A Confirmatory Factor Analytic Study of Anxiety, Fear, and Behavioral Inhibition System Measures

Recent revisions to the reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality have highlighted the distinction between the emotions of fear and anxiety. These revisions have substantial implications for self-report measurement; in particular, they raise the question of whether separate traits of fear and anxiety exist and, if so, their interrelationship. To address this question, the current study used confirmatory factor analytic procedures to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of measures of trait anxiety, fear, and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS). We also examined measurement and structural invariance across gender in 167 males and 173 females who completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Carver and White BIS Scale, and the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS). The findings suggested that trait anxiety and the BIS scale are relatively distinct from Tissue Damage Fear (FSS). Further, the final model showed measurement and structural invariance across gender. The implications of the results for future self-report assessment in RST research are discussed.