title: Validation of a Chinese Version of the Geriatric Anxiety Scale Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Mainland China.
abstract: The Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS) was developed as an international screening instrument for anxiety in older adults. The aims of the present study were to translate the GAS into Chinese and to subsequently evaluate the preliminary psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the GAS (GAS-C) among community-dwelling Chinese older adults. The translation of the GAS into Chinese was developed through a translation and back translation process. A sample of 206 community-dwelling older adults (51.9 % men, Mean age = 70.70 years, SD = 8.15 years) completed the GAS-C, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the GAS-C. Internal consistency and convergent validity were used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the translated measure. The factor analyses were in support of a unidimensional factor model of the GAS-C in this Chinese sample, and the item-total correlations for all 25 items ranged from 0.40 to 0.83. The internal consistency for the GAS-C total score was excellent (α = 0.92). The GAS-C total score were significantly and strongly correlated with the BAI (r = 0.86), the GDS (r = 0.78) and the PSQI (r = 0.63), which indicated good convergent validity of the GAS-C. The GAS-C appears to be a reliable and valid screening instrument to assess anxiety symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in mainland China.
authors.affiliation: Xiangya Nursing School of Central South University, Tongzipo Road No172, Changsha, Hunan, 410013, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ling
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xiamen, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Da-Li
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gottschling
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918, USA. dsegal@uccs.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.affiliation: Xiangya Nursing School of Central South University, Tongzipo Road No172, Changsha, Hunan, 410013, People's Republic of China. psy-nursing@qq.com.
authors.forename: Si-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D014175:Translating
keywords: Aging; Anxiety; Assessment; Geriatric Anxiety Scale; Validation