title: Further psychometric study of the Beck Anxiety Inventory including factorial analysis and social anxiety disorder screening.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in terms of its internal consistency, scores distribution, concurrent and discriminant validity, and factorial analysis in a sample of university students and social anxiety disorder (SAD) cases and non-cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of Brazilian university students from the general population (N = 2314) and a sample of university students identified as cases (N = 88) and non-cases (N = 90) of SAD were assessed, using as a parameter the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV. The different instruments were completed individually in the presence of an experienced rater.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The BAI showed adequate internal consistency (0.88-0.92) and discriminant validity, with 0.74 sensitivity and 0.71 specificity for a cut-off score of 10. The factorial analysis suggested a three-factor solution to be the most adequate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The version of the BAI studied is quite adequate to be used in the context of Brazilian university students, identifying the presence of anxiety indicators. However, its usefulness to screen for SAD seems limited.
authors: Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. flaliosorio@ig.com.br
authors: Flávia
authors: F
authors: de Lima Osório
authors: José Alexandre S
authors: JA
authors: Crippa
authors: Sonia Regina
authors: SR
authors: Loureiro
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult