Reliability, validity and sensitivity of a computerized visual analog scale measuring state anxiety

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• State anxiety assessment is crucial in clinical and research settings.
• Traditional multi-item inventories present practical measurement challenges.
• Visual analog scales (VAS-A) offer rapid assessment, with computerized versions enhancing data collection and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the psychometric properties of a computerized visual analog scale for state anxiety (VAS-A).

Main Methods:

• Experiment 1: Assessed reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of computerized VAS-A in a non-selected sample.
• Experiment 2: Evaluated VAS-A's sensitivity to state anxiety increases following social stress induction in individuals with high social anxiety.

Main Results:

• Computerized VAS-A showed good test-retest reliability (r = .44) and convergent validity with STAI-State (r = .60).
• It demonstrated discriminant validity by correlating lower with dissimilar measures compared to STAI-State.
• VAS-A was sensitive to anxiety changes, showing a significant increase during social stress (F(1,48) = 25.13).

Conclusions:

• The computerized VAS-A possesses adequate psychometric properties for measuring state anxiety.
• Its ease of use and speed make it a valuable tool, especially for computer-based assessments and treatments.
• This tool is particularly useful when multi-item inventories are less feasible.