Evidence of validity of the GAD-7 Scale in brazilian adolescents

Abstract This study aimed to investigate evidence of validity of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) in Brazilian adolescents, analyze the concurrent validity of the scale, and present the social distribution of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in this sample. Participants included 302 adolescents between 15 and 19 years old. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the GAD-7, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were applied. The results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) attested to the unidimensionality of GAD-7 and the internal consistency was considered satisfactory. The concurrent validity evidence demonstrated statistically significant and positive associations between the GAD-7 and the PHQ-9 and HADS-A scales. Positive symptoms for GAD in adolescents occurred in almost half of the sample, being more common in girls and younger adolescents. The study concluded that GAD-7 has adequate psychometric properties to screen for anxiety in adolescents.