1. Psychometric Properties and Validation of the General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale Among Adolescents With Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms
- Author
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Lyscha A. Marcynyszyn, Carolyn A. McCarty, Sara P.D. Chrisman, Douglas F. Zatzick, Ashleigh M. Johnson, Jin Wang, Robert J. Hilt, and Frederick P. Rivara
- Subjects
adolescents ,anxiety ,concussion ,psychometrics ,traumatic brain injury ,Medical emergencies. Critical care. Intensive care. First aid ,RC86-88.9 - Abstract
The General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7) scale is commonly used in primary care as a self-report measure of general anxiety symptoms with adult populations. There is little psychometric research on this measure with adolescent populations, particularly those with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS). This study examined the psychometrics properties of the GAD-7 among youth with PPCS. We used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of collaborative care for treatment of PPCS among 200 sports-injured adolescents 11?18 years of age (Mage?=?14.7 years, standard deviation?=?1.7). Eligible adolescents had three or more PPCS that lasted for ?1 month and spoke English. Adolescents reported on their anxious (GAD-7 and Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale?Short Version [anxiety subscale]; RCADS) and depressive (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9) symptoms. Parents used the RCADS to report on their adolescents' anxious symptoms. The GAD-7 had good internal validity (Cronbach's alpha?=?0.87), and significant (p?0.001) correlations were detected between the GAD-7 and youth and parent report of anxiety on RCADS (r?=?0.73 and r?=?0.29) and PHQ-9 (r?=?0.77) scores. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested a one-factor solution. These results suggest that the GAD-7 is a valid measure of anxiety with good psychometric properties for youth experiencing PPCS. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03034720
- Published
- 2023
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