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The cardiac anxiety questionnaire: development and preliminary validity.
G H Eifert1, R N Thompson, M J Zvolensky
1Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26505-6040, USA.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
|September 27, 2000
Summary
This study introduces the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) to identify heart-focused anxiety (HFA) in patients. The CAQ shows promise in measuring fear, avoidance, and attention related to cardiac concerns.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cardiology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Heart-focused anxiety (HFA) is the fear of cardiac stimuli and sensations.
- HFA is often unrecognized and misdiagnosed in patients with or without heart disease.
- There is a need for a reliable tool to measure HFA.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and psychometrically evaluate the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ).
- To measure HFA in cardiology patients.
- To assess the reliability and validity of the CAQ.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: 188 cardiology patients completed the CAQ; item, factor, and reliability analyses were performed.
- Study 2: 42 patients completed the CAQ and other anxiety measures for convergent and divergent validity.
- Development of an 18-item CAQ with a three-factor solution (fear, avoidance, attention).
Main Results:
- The CAQ demonstrated good internal consistency for total and subscale scores.
- Preliminary validity results were promising.
- The CAQ identified a three-factor structure related to HFA.
Conclusions:
- The CAQ appears to be a useful instrument for identifying patients with elevated HFA.
- Further psychometric evaluation is needed to confirm the CAQ's reliability and validity.
- The CAQ can aid in identifying HFA in patients with and without heart disease.