Psychometric Comparability of the English-and Spanish-Language Versions of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

The psychometric adequacy of the English-and Spanish-language versions of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was compared across English-speaking Latino American women (n = 17) and men (n = 18) and Spanish-speaking Latino American women (n = 10) and men (n = 14) who were experiencing stressful and potentially anxiety-producing situations associated with physical pain. Subjects were administered the STAI as well as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in their preferred language. Psychometric comparisons of language group and gender revealed nonsignificant differences in (a) mean scores on the STAIscales, (b) internal consistency for the STAI scales, and (c) correlations between the STAI scales and MMPI scales. Item analyses identified several salient screening itemsfor the Spanish-speaking men; several items with low item-remainder correlations were revealedfor the English-and Spanish-speaking women. Overall, results attest to the psychometric strengths of the English-and Spanish-language versions of the STAI.