Psychometric Properties of the GAD-7 in Parents of Children with Chronic Conditions

This study modeled the factor structure of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), quantified its internal consistency, tested for longitudinal invariance, and estimated associations with measures of depression, parent stress, family functioning, and child psychopathology. Data were from 200 parents enrolled in an on-going study of children with chronic health conditions recruited from a pediatric hospital. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) modeled the GAD-7 factor structure, and multiple-group CFA tested longitudinal invariance over 48 months. A one-factor model showed the best fit to the data, and the omega hierarchical was 0.89 and 0.88 at baseline and 48 months, respectively. The GAD-7 demonstrated longitudinal invariance. Internal consistency was good at both assessments (α > 0.75). Correlations with other measures were significant and at least small in magnitude. Known-group validity (parents with vs. without depression) showed very large effects (d > 2.0). The GAD-7 is psychometrically robust in parents of children with chronic health conditions.