Validating repurposed GAD-7 anchored in COVID-19 pandemic experiences: A factor- and person-centered approach

Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) has been found to accurately assess the presence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in various populations. However, despite showing good psychometric properties in assessing GAD symptoms, there is a need to further validate GAD-7 in milieu of the pandemic, considering that recent cross-sectional studies have utilized this scale in understanding GAD prevalence and risk factors. The present study aimed to contextualize the GAD-7 scale into the present condition through investigating its (1) factor structure, (2) measurement invariance, and (3) latent classes. This study utilized 1922 (63.4%) secondary and 1110 (36.6%) tertiary Filipino teachers. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the scale is best represented by two factors: cognitive-emotional experiences and somatic experiences. Moreover, the results revealed that while the two-factor GAD model showed good measurement equivalence across teacher groups, measurement non-invariance was observed in gender groups. Lastly, the latent class analysis yielded a three-class solution best fitting to the data. It specifically grouped GAD symptom intensity as low, moderate, and severe anxiety groups. These findings provide evidence of the scale's validity, supporting the utilization of the GAD-7 scale in assessing pandemic-related generalized anxiety.