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BMC Geriatrics

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Open Access 01-12-2019 | Anxiety | Research article

Item response analysis of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory among the elderly in China: dimensionality and differential item functioning test

Authors: Zhongquan Li, Xia Zhao, Ang Sheng, Li Wang

Published in: BMC Geriatrics | Issue 1/2019

Abstract

Background

Anxiety symptoms are pervasive among elderly populations around the world. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (the GAI) has been developed and widely used in screening those suffering from severe symptoms. Although debates about its dimensionality have been mostly resolved by Molde et al. (2019) with bifactor modeling, evidence regarding its measurement invariance across sex and somatic diseases is still missing.

Methods

This study attempted to provide complemental evidence to the dimensionality debates of the GAI with Mokken scale analysis and to examine its measurement invariance across sex and somatic diseases by conducting differential item functioning (DIF) analysis among a sample of older Chinese adults. The data was from responses of a large representative sample (N = 1314) in the Chinese National Survey Data Archive, focusing on the mental health of elderly adults.

Results

The results of Mokken scale analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of the GAI, and DIF analysis indicated measurement invariance of this inventory across individuals with different sex and somatic diseases, with just a few items exhibiting item bias but all of them negligible.

Conclusions

All these findings supported the use of this inventory among Chinese elders to screen anxiety symptoms and to make comparisons across sex and somatic diseases.

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Title: Item response analysis of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory among the elderly in China: dimensionality and differential item functioning test
Authors: Zhongquan Li
Xia Zhao
Ang Sheng
Li Wang
Publication date: 01-12-2019
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keyword: Anxiety
Published in: BMC Geriatrics / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2318
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1346-1

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Item response analysis of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory among the elderly in China: dimensionality and differential item functioning test

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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