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

Abstract

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.