Beck Anxiety Inventory: Measurement Invariance, Latent Mean Comparison, and Reliability in Adults From Buenos Aires

Abstract

This research aimed to provide new psychometric evidence of the Argentine Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) version in a sample of adults from Argentina. More specifically, the objectives were: 1) test the factor structure of the BAI; 2) assess gender, education, age, and region invariance; 3) test the latent factor mean difference across gender, education, age, and region; 4) analyze the reliability of the BAI; 5) provide population-based norms. The sample was composed of 1,410 adults ranging between 18 and 65 years (M = 32.41; SD = 10.45). Results showed that the BAI should be interpreted as unidimensional. Full configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender, education, age, and region were obtained for the unidimensional model. The BAI presented adequate reliability values. Latent mean comparisons showed that men experienced more anxiety than women, that college-educated experienced more anxiety than non-college, that older people experienced more anxiety than younger people, and that people living in Greater Buenos Aires experienced more anxiety than those from Buenos Aires City. The BAI is an invariant measure of anxiety symptoms with good psychometric properties.