A comparative study of anxiety symptoms in Chinese and Rwandan adolescents: a cross-cultural measurement invariance study of the GAD-7 scale
The GAD-7 showed reliability in measuring generalized anxiety in both Chinese and Rwandese adolescents, confirming its cross-cultural construct validity. However, partial scalar invariance suggests that while the GAD-7 effectively detects anxiety symptoms, the severity of reported symptoms may not be directly comparable across cultures due to response patterns and possible linguistic factors. These findings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive instruments for accurate anxiety assessment and expand evidence on reliable symptom screening and treatment monitoring across diverse populations.
Authors
- Wo Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9442-2097)
- Jianyu Tan
- Hao‐Kun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7099-3300)
- Liang-qing Ma
- D Y Geng
- Yiting Kong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7812-1457)
- Lisa Cynthia Niwenahisemo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4595-4908)
- Li Kuang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3265-2252)
- Qi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4159-9932)
- Jinhui Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7924-1656)
- Su Hong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2294-5251)
Institutions
- The Affiliated Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CN)
- Chongqing Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Published
- 2025-05-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1571753
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.31
Funders
- University of Rwanda
- Chongqing Medical University
- Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing
- Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment