Development of the short version of the spielberger state—trait anxiety inventory

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2020-09, Vol.291, p.113223-113223, Article 113223
• Main Authors: Zsido, Andras N., Teleki, Szidalisz A., Csokasi, Krisztina, Rozsa, Sandor, Bandi, Szabolcs A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - psychology; Anxiety assessment; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Mass Screening - standards; Mass Screening - trends; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - standards; Psychometrics - methods; Psychometrics - standards; Psychometrics - trends; Public mental health; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Self Report - standards; Short-form scales; STAI-5; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113223

•We created the 5-item versions of both the state and trait anxiety scale on a large community sample (N = 3399) covering a wide age-range (16–90).•The abbreviated versions of the scales are psychometrically sound and could be used as a reliable alternative to the original forms.•We calculated cut-off scores to be used in future studies to differentiate among anxious and healthy participants.•We provide mean scores with confidence intervals to be used as a standard. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) has been widely used to measure the state and trait components of anxiety. We sought to develop a short, yet reliable and valid form of these scales for use in circumstances where the full‐form is not feasible. We abbreviated the scales using item response theory analyses to retain the items that could discriminate the best among participants. One sample (N = 922) completed the state scale, a second sample (N = 2227) completed the trait scale, while a third sample (N = 250) completed the short forms. Our participants completed the Hungarian version of STAI alongside other measures to observe external validity. We calculated cut-off scores for the state (>9.5,) and trait (>13.5) scales. A total of 19.5% and 20.1% of the respondents reached the cut-off scores. The five-item short forms of STAI had sound psychometric properties that are comparable to those obtained on the full-form. The external validity of the scales is also demonstrated. We report detailed descriptive statistics that could be used in further studies as standards. The short scales are reliable measures that could be used in clinical screening and behavioural research; especially where practical considerations preclude the use of a longer questionnaire.