Development and psychometric properties of the Anticipatory Anxiety Inventory

Written by Simge Vural, Nuno Ferreira on 13 September 2021. Posted in Volume XXV, Nr 3

Authors

Simge Vural*, Nuno Ferreira

School of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

Abstract

Background: Anticipatory Anxiety (AA) is defined as a course of thoughts, feelings, and actions occurring just and only "before" an anxiety-provoking event. In order to explore this construct, the Anticipation Anxiety Inventory (AAI) was developed and its psychometric properties have been investigated in two studies.
Methods: Study 1 used an Exploratory Factor Analysis approach to determine the factor structure of the items of the scale. In study 2, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed to assess the scale structure, the validity of the factor solution, and convergent and discriminatory validity.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis from study 1 suggested 13 items across four factors for the AAI: Emotional Hypersensitivity, Physical responses to AA, Dysfunctional Cognitions, and Daily Functioning. In study 2, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the 4-factor solution of the AAI had an acceptable fit, excellent internal consistency (α= 0.92), and displayed good convergent and discriminatory validity.
Conclusion: The AAI could be proposed as a useful valid and reliable tool to investigate AA. For future implications, more research is needed regarding the utility of this measure in experimental designs or clinical settings.

Keywords: anticipation anxiety, mental health, psychometric

PAGES:261-288

doi:10.24193/cbb.2021.25.14

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