A psychometric evaluation of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in coronary care patients following acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract

The utility of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as a screening instrument for coronary care patients following acute myocardial infarction (MI) was investigated. A maximum likelihood factor analysis was conducted on the HADS to determine its psychometric properties and utility in 194 patients. Though internal reliability estimations of the anxiety and depression sub-scales were found to be acceptable, the expected two-factor solution failed to emerge from the data set. The three-factor solution that emerged isolated dimensions representing depression and distinct factors of trait anxiety and state anxiety. The utility of the HADS in the routine assessment of the affective sta..