Testing the Psychometric Properties of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory in a Sample of Older Adults in Turkey

Year 2021, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 31 - 39, 15.12.2021

Mithat Durak Emre Şenol Durak

https://doi.org/10.51819/jaltc.2021.1089891

Abstract

Anxiety is a prevalent illness among older adults, and it should be assessed using psychometrically robust diagnostic tools owing to the fact that physical symptoms suppress geriatric anxiety. It is challenging to assess anxiety in older people due to variations in worries, such as older adults being more concerned about their lives and complaining of decreased arousal. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) is a new, well-known, and adaptable measure created to evaluate anxiety in the older population while avoiding the abovementioned issues. The present study aims to measure the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the GAI in a Turkish sample of older adults (n = 199). In the current research, ninety-four male (47.2%) and one hundred five female (52.8%) participants are enrolled. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) proves that the GAI three-dimensional model is statistically significant. Good internal consistency results and corrected item-total correlations prove the inventory's reliability. Additionally, concurrent validity is shown to be reasonable based on the association between geriatric anxiety and many conceptually related variables (general anxiety, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect), and discriminant validity is found to be satisfactory based on the correlation between geriatric anxiety and an unrelated measure (social desirability). The psychometric characteristics of the GAI are discussed in light of current findings on the value of evidence-based evaluation in older people.

Keywords

Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, GAI, older adults’ anxiety, psychometric, confirmatory factor analyses, reliability

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