Psychometric Properties of Scores on the Preliminary Amharic Version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in Ethiopia

Psychometric properties of scores on the Amharic version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-A) were explored with 551 students in Ethiopia. Results show strong correlations (r[62] ≥ .89) between the corresponding scores on State Anxiety (SA) and Trait Anxiety (TA) scales of the STAI-A and the original STAI. High levels of internal consistency reliabilities (αs ≥ .85) and moderately high median item-remainder correlations (rs ≥ .47) were found for scores on the two scales of STAI-A. As predicted, SA scores were higher on a hypothetical exam condition than on a normal condition. SA scores were also more strongly correlated with life event stress scores than were TA scores. TA scores, in turn, were more strongly related to global psychopathology scores than were SA scores. These findings suggest that scores on STAI-A have acceptable reliability and validity and that STAI-A can be used for clinical and research purposes in Ethiopia.