Verdere validering van de Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) en vergelijking van twee Nederlandstalige versies

The first aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of one version of the PANAS that is widely used in Flanders. In a large nonclinical sample (N=3499), the PANAS showed solid psychometric properties. Sex differences appeared: men scored significantly higher on Positive Affect (PA), but significantly lower on Negative Affect (NA), in comparison with women. Six models were tested with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The best-fitting model consisted of two correlated factors corresponding to the PA and NA scales and permitted correlated error. Consequently the hypothesis of complete independence between PA and NA must be rejected. In a second part, we compared our version with a Dutch version (Peeters, Ponds & Vermeeren, 1996). Both translations differed regarding nine items. Our analysis confirmed the psychometric properties of the latter version, and CFA indicated the same model as best-fitting model. Inspection on the item level revealed no considerable differences between the two versions.