title: Anxiety Sensitivity in School Attending Youth: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the 18-Item CASI in a Multicultural South African Sample.
abstract: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders in youth. To date, the applicability of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) in youth from a low or middle income country (LMIC) setting on the African continent has not been assessed. A representative sample of 1149 secondary school learners from 29 schools in Cape Town, South Africa, participated in the study. Participants completed the CASI on a single occasion. One-, two-, and four-factor models of the CASI were assessed. A one-factor solution that comprised items predominantly represented by physical concerns appeared to provide the best fit to our data, however, relatively low variance (26%) was explained. Subsequent item deletion resulted in a 9-item 'physical concerns' factor that showed good construct reliability (0.83) but also explained a low amount of variance (35%). In terms of gender, a one-factor model provided the best fit, however, low variance was explained (i.e., 25%). Configural, metric and scalar invariance of the CASI by gender was determined. Our results suggest that the 18-item CASI is not applicable to our target population and may require adaptation in this population; however, replication of this study in other multicultural adolescent samples in South Africa is first needed to further assess the validity of the AS construct as measured by the CASI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lindi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Statistical Consultation, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, Stellenbosch University Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kidd
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seedat
keywords: Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI); South Africa; adolescents; confirmatory factor analysis; exploratory factor analysis; gender