Abstract

FIORAVANTI, Ana Carolina Monnerat et al. Evaluation of the factorial structure of the trait anxiety scale of the STAI. Aval. psicol. [online]. 2006, vol.5, n.2, pp. 217-224. ISSN 1677-0471.

The State - Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is composed of two scales which intend to measure state (STAI-S) or trait (STAI-T) anxiety components. Results employing factor analysis techniques indicate the presence of two factors in the latent structure of the STAI-T component. Although different interpretations have been proposed, the nature of these factors remains unclear. The present study further investigated the factor structure of the STAI-T in three different Brazilian samples: a) students from two different universities from Rio de Janeiro; b) high school students from Brasilia and c) marine subjects during a military draft. Results indicated that STAI-T factor structure depended on the sample investigated. University and high school students presented a factorial structure convergent with the anxiety and depression interpretation. On the other hand, the military sample presented a factorial structure based on the "anxiety present" "anxiety absence" interpretation. Theoretical aspects related to the ability of instruments to discriminate anxiety and depression are discussed.

Keywords : STAI; Trait Anxiety; Factor Analysis.

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