[The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the anxiety sensitivity index-3].

OBJECTIVE Anxiety sensitivity has been defined as an excessive fear from senses and symptoms of anxiety. The aim of the present study is to investigate the validity and reliability of Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) and adapting it into Turkish. METHOD The study group consisted of 150 healthy individuals without any psychiatric disorder and 300 patients with an anxiety disorder and/or major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria. All subjects included in the study were evaluated by means of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, ASI-3, Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form (STAI-T), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SAS). RESULTS The validity part of the study revealed that the scale differentiates the patients from the healthy group in all patient subgroups except for anxiety disorder NOS. The scale was found to be highly correlated to ASI (r=0.85) and moderately correlated to STAI-T (r=0.68), BDI (r=0.57) and SAS (r=0.47). In factor analysis, ASI-3 was found to be composed of 3 factors: physical, cognitive and social. It was also found that ASI-3 had a high internal consistency (Cronbachalpha=0.93) and the scale had a fairly good test-retest reliability (r=0.64, p<0.001). CONCLUSION According to the present study, the ASI-3 Turkish version was shown to be a valid and a reliable scale.