Reliability and Validity Analysis of the AMAS-Mobile for Assessing Anxiety in Mexican Higher Education Students

Abstract

Anxiety is a prevalent issue among university students, with recent studies indicating that one in three students experiences it or another emotional disorder. To address this, the use of standardized scales has been proposed to assess anxiety in this population. However, large-scale assessment remains challenging due to the lack of digital tools that facilitate widespread application. Traditional paper-based scales are time-consuming to administer and difficult to analyze efficiently. This article introduces AMAS-Mobile, a digital version of the AMAS-C scale designed for mobile devices, and presents its evaluation of validity and reliability through a nonexperimental exploratory study with Mexican university students between the ages of 18 and 50. This evaluation implies that a statistical analysis was conducted, which included calculating McDonald’s omega coefficient (ω) to assess reliability, as well as performing an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate validity. The AMAS-Mobile is reliable since ω = 0.87, indicating satisfactory internal consistency for both the overall instrument and the individual subscales. EFA revealed a four-factor structure, explaining 37.48% of the total variance. In addition, CFA indicated that the model fit accuracy index was analyzed (χ² = 2055.554, p < 0.001), indicating differences between the observed and expected matrices. A model fit analysis was also performed (RMSEA = 0.056; CFI = 0.794), which indicated that the model presented an adequate fit but was outside the expected range. This finding suggests a new arrangement of items.