Validation of the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7): Its Association with Psychological Factors in an Iranian Community Sample

The aims of the present study were (a) to develop a Farsi version of the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), (b) to explore correlations between general anxiety disorder, psychological well-being, mental health, and happiness, and (c) to explore gender-related differences. A sample of 488 subjects representing the general population of one of the cities in the North of Iran responded to the GAD-7, the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, the Self-Rating Scale of Mental Health, and the Self-Rating Scale of Happiness. Cronbach’s alpha was .89 for the GAD-7. One factor was extracted, labeled “Anxiety". GAD-7 scores correlated negatively with psychological well-being, mental health and happiness, indicating good validity. The sex difference in the GAD-7 was statistically significant; women had higher anxiety than men. The GAD-7 had good psychometric properties in the present sample from Iran. This study provides evidence for the usefulness of the Farsi version of the GAD-7 for assessing anxiety and anxiety disorder in Iranian community residents. The GAD-7 may be useful as a screening instrument not only for anxiety but for psychological/emotional problems more generally. Considering the high correlations between GAD-7 and the other scales, we can propose that the GAD-7 measures in large part a “general factor of subjective well-being”.