Reliability and Validity of Korean Geriatric Anxiety Inventory(K-GAI)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (K-GAI). Methods: Two hundreds and thirty six elderly were participated to test K-GAI. Goldberg’s short screening scale for anxiety was tested for criterion validity. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used for measuring sensitivity and specificity. Results: The obtained internal consistency was 0.88. There were significant associations between test and retest results. K-GAI scores was significantly associated with Goldberg’s short screening scale for anxiety (r=.694, p<.001). We found that a score of seven and greater was optimal for a criterion of anxiety among elderly Koreans. At this cut point, sensitivity was 78.9% and specificity was 73.1%. Conclusion: The K-GAI displayed good psychometric properties. This tool would be useful for early detection of anxiety among elderly Koreans with various situations including cognitive disorder, low education, or physical disability.