Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T05:22:30.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychometric Characteristics of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in an Argentinean Sample: A Cross-Cultural Contribution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Ricardo Rodríguez-Biglieri  and
Giselle Lorena Vetere
Ricardo Rodríguez-Biglieri*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Giselle Lorena Vetere
Affiliation:
Hospital Dr. Cosme Argerich (Argentina)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ricardo Rodríguez-Biglieri. Facultad de Psicología. Departamento de Psicología Clínica y Psicoterapia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Av. Corrientes 5239, 11° D. Código Postal: C1414AJR. Buenos Aires. (Argentina). Phone: +54-011-4856-6506; Fax: +54-011-42445025. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although studies in several populations have provided support for Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSQW) reliability and validity, factor analysis studies carried out on different populations show divergent results. The aim of this article is to contribute with the cross-cultural literature on PSWQ. This report describes two studies examining the psychometric characteristics of a revised Argentinean version of the PSWQ. In the first study, items of original PSWQ were translated into Spanish and then back-translated into English. Then, in order to examine its reliability and factorial structure, the instrument was completed by 400 community participants. The second study included two groups of participants as follows: patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and patients with other anxiety disorders (AC). Results revealed appropriated test-retest reliability over a four-week period, high internal consistency, and good convergent and discriminant validity for PSWQ. In concordance with some results reported in previous studies, a single factorial structure was confirmed for the Argentinean version of PSWQ. By the other hand, a receiver operating characteristic analysis was made to evaluate the ability of PSWQ to discriminate GAD from individuals with others anxiety disorders. A total score of 63 simultaneously optimized sensitivity and specificity in discriminating GAD patients from patients with others anxiety disorders.

Aunque estudios conducidos en diversas poblaciones han establecido que el Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSQW) posee adecuados índices de confiabilidad y validez, los análisis sobre su estructura factorial han arrojado resultados divergentes. El objetivo del presente artículo es contribuir con la literatura transcultural del PSWQ. Con dicho fin se describen dos estudios los cuales examinan las características psicométricas de una versión Argentina revisada del PSWQ. En el primer estudio los ítems originales del PSWQ fueron traducidos al español y luego traducidos nuevamente al inglés. Posteriormente, con la finalidad de examinar la confiabilidad y estructura factorial del instrumento, el mismo fue administrado a 400 participantes. El segundo estudio incluyó un grupo de pacientes con Trastorno de Ansiedad Generalizada (TAG) y otro grupo conformado por pacientes con otros cuadros de ansiedad (CA). Los resultados registraron adecuados índices de confiabilidad test-retest para un período de cuatro semanas, altos índices de consistencia interna, y buenos índices sobre la validez convergente y discriminante del instrumento. En concordancia con resultados informados en algunos estudios previos, una solución unifactorial fue registrada para la versión Argentina del PSWQ. Por otro lado, se efectuó un análisis de las curvas de operación característica del receptor con la finalidad de evaluar la capacidad del PSWQ para diferenciar pacientes con TAG de aquellos con otros cuadros de ansiedad. Un puntaje total de 63 optimizó simultáneamente sensibilidad y especificidad para la diferenciación de pacientes con TAG de pacientes con otros cuadros de ansiedad.

Keywords

Penn State Worry Questionnairereliabilityvalidityfactor structuresensitivityspecificityPenn State Worry Questionnaireconfiabilidadvalidezestructura factorialsensibilidadespecificidad
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , May 2011 , pp. 452 - 463
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th Ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Barlow, D. H. (1988). Anxiety and its disorders: the nature and treatment of anxiety and panic. New York, NY: Guildford Press.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). BDI-II, beck depression inventory: Manual (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (2006). Inventario de depresión de Beck: BDI-II [The Beck Depression Inventory-II] (2nd ed.). Buenos Aires: Paidós.Google Scholar
Beck, J. G., Stanley, M. A., & Zebb, B. J. (1995). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 1, 33–42.Google Scholar
Behar, E., Alcaine, O., Zuellig, A. R., & Borkovec, T. D. (2003). Screening for generalized anxiety disorder using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: A receiver operating characteristics analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 34, 25–43. doi:10.1016/S0005-7916(03)00004-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borkovec, T. D. (1994). The nature, functions and origins of worry. In Davey, G. C. L., & Tallis, F. (Eds.), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment and treatment (pp.5–33). Chichester, UK: Wiley.Google Scholar
Borkovec, T. D., Alcaine, O., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder. In Heimberg, R. G., Turk, C. L., & Mennin, D. S. (Eds.), Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice (pp. 77–108). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Borkovec, T. D., Shadick, R. N., & Hopkins, M. (1991). The nature of normal and pathological worry. In Rapee, R. M., & Barlow, D. H. (Eds.), Chronic anxiety: Generalized anxiety disorder and mixed anxiety-depression (pp. 29–51). New York, NY: Guildford Press.Google Scholar
Brislin, R., Lonner, W., & Thorndike, R. (1973). Cross-cultural research methods. New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Brown, T. A. (2003). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: Multiple factors or method effects? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 1411–426. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00059-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, T. A., Antony, M. M., & Barlow, D. H. (1992). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a clinical anxiety disorders sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 30, 33–37.doi:10.1016/0005-7967(92)90093-VCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, M., Sbrocco, T., Miller, O., Suchday, S., Lewis, E., & Freedman, R. (2005). Factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: differences between African-American and White-American college students. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19(8), 827–843. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.11.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chelminski, I., & Zimmerman, M. (2003). Pathological worry in depressed and anxious patients. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17(5), 533–46. doi:10.1016/S0887-6185(02)00246-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Covin, R., Ouimet, A., Seeds, P., & Dozois, D. (2008). A meta-analysis of CBT for pathological worry among clients with GAD. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22(1), 108–116. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.01.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crittendon, J., & Hopko, D. R. (2006). Assessing worry in older and younger adults: Psychometric properties of an Abbreviated Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ-A). Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 1036–1054. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2005.11.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davey, G. C. (1994). Pathological worrying as exacerbated problem solving. In Davey, G. C. L., & Tallis, F. (Eds), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment and treatment. Chichester, UK: Wiley.Google Scholar
Davey, G. C., Hampton, J., Farrell, J., & Davidson, S. (1992). Some characteristics of worrying: Evidence for Worrying and anxiety as separate constructs. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 133–147. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(92)90036-OCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davey, G. C., & Wells, A. (Eds.) (2006). Worry and its psychological disorders. Chichester, UK: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470713143CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dugas, M. J., & Ladouceur, R. (1998). Analysis and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. In Caballo, V. E. (Ed.), International handbook of cognitive-behavioral treatments of psychological disorders (pp. 197–225). Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., & Gibbon, M. (1995). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I): User's Guide and Interview, Research Version. New York, Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute.Google Scholar
Fresco, D. M., Heimberg, R. G., Mennin, D. S., & Turk, C. L. (2002). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 313-323. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(00)00113-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fresco, D. M., Mennin, D. S., Heimberg, R. G., & Turk, C. L. (2003). Using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire to identify individuals with generalized anxiety disorder: a receiver operating characteristic analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 34, 283–291. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2003.09.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gana, K., Martin, B., Canouet, M. D., Trouillet, R., & Meloni, F. (2002). Factorial structure of a French version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18, 158–164. doi:10.1027//1015-5759.18.2.158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
González, A., Mata, S., Lavie, R., & Resler, G. (2007). Validación del cuestionario de preocupaciones de la universidad estatal de pensilvania (PSWQ) [Validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire]. Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Universidad Central de Venezuela, 30(1), 38–42.Google Scholar
Gosselin, P., Dugas, M., Ladouceur, R., & Freeston, M. (2001). Evaluation of worry: validation of a French translation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. L' Encéphale 27(5), 475–484.Google ScholarPubMed
Haslett-Stevens, H., Ullman, J., & Craske, M. (2004). Factor structure of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: examination of a method factor. Psychological Assessment, 11(4), 361–370. doi:10.1177/1073191104269872CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirai, M., Stanley, M., & Novy, D. (2006). Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Hispanics: Symptom Characteristics and Prediction of Severity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28(1), 49–56. doi:10.1007/s10862-006-4541-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopko, D., Stanley, M., Reas, D., Wetherell, J., Beck, J., Novy, D., & Averill, P. (2003). Assessing worry in older adults: confirmatory factor analysis of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and psychometric properties of an abbreviated model. Psychological Assessment, 15(2), 173–183. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.15.2.173CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horn, J. L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30, 179–185. doi:10.1007/BF02289447CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kraemer, H. C. (1992). Evaluating medical tests. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Ladouceur, R., Freeston, M. H., Rheaume, J., Letarte, H., & Dumont, J. (1992). Translation and validation of a French version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Canadian Psychology, 33, 241.Google Scholar
Leibovich de Figueroa, N. B. (1991). Ansiedad: algunas concepciones teóricas y su evaluación. In Casullo, M. M., Figueroa, N. Leibovich de, & Aszkenazi, M. (Eds.), Teoría y técnicas de evaluación psicológica [Theory and techniques of psychologycal assessment] (pp. 121–154). Buenos Aires: Psicoteca.Google Scholar
Lim, Y. J., Kim, Y. H., Lee, E. H., & Kwon, S. (2008). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire: psychometric properties of the Korean version. Depression and Anxiety, 25(10), 97–103. doi:10.1002/da.20356CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meloni, F., & Gana, K. (2001). Wording effects in the Italian version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 8, 282–287. doi:10.1002/cpp.294CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 487–495. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(90)90135-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Molina, S., & Borkovec, T. D. (1994). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire: psychometric properties and associated characteristics. In Davey, G. C. L., & Tallis, F. (Eds.), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment and treatment (pp.265–283). Chichester, UK: Wiley.Google Scholar
Molina, S., Borkovec, T. D., Peasley, C., & Person, D. (1998). Content analysis of worrisome streams of consciousness anxious and dysphoric participants. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 109–123. doi:10.1023/A:1018772104808CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novy, D., Stanley, M., Averill, P., & Daza, P. (2001). Psychometric comparability of English- and Spanish-language measures of anxiety and related affective symptoms. Psychological Assessment, 13(3), 347–355. doi:10.1037//1040-3590.13.3.347CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nuevo, R., Mackintosh, M., Gatz, M., Montorio, I., & Wetherell, J. (2007). A test of the measurement invariance of a brief version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire between American and Spanish older adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 19(1), 89–101. doi:10.1017/S1041610206003450CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nuevo, R., Montorio, I., & Ruiz, M. (2002). Aplicabilidad del Inventario de Preocupación de Pensilvania (PSWQ) a población de edad avanzada [Applicability of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in an older adult population]. Ansiedad y Estrés, 8(2–3), 157–172.Google Scholar
Olatunji, B., Schottenbauer, M., Rodriguez, B., Glass, C., & Arnkoff, D. (2007). The structure of worry: relations between positive/negative personality characteristics and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21(4), 540–553. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.08.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pallesen, S., Nordhus, I., Carlstedt, B., Thayer, J., & Johnsen, T. (2006). A Norwegian adaptation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: factor structure, reliability, validity and norms. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47(4), 281–91. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2006.00518.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pestle, S., Chorpita, B., & Schiffman, J. (2008). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for children in a large clinical sample. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(2), 465–471. doi:10.1080/15374410801955896CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portman, M. (2009). Generalized anxiety disorder across the lifespan: An integrative approach. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-89243-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robichaud, M., Dugas, M. J., & Conway, M. (2003). Gender differences in worry and associated cognitive-behavioral variables. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 501–516. doi:10.1016/S0887-6185(02)00237-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salzer, S., Stiller, C., Tacke-Pook, A., Jacobi, C., & Leibing, E. (2009). Screening for Generalized Anxiety Disorder in inpatient psychosomatic rehabilitation: pathological worry and the impact of depressive symptoms. GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine, 6, 1–7. doi:10.3205/psm000058Google ScholarPubMed
Sandín-Ferrero, B., Chorot-Raso, P., Valiente-García, R., & Lostao-Unzu, L. (2009). Validación española del cuestionario de preocupación PSWQ: estructura factorial y propiedades psicométricas [Spanish validation of the PSWQ: factor structure and psychometric properties]. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 14(2), 107–122.Google Scholar
Sassaroli, S., Bertelli, S., Decoppi, M., Crosina, M., Milos, G., & Ruggiero, G. (2005). Worry and eating disorders: a psychopathological association. Eating Behaviors, 6(4), 301–307. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2005.05.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sibrava, N. J., & Borkovec, T. D. (2006). The cognitive avoidance theory of worry. In Davey, G. C. L. & Wells, A. (Eds.), Worry and its psychological disorders: Theory, assessment and treatment (pp. 239–256). Chichester, UK: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470713143CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spielberger, C., Gorsuch, R., & Lushene, R., (1994). Cuestionario de ansiedad estado-rasgo, STAI [The trait-state anxiety questionnaire, STAI] (4th ed). Madrid: TEA.Google Scholar
SPSS-PC, Version 17 (2008) [Computer software] Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Starcevic, V., Berle, D., Milicevic, D., Hannan, A., Lamplugh, C., & Eslick, G. (2007). Pathological worry, anxiety disorders and the impact of co-occurrence with depressive and other anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21(8), 1016–1027. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.10.015CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Startup, H. M., & Erickson, T. M. (2006). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). In Davey, G.C.L., & Wells, A. (Eds), Worry and its psychological disorders: Theory, assessment and treatment (pp. 101–119). Chichester, UK: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470713143Google Scholar
Stöber, J. (1995). Besorgnis: Ein Vergleich dreier Invetare zur Erfassung allgemeiner Sorgen [Worrying: A comparison of three questionnaires concerning everyday worries]. Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnsostische Psychologie, 16, 50–63.Google Scholar
Tallis, F., Eysenck, M., & Mathews, A. (1992). A questionnaire for the measurement of nonpathological worry. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 161–168. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(92)90038-QCrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Rijsoort, S., Emmelkamp, P., & Vervaeke, G. (1999). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Worry Domains Questionnaire: Structure, reliability and validity. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 6, 297–307. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0879(199910)6:4<297::AID-CPP206>3.0.CO;2-E3.0.CO;2-E>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vetere, G., & Rodríguez Biglieri, R. (2006). La Terapia Cognitiva y su validación para el Trastorno de Ansiedad Generalizada [The cognitive therapy and its validation for the generalized anxiety disorder]. Revista Argentina de Clínica Psicológica, 15(1), 49–53.Google Scholar
Vetere, G., & Rodríguez Biglieri, R. (2005). Validación empírica de modelos teóricos y tratamientos cognitivo-conductuales para trastorno de ansiedad generalizada [Empirical validation of the theoretical models and cognitive behavioral treatments for generalized anxiety disorder]. Vertex, Revista Argentina de Psiquiatría, 61, 170–175.Google Scholar
Webb, S., Diefenbach, G., Wagener, P., Novy, D., Kunik, M., Rhoades, H., & Stanley, M. (2008). Comparison of self-report measures for identifying late-life generalized anxiety in primary care. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 21(4), 223–231. doi:10.1177/0891988708324936CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yilmaz, A., Gençöz, T., & Wells, A. (2008). Psychometric Characteristics of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 and Metacognitive Predictors of Worry and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in a Turkish Simple. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 15, 424–439. doi:10.1002/cpp.589CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, F. W. (2003). ViSta: The Visual Statistics System. [computer software] [on-line] Retrieved from: URL: http://forrest.psych.unc.edu/research/index.htmlGoogle Scholar
Zhong, J., Wang, C., Li, J., & Liu, J. (2009). Penn state worry questionnaire: structure and psychometric properties of the Chinese version. Journal of Zhejiang University - Science B, 10(3), 211–218. doi:10.1631/jzus.B0820189CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed