAI–T in both the clinical and nonclinical samples. The STAI–T total score correlated more strongly with measures of depression than with a concurrent measure of anxiety. The STAI-T should be considered a measure of general negative affect, including specific aspects of cognitive anxiety and depression together.