A Confirmatory Factor Structure of Beck Anxiety Inventory in Secondary School Students Among Kuwaitis and Non-kuwaitis

Abstract

Introduction

TheBeck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) has consistently been regarded as a strong toolfor measuring cognitive and somatic aspects of self-reported anxietysymptomatology in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Thereis no study until this date that examines the factor structure of BAI within Kuwaitiand non-Kuwaiti from high school students.

Objectives

The current study investigated the original four-factor structure of the (BAI) innon-clinical sample of young adults.

Methods

The sample consisted of 600 males andfemale students from secondary school of which 300 are Kuwaitis, and 300non-Kuwaitis. The Arabic version of BAI was administered to participants. Explanatory and conformity factor analysisof BAI were used in this study.

Results

The results revealed three structures of BAI in the two samples of Kuwaiti andnon-Kuwaiti students. The first factor: Neurophysiological symptoms andsymptoms of Subjective, and the second factor comprised symptoms of Panic andSubjective, while the third factor included panic and Autonomic symptoms. Inaddition, the results revealed no significant gender differences in the factorstructure of BAI in the two samples of Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti students.

Conclusion

Theresults ofboth confirmatory and exploratoryfactor analysis indicated that the original four-factor structures of the BeckAnxiety Inventory do not provide the best fit for either the Kuwaiti or non-Kuwaiti sample. Three-factor model provided the best fit for the two samples. Implications andsuggestions for future research are discussed.