Abstract
Abstract : Awareness of the impact of anxiety and specifically generalised anxiety disorder on employees and organisations has increased. Research regarding its identification and treatment in the South African context, however, has been lagging behind. To aid organisations and practitioners in addressing this shortcoming valid and reliable measures for mental illness are needed. The objective of this study was to validate the use of the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7- item scale (GAD-7) for use within the South African context. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used, and data was collected from employees during 2016 and 2017 (N =644). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine the factor structure of the GAD-7. All items loaded onto a single factor namely GAD. Secondly, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the suitability of the unidimensional model. The results of the CFA indicated that the unidimensional model had a good fit with the data. Furthermore, the study found evidence of both convergent and discriminant validity as well as high reliability. The GAD-7, therefore, shows promise as an instrument to measure generalized anxiety in the South African working population, which will aid employers in developing intervention programs.
M.Com. (Industrial Psychology)