Development and validation of two shortened anxiety sensitive index-3 scales based on item response theory

Anxiety sensitivity refers to an individual’s belief that anxiety symptoms adversely affect physical, cognitive, and social appraisals, thereby exacerbating the fear of these symptoms. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) has been widely used to measure anxiety sensitivity. To provide researchers with more flexibility in selecting scale lengths, this study developed two shortened versions of the ASI-3 via item response theory analysis: one containing 12 items and the other containing six items. Given the overall good quality of the original scale, this study primarily achieved scale shortening by retaining items that could provide a substantial amount of item information, namely, items of high measurement precision. Compared to the original scale, the two shortened versions demonstrate good reliability while maintaining the same three-dimensional latent structure, robust inter-construct relationships, and highly correlated latent traits.