Examining the Factor Structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 in a Turkish Sample: The Factor Structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3

Yılmaz Koğar E.

Psychological Reports, vol.125, no.6, pp.3289-3312, 2022 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 125 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/00332941211040427
  • Journal Name: Psychological Reports
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Periodicals Index Online, AgeLine, ATLA Religion Database, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, Gender Studies Database, MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Page Numbers: pp.3289-3312
  • Keywords: Anxiety sensitivity, bifactor model, measurement invariance
  • Akdeniz University Affiliated: No

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the factor structure of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) in a Turkey sample and to determine measurement invariance of the ASI-3 across gender and age groups. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on four different models to determine the best fit model for the structure. After the best structure was determined, different models were tested for measurement invariance across gender and age groups. To determine the reliability of the ASI-3, the hierarchical omega coefficient and correlations between the scores obtained from different scales for convergent validity were calculated. It has been determined that the bifactor model is the model that best fits the data, and this model shows invariance across gender and age groups. Besides, evidence regarding the reliability and convergent validity of the ASI-3 was also provided in the study. Current findings show that anxiety sensitivity consists of a general factor (anxiety sensitivity) and three independent specific factors (physical, cognitive, and social concerns). It was concluded that the general factor of anxiety sensitivity constitutes a dominant factor and special factors have a relatively low effect on explaining the structure. Considering the dominance of the general factor, it is recommended to use the ASI-3 total score as a measure of general anxiety sensitivity.