Psychometric Properties of the Online Version of the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7): A Longitudinal Study in Pregnant and Postpartum Spanish Women

• Autores: Irene Gómez Gómez, Sara Domínguez Salas, María de la Fe Rodríguez Muñoz, Carmen Rodríguez Domínguez, Diego Gómez Baya, Emma Motrico Martínez
• Localización: Psicothema, ISSN-e 1886-144X, ISSN 0214-9915, Vol. 36, Nº. 3, 2024, págs. 227-235
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.7334/psicothema2023.293
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    Antecedentes: La proliferación de intervenciones e investigaciones psicológicas realizadas a través de internet ha fomentado la aplicación de cuestionarios online para evaluar trastornos mentales comunes como la ansiedad perinatal. Este estudio analiza la validez y fiabilidad de la versión online de la Escala de Ansiedad Generalizada (GAD-7) en una muestra de mujeres españolas embarazadas y puérperas. Método: 3082 mujeres embarazadas (n = 1260) y puérperas (n = 1822) fueron reclutadas por internet y seguidas durante seis meses en tres momentos de tiempo. Resultados: El Análisis Factorial Exploratorio aportó una solución unifactorial que se confirmó mediante Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio en embarazadas (CFI = 0.998; RMSEA = 0.035) y puérperas (CFI = 0.998; RMSEA = 0.038). Este modelo mostró invarianza estricta por grupo. La validez se confirmó evaluando las correlaciones entre GAD-7 con la Escala de Depresión Postnatal de Edimburgo y los 10 ítems de la lista de verificación del Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático en los tres momentos evaluados. El coeficiente de fiabilidad fue .92 para ambos grupos. Conclusiones: Este estudio muestra que la versión online en español del GAD-7 tiene buenas propiedades psicométricas y puede ser utilizada para evaluar síntomas de ansiedad durante el período perinatal.

  • English

    Background: The use of online questionnaires to assess common mental disorders such as perinatal anxiety has spread due to the proliferation of Internet-based psychological interventions and research. This study analyses the validity and reliability of the online version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) in a sample of pregnant and postpartum Spanish women. Method: A total of 3082 pregnant (n = 1260) and postpartum (n = 1822) women were recruited via the Internet and underwent three follow-up evaluations during a six-month period. Results: A one-factor solution was assigned by Exploratory Factor Analysis and confirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis for both pregnant (CFI = 0.998; RMSEA = 0.035) and postpartum(CFI = 0.998; RMSEA = 0.038) women. The one-factor model showed strict invariance across groups. Validity was confirmed by assessing correlations between GAD-7, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the 10-item Posttraumatic Stress Disorder checklist at three time points. The reliability coefficient was .92 for the two groups. Conclusions: This study shows that the Spanish online GAD-7 version has good psychometric properties and can be used to assess anxiety symptoms during the perinatal period.

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