Assessment of the internal consistency and factorial validity of Ch. Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is a widely used instrument for assessing anxiety both as a state and as a personality trait. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the internal consistency and facto-rial validity of the STAI. The study involved 605 students of Perm State University aged between 17 and 32 (M = 22.3; SD = 4.96). The adapted version of the questionnaire developed by Yu.L. Khanin in 1976 was used. Data analysis included testing for normality (Anderson–Darling test), assessment of internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha and McDonald’s Omega coefficients), Pearson correlation analysis, ex-ploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. High internal consistency was observed for both scales, this confirming the reliability of measuring the respective constructs. However, confirmatory factor analysis indicated a lack of fit between the empirical data and the proposed one-factor model, while exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure for each scale, based on the semantic orientation of the items: direct statements reflected anxiety symptoms, whereas reverse items characterized the opposite emotional phenomenon. These findings suggest that the STAI simultaneously captures anxiety symptoms and an oppositely directed emotional state, which raises questions about the construct homogeneity of the scales. The findings highlight the importance of further discussion and, possibly, revision of individual elements of the STAI framework to improve the precision of the instrument.