Validation of the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and State Trait Anxiety Inventory A and B in Arabic among the Lebanese population

Objectives: Our aim in this study was to translate the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-A and B) scales to Arabic, linguistically validate them for use in a representative sample of the Lebanese population, and to check the reliability of these Arabic versions. Methods: This study is cross-sectional, conducted between November 2017 and March 2018, which enrolled 1332 community dwelling participants using a proportionate random sample from all Lebanese Mohafazat. Results: Three factor analyses for the anxiety scales were run over the whole sample (N = 1332). All of the HAM-A, STAI-A and STAI-B items could be extracted from the list. All items from all the scales did not over-correlate to each other (r > 0.9), did not have a low loading on factors ( < 0.3) or a low communality ( < 0.3). The factor analysis results showed 2 factors for HAM-A (Cronbach alpha = 0.921), 3 factors for STAI-A (Cronbach alpha = 0.928) and STAI-B (Cronbach alpha = 0.898). A significantly high ICC was found between the HAM-A, STAI-A (ICC = 0.709) and STAI-B (0.704). In addition, a significantly high ICC was found between the STAI-A and B scales (ICC = 0.884). Conclusion: The linguistically validated Arabic versions of these scales can be used to screen for anxiety among the Lebanese populations.