Abstract

REPPOLD, Caroline Tozzi; GURGEL, Léia Gonçalves  and  HUTZ, Claudio Simon. Construction and validation of the anxiety assessment scale for adolescents. Temas psicol. [online]. 2014, vol.22, n.4, pp. 871-883. ISSN 1413-389X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.9788/TP2014.4-15.

This study describes the construction and validation process of the Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (content and construct). The sample was composed of 1,054 students. The age range varied from 11 to 17 years old (mean age = 14.3; Standard Deviation = 1.70). The students were selected in 17 public and private schools located in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, and answered a self-report instrument. Factor analysis indicated the extraction of two factors, the first consisted of direct indicators of anxiety and the second grouped indicators regarding the ability to control anxiety. Analyses showed that the test presents adequate levels of internal consistency and evidence of validity. The scale has positive evidence of validity based in its internal structure, with the advantage of not keeping its focus only in vegetative symptoms, but also in the cognitive processes involved in anxiety. Data are discussed considering gender differences observed in the sample and the relevance of cognitive components in the clinical assessment of anxiety. Further studies are necessary for clinical validation.

Keywords : Anxiety; adolescence; self report.

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