INFORMATION

Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.

PSICOTHEMA
  • Director: Laura E. Gómez Sánchez
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  • ISSN: 0214-9915
  • Digital Edition:: 1886-144X
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Psychometric Properties of the Online Version of the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7): A Longitudinal Study in Pregnant and Postpartum Spanish Women

Irene Gómez-Gómez1, Sara Domínguez-Salas2, María F. Rodríguez-Muñoz3, Carmen Rodríguez-Domínguez2, Diego Gómez-Baya4 and Emma Motrico2


1 Universidad Loyola Andalucía (Spain)
2 Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
3 Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
4 Universidad de Huelva (Spain)

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.

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.

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Impact Factor JCR SSCI Clarivate 2023 = 3.2 (Q1) / CiteScore SCOPUS 2023 = 6.5 (Q1)