Psychometric properties of the Adult Anxiety Scale in a Swedish community sample.

Abstract

Purpose: Although anxiety disorders are common worldwide and often associated with significant impairment, many cases remain undetected and thus untreated. A lack of adequate screening partly explains this treatment gap, and easy-to-use screening instruments are needed to capture more than one type of anxiety disorder. The aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of one such promising instrument: the Adult Anxiety Scale, AAS-15, intended to measure social anxiety disorder (social phobia), generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. Materials and methods: The Swedish version of the AAS-15 was evaluated in a community sample (N = 1066, mean age 22.93 years, 64.4% women). Results: The psychometric properties were found to be good. Internal consistency ranged from very good to excellent, and a confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model consistent with the three anxiety disorder dimensions that it purported to assess. Conclusion: This evaluation of the AAS-15 supports the view of the scale as a useful tool for assessing social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. With strong psychometric properties, quick and easy administration, and coverage of the most common types of anxiety disorders in adults, the AAS-15 is a valuable addition to standardized assessment and anxiety screening in a variety of healthcare settings.