title: Psychometric properties of the dimensional anxiety scales for DSM-5 in a Brazilian community sample.
abstract: The DSM-5 highlights the use of dimensional assessments of mental health as a supplement to categorical diagnoses. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales in a Brazilian community sample. Dimensional scales for generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and specific phobia were administered to 930 adults aged 18 to 70, 64.2% female. Psychometric properties investigated were: unidimensionality; measurement invariance; internal consistency; composite reliability; test-retest reliability; convergent and divergent validity; category thresholds and item performance analyses. Analyses revealed unidimensionality for all scales except for specific phobia. Measurement invariance, high internal consistency and composite reliability, and convergent and divergent validity were demonstrated. Test-retest reliability was high for all scales but generalized anxiety disorder. Item-based analyses evidenced that none of the items were very easy to endorse and that the scales offered more information about subjects with high severity estimates of anxiety. The DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales are a valid and reliable alternative to assess anxiety symptomatology in community settings, although further evaluation is needed, especially for specific phobia. The scales seem to be more useful for characterizing dimensionality of symptoms for subclinical or clinical cases than for slight or mildly anxious subjects.
authors.affiliation: Anxiety Disorders Outpatient Program (PROTAN), Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Center for Psychological Studies on At-Risk Populations (CEP-Rua), Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Department of Psychology, Tiradentes University, Aracaju, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diogo A
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4112-6649
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: DeSousa
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences Department, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: André L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences Department, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Osório
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences Department, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Alexandre S
authors.initials: JAS
authors.lastname: Crippa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: LeBeau
authors.affiliation: Anxiety Disorders Outpatient Program (PROTAN), Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gisele G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Manfro
authors.affiliation: Anxiety Disorders Outpatient Program (PROTAN), Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Giovanni A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Salum
authors.affiliation: Center for Psychological Studies on At-Risk Populations (CEP-Rua), Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvia H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Koller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001938:Brazil; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dimensional Anxiety Scales; DSM; anxiety; anxiety disorders; psychometrics