The factor structure of the state-trait anxiety inventory for children: Kindergarten through the fourth grades

The A-State and A-Trait scales of Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) were administered to a total of 1786 kindergarten, 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-grade disadvantaged black children. For the K-2 groups, the STAIC A-State scale was administered twice; it was administered only once in the 3rd–4th grades. The A-Trait scale was administered once to all 10 groups of children. A series of factor analyses, computed separately by sex and grade level, identified 3 factors: trait anxiety and 2 distinct state anxiety factors corresponding to the anxiety-present and anxiety-absent content of the A-State items. Similar 3-factor patterns were observed for both males and females for all five grade levels. Other factor solutions were examined but considered less satisfactory in terms of simple structure and psychological meaningfulness. The results were interpreted as providing strong evidence for the state-trait distinction in anxiety research with children.     

Psychometric properties of the state-trait anxiety inventory for Asian/Pacific-islander adolescents

Anxiety disorders are said to be universal across all cultures and recent reviews have found relatively high prevalence rates across different countries. However, the experience and interpretation of anxiety are strongly influenced by cultural factors. Demonstrating cross-cultural equivalence of measures of anxiety is essential to assure that comparisons between cultures will result in meaningful interpretations. Despite the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory being the most researched of anxiety measures from a cross-cultural basis, there is a lack of empirical studies on the psychometric properties of the STAI with adolescent Asian/Pacific Islanders. The present study examined the STAI using a large sample of ethnically diverse high school students in Hawaii. In general, a four-factor model (State-Anxiety Absent, State-Anxiety Present, Trait-Anxiety Absent, and Trait-Anxiety Present) provided the best fit based on a series of confirmatory factor analyses. Indicators of internal consistency supported the reliability of the factors and subscales, and the inter-factor correlations reflected positively on the concurrent validity of the different STAI factor and subscale measures. This study suggested cautious use and interpretation of one particular item (Trait Item 14 = I try to avoid facing a crisis or difficulty ), and cautious application of the STAI to Filipino adolescents (particularly Filipino males). Domains for further research are discussed.     

Evidence of denial and item-intensity specificity in the state-trait anxiety inventory

The Dutch form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered to 188 surgical patients the day before their operations and 3 days later. Scores for the state anxiety-present (S-Anx+) items were consistently lower than for the state anxiety-absent (S-Anx-) items; scores on the S-Anx+ items before and after surgery were close to minimum for males. Tentative explanations for these findings and consequences for scoring the STAI State Anxiety scale are indicated. The effects of item-intensity specificity, social desirability, and denial as a mechanism for warding off the distressing emotion of anxiety are discussed.     

Measuring anxiety by ordered categorical items in data with subgroup structure: the case of the Hungarian version of the trait anxiety scale of the state-trait anxiety inventory for children (staic-h)

The present study suggests a modelling methodology for examining measurement invariance of ordered categorical item indicators of latent constructs such as anxiety, coping, motives etc., in research settings with few subgroups and a large sample of individuals. The Hungarian version of the Anxiety Trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC-H) was administered to 605 boys and 975 girls of age 10–15 in 12 schools. A MIMIC model was suggested for examining measurement invariance across subgroups of schools and ages, while a multi-group analysis was recommended for investigating invariance across gender. High degree of invariance across groups was obtained for the Anxiety Trait scale in terms of item factor loadings, item thresholds and item homogeneity with respect to group contrast variables. Based on the diagnostic information obtained by the present methodology, the few item indicators showing non-invariance were discussed with reference to methodological and conceptual considerations.     

Reliability of state-trait anxiety with emotionally disturbed children

The test-retest reliability and the internal consistency of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) was determined for 30 emotionally disturbed children. The STAIC was administered at the beginning and end of a three month period. Test-retest reliability for the STAIC A-State and A-Trait scale were. 63 and 44, respectively. Alpha values of internal consistency were 89 and 88. Differences in these results and findings previously reported by Spielberger (1973) are discussed in terms of population differences.     

Symptom-positive and symptom-negative items in the state-trait anxiety inventory: A comparison and replication

Substantially higher mean scores on symptom-negatively versus symptom-positively worded items have consistently been reported in the literature for the balanced Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In this study we aimed at replicating and comparing these findings for the Dutch adaptation of the inventory. Results indicated significantly higher mean subscale scores for symptom-negative as opposed to symptompositive items of both the Trait and State version, across sexes and age groups as well as across different levels of distress in students, policemen and psychiatric out-patients. Positive-negative mean difference scores were consistently larger for the State than for the Trait version. State and Trait mean difference scores were found to be mainly confined to symptom-positive subscales. Scale intercorrelations were lowest between symptom-positive and symptom-negative subscales both within and across measures. Factor analyzing the combined versions identified separate symptom-negative and symptom-positive factors, tentatively labeled “absence of positive affect” and “presence of negative affect”. Several explanations of the findings among which item-intensity specificity, the response style of social desirability and the model of positive and negative affectivity are discussed.     

Quantitative difference in the experience of state-trait anxiety in emotionally disturbed and normal children

In order to investigate the state-trait anxiety distinction in emotionally disturbed and normal children, the responses of 120 emotionally disturbed children and 126 normal children to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (Spielberger, 1973) were factor analyzed separately. For the emotionally disturbed group two A-State and two A-Trait factors were found with the A-State factors accounting for significantly more of the variance than did A-Trait factors. For the normal group four A-State and two A-Trait factors were found, but there was not a significant difference between the amount of variance accounted for by A-State and A-Trait factors. Results were discussed as supporting the state-trait distinction and as having several implications for future research on anxiety.     

Factor structure of the Lorr and More assertiveness inventory

Previous research among university students has identified four classes of assertive behavior, namely, Directiveness, Social Assertiveness, Defense of One's Rights and Interests and Independence. Scores on the Lorr and More (1980) Assertiveness Inventory, obtained from a general population sample, were subjected to Varimax rotatio. Results revealed only three classes of assertiveness. It is argued that Directiveness may be inferred from various forms of assertiveness, rather than being a separate and distinct class of assertive behavior.     

Test-retest reliability of the state-trait personality inventory and the anger expression scale

Abstract

The State-Trait Personality Inventory and the Anger Expression Scale have been attracting increasing attention in research involving personality assessment, but no data regarding the test-retest reliability of these instruments have been published. The 14-day test-retest correlation coefficients for the subscales of these instruments reflect appropriately low stability for the state scales of the STPI and moderate stability for the STPI trait scales as well as the AX subscales.     

Factor structure of the basic personality inventory with incarcerated offenders

The item and scale factor structure of the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI) was examined in a sample of 486 offenders incarcerated for violent and sexual crimes. Separate principal-component analyses of the items for each of the 11 clinical scales, critical item scale, and social desirability scale indicated a one-dimensional factor solution for all scales except Depression and Persecutory Ideation. The Depression scale's two factors were Hopelessness and Depressive Affect and the Persecutory Ideation scale's two factors were General Paranoia and Perception of External Control. Although the factors for these two scales may assist in interpretation, the correlations between the factors and the total score of their respective scale were high. Confirmatory factor analysis of the 220 items from the 11 clinical scales supported the factorial logic of the scoring key. Analysis of the 11 clinical scales resulted in two factors: General Psychopathology/Adjustment and Antisocial Orientation. The results suggest that all but two scales can be viewed as unidimensional thereby allowing for a straightforward clinical interpretation. These analyses support the internal structure of the BPI and lend credence to external validity work with forensic populations.     

Factor structure of the childhood anxiety sensitivity index.

We developed various factor models of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index [Silverman, W. K., Fleisig, W., Rabian, B. & Peterson, R. A. (1991). Childhood anxiety sensitivity index. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20, 162-168] and tested the goodness of fit of the models in an independent sample. Of primary interest was to examine the question that characterized the factor analytic studies conducted on the adult version of the anxiety sensitivity index, i.e. the ASI [Reiss, S., Peterson, R. A., Gursky, D. M. & McNally, R. J. (1986). Anxiety sensitivity, anxiety frequency and the prediction of fearfulness. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24, 1-8]: is anxiety sensitivity in children a unidimensional construct, an orthogonal multidimensional construct, or a hierarchical construct? Two independent samples (a clinic sample and a nonclinical sample) were used for development and replication of the factor models. The clinic sample consisted of 258 children (105 girls and 153 boys) who presented to a child anxiety disorders specialty clinic. The unselected, nonclinic sample consisted of 249 children (122 girls and 127 boys) enrolled in an elementary school. The results provided strong empirical support for a hierarchical multidimensional model with either three or four first-order factors. The two factors that emerged that appeared to be robust were Physical Concerns and Mental Incapacitation Concerns. What remains unresolved is whether Control of anxiety symptoms and Social Concerns are to be differentiated (as in the hierarchical model with four first-order factors) or not (as in the hierarchical model with three first-order factors). In addition to discussing this issue, the convergence of the present study's findings with past findings obtained with the ASI is discussed.     

Factor structure of the psychopathic personality inventory: validity and implications for clinical assessment

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by impulsive antisocial deviance in the context of emotional and interpersonal detachment. A factor analysis of the subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) yielded evidence for 2 factors. One factor showed relations with external criteria mirroring those of the emotional-interpersonal facet of psychopathy, including high dominance, low anxiety, and venturesomeness. The other factor showed relations paralleling those of the social deviance facet of psychopathy, including positive correlations with antisocial behavior and substance abuse, negative correlations with socioeconomic status and verbal ability, and personality characteristics including high negative emotionally and low behavioral constraint. Findings support using the PPI to assess these facets of psychopathy in community samples and to explore their behavioral correlates and genetic-neurobiological underpinnings.     

Self-reports of depression and state-trait anxiety: evidence for differential assessment.

Several researchers have found anxiety and depression to be indistinguishable in nonclinical samples and have suggested that both constructs may be components of a general psychological distress process. Another possibility is that overlap is due to the psychometric limitations of scales used. A series of exploratory factor analyses were conducted in a nonclinical sample (N = 605) using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, 1978), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, 1983), and the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS; Endler, Edwards, & Vitelli, 1991). Both state and trait anxiety and depression could be differentiated with the BDI and the EMAS but not with the STAI. Some theoretical models of negative affectivity or general psychopathology may be premature.     

Conspiracy thinking and state-trait anxiety in young Polish adults

The relationships among conspiracy thinking and state and trait anxiety were examined with 118 high school students who were assessed using the Conspiracy Beliefs Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Among boys there was a positive correlation between scores on A-Trait and the conspiracy thinking (r = .39) whereas among girls there was a negative correlation between these scores (r = -.32).     

Relationships between adaptation-innovation, experienced control, and state-trait anxiety

This study examines correlations among scores on the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, the Tiffany Control Scales, and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for 104 undergraduates enrolled in the general psychology classes at a middle-sized midwestern university. Analysis indicated that adaptors and innovators perceive control from and/or over some aspects of their lives differently. Innovators feel control over internal (self) and over external (environment) while adaptors feel control from internal (self) and from external (environment). These results suggest innovators generally feel that they are in control of both themselves and the environment. Adaptors, however, generally feel they are controlled by internal drives and impulses or environmental events. The present study yielded no correlation between choice of college major and adaption-innovation but more research is needed. A relation between adaption and state anxiety was found, which may suggest adaptors feel more pressure when completing a novel task (answering questionnaires) than innovators. Finally, no significant correlation was found between the Kirton scores and trait anxiety.     

Factor structure of the strong interest inventory with a Chinese high school sample

D. S. Goh and J. Yu (2001) translated the Strong Interest Inventory (SII; L. W. Harmon, J-I. Hansen, F. H. Borgen, & A. L. Hammer, 1994) into Chinese and identified a 6-factor structure of the new instrument that showed both similarities and differences with J. L. Holland's personality types (1966, 1985, 1997). The present study was undertaken to further investigate the construct validity of the SII-Chinese for a sample of 247 high school students in China. Confirmatory factor analyses did not find a good fit of the Goh and Yu (2001) model or the Holland hexagonal model to the present data. Exploratory factor analysis extracted a 3-factor solution accounting for 59.2% of the variance. The authors offer interpretations of the obtained factors and discuss implications for the use of the SII-Chinese as an assessment tool.