Validity and reliability of the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in Chilean college students

The present study is focused on the assessment of the psychometric properties of the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), one of the most recurring affectivity measures in international research, in a Chilean college sample, aiming at confirming the findings reported on the original validation study. After a backward translation of the instrument from English-to-Spanish, a pilot study was conducted which results oriented the elaboration of the final version of the PANAS, applied to a college sample of different careers (n = 437). The results yielded appropriate internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the PANAS, in agreement with the previous evidence. This allows concluding that the PANAS is in line with the psychometric requirements established for its application in the validation context.