Short Versions of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: Psychometric Performance in a Sample of People Seeking Help
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35670/1667-4545.v24.n2.46486Keywords:
worry, anxiety, psychopathology, validation studies, factor analysis, MexicoAbstract
Worry is a cognitive transdiagnostic variable that is relevant for psychopathology research. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) was developed to measure it. We aimed to examine the psychometric properties of three short versions of the PSWQ (11, 8, and 7 items) in a sample of Mexicans seeking help. A sample of 1391 individuals (82.2% women) seeking online psychological help completed the 11-item PSWQ, as well as measures of depression and anxiety. Single and multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Good fit was achieved in the three versions only after adding correlated residuals to the models. Internal consistency reliability was excellent for the PSWQ-11 (ω = .93) and the PSWQ-A (ω = .90); it was acceptable for the PSWQ-5 (ω = .81). Furthermore, evidence of approximate invariance between sexes and age groups was found. Finally, the three versions were similarly associated with depression and anxiety.
Downloads
References
Ato, M., López-García, J. J., & Benavente, A. (2013). Un sistema de clasificación de los diseños de investigación en psicología [A classification system for research designs in psychology]. Anales de Psicología / Annals of Psychology, 29(3), 1038-1059. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.29.3.178511
Becerra Herrera, W. A., Quispe Escobar, A. R., Cárcamo-Zepeda, E., Torres Guffanti, A., & Yupanqui Lorenzo, D. E. (2023). Cuestionario de Pensamiento Automático (ATQ-8): Nueva evidencia basada en AFC, TRI y SEM [Automatic Thinking Questionnaire (ATQ-8): New evidence based on CFA, IRT, and SEM]. Revista Evaluar, 23(1), 51-60. https://doi.org/10.35670/1667-4545.v23.n1.41010
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (2006). Inventario de Depresión de Beck: BDI-II. Ediciones Paidós Ibérica S. A.
Borkovec, T. D., Ray, W. J., & Stober, J. (1998). Worry: A cognitive phenomenon intimately linked to affective, physiological, and interpersonal behavioral processes. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22(6), 561-576. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018790003416
Brosseau-Liard, P. E., & Savalei, V. (2014). Adjusting incremental fit indices for nonnormality. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 49(5), 460-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2014.933697
Brown, T. A. (2003). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: Multiple factors or method effects? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41(12), 1411-1426. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00059-7
Carbonell-Bártoli, E. L., & Tume-Zapata, V. N. (2022). Cuestionario de Preocupación de Pensilvania (PSWQ 11): Evidencias psicométricas en una muestra de adultos de Lima Metropolitana [Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ 11): Psychometric evidence in a sample of adults in Metropolitan Lima]. PsiqueMag, 11(2), 31-41. https://doi.org/10.18050/psiquemag.v11i2.2108
Cares, S. R., Younce, J. A., Mangen, K. H., Winder, J. R., Fergus, T. A., & Wu, K. D. (2022). I am worried: Do the PSWQ and PSWQ-A display measurement invariance across four racial groups? Assessment, 29(6), 1320-1330. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911211013911
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 9(2), 233-255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
de la Rosa-Gómez, A., Hernández Posadas, A., Valencia, P. D., Flores-Plata, L. A., Serrano Zárate, B., Flores Elvira, A. I., Dominguez-Rodriguez, A., Vázquez Sánchez, M. F., & González Santiago, E. (2023). Online transdiagnostic intervention for emotional, trauma-and stressor-related disorders in the Mexican population: A randomized pilot and feasibility trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 35, 101204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2023.101204
DeLapp, R. C. T., Chapman, L. K., & Williams, M. T. (2016). Psychometric properties of a brief version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in African Americans and European Americans. Psychological Assessment, 28(5), 499-508. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000208
Dominguez-Lara, S. (2019). Correlación entre residuales en análisis factorial confirmatorio: Una breve guía para su uso e interpretación [Correlation between residuals in confirmatory factor analysis: A brief guide to their use and interpretation]. Interacciones, 5(3), e207. https://doi.org/10.24016/2019.v5n3.207
Ehring, T., & Behar, E. (2020). Transdiagnostic view on worrying and other negative mental content. In A. L. Gerlach & A. T. Gloster (Eds.), Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Worrying: A comprenhensive handbook for clinicians and researchers (1st ed., pp. 43-68). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119189909.ch4
Ferrando, P. J., Lorenzo-Seva, U., Hernández-Dorado, A., & Muñiz, J. (2022). Decálogo para el análisis factorial de los ítems de un test [Decalogue for the factor analysis of test items]. Psicothema, 34(1), 7-17. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2021.456
González, A., Mata, S., Lavie, R., & Resler, G. (2007). Validación del cuestionario de preocupaciones de la Universidad estatal de Pensilvania (PSWQ). Revista de La Facultad de Medicina, 30(1), 38-42.
Hopko, D. R., Reas, D. L., Beck, J. G., Stanley, M. A., Wetherell, J. L., Novy, D. M., & Averill, P. M. (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. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.15.2.173
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(6), 487-495. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(90)90135-6
Nuevo Benítez, R., Montorio Cerrato, I., & Ruiz Díaz, M. Á. (2002). Aplicabilidad del Inventario de Preocupación de Pensilvania (PSWQ) a población de edad avanzada [Application of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) to elderly population]. Ansiedad y Estrés, 8(2-3), 157-172.
Padros-Blazquez, F., Gonzalez-Betanzos, F., Martinez-Medina, M. P., & Wagner, F. (2018). Psychometric characteristics of the original and brief version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) in Mexican samples. Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría, 46(4), 117-124.
Petersen, M. Aa., Vachon, H., Groenvold, M., & the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group. (2023). Development of a diverse set of standard short forms based on the EORTC CAT Core item banks. Quality of Life Research, 32(7), 2037-2045. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-023-03373-6
Puccinelli, C., Cameron, D. H., Ouellette, M. J., McCabe, R. E., & Rowa, K. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Past Week (PSWQ-PW) in an anxiety and related disorders sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 45(2), 549-557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10029-9
Rhemtulla, M., Brosseau-Liard, P. E., & Savalei, V. (2012). When can categorical variables be treated as continuous? A comparison of robust continuous and categorical SEM estimation methods under suboptimal conditions. Psychological Methods, 17(3), 354-373. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029315
Robles, R., Varela, R., Jurado, S., & Páez, F. (2001). Versión mexicana del Inventario de Ansiedad de Beck: Propiedades psicométricas . Revista Mexicana de Psicología, 18(2), 211-218.
Ruiz, F. J., Monroy-Cifuentes, A., & Suárez-Falcón, J. C. (2018). Penn State Worry Questionnaire-11 validity in Colombia and factorial equivalence across gender and nonclinical and clinical samples. Anales de Psicología / Annals of Psychology, 34(3), 451-457. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.34.3.300281
Sandín, B., Chorot, P., Valiente, R. M., & Lostao, L. (2009). Validación española del cuestionario de preocupación PSWQ: estructura factorial y propiedades psicométricas [Spanish validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: Factor structure and psychometric properties]. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 14(2), 107-122. https://doi.org/10.5944/rppc.vol.14.num.2.2009.4070
Schetsche, C., Jaume, L. C., & Azzollini, S. (2022). Desarrollo de una versión breve del Coping Strategies Inventory [Development of a short version of the Coping Strategies Inventory]. Revista Evaluar, 22(1), 01-16. https://doi.org/10.35670/1667-4545.v22.n1
Schroder, H. S., Clark, D. A., & Moser, J. S. (2019). Screening for problematic worry in adults with a single item from the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Assessment, 26(2), 336-346. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191117694453
Topper, M., Emmelkamp, P. M. G., Watkins, E. R., & Ehring, T. (2014). Development and assessment of brief versions of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Ruminative Response Scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(4), 402-421. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12052
Valencia, P. D., & Paredes-Angeles, R. (2021). Dimensionality of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and its brief versions. Revista Argentina de Ciencias Del Comportamiento, 13(2), 38-51. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v13.n2.27395
Viladrich, C., Angulo-Brunet, A., & Doval, E. (2017). Un viaje alrededor de alfa y omega para estimar la fiabilidad de consistencia interna [A journey around alpha and omega to estimate internal consistency reliability]. Anales de Psicología, 33(3), 755-782. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.33.3.268401
Wu, S. M., Schuler, T. A., Edwards, M. C., Yang, H.-C., & Brothers, B. M. (2013). Factor analytic and item response theory evaluation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in women with cancer. Quality of Life Research, 22(6), 1441-1449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-012-0253-0
Wuthrich, V. M., Johnco, C., & Knight, A. (2014). Comparison of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and abbreviated version (PSWQ-A) in a clinical and non-clinical population of older adults. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28(7), 657-663. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JANXDIS.2014.07.005
Xie, S.-S., Xiao, H.-W., & Lin, R.-M. (2023). Abbreviated version of Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Chinese adolescents: Age, gender and longitudinal invariance. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1086592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1086592
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Revista Evaluar aplica la Licencia Internacional de Atribuciones Comunes Creativas (Creative Commons Attribution License, CCAL). Bajo esta licencia, los autores retienen la propiedad de copyright de los artículos pero permiten que, sin que medie permiso de autor o editor, cualquier persona descargue y distribuya los artículos publicados en Evaluar. La única condición es que siempre y en todos los casos se cite a los autores y a la fuente original de publicación (i.e. Evaluar). El envío de artículos a Evaluar y la lectura de los mismos es totalmente gratuito.
