Utility of the Beck Anxiety Inventory Among Ghanaians: a Preliminary Study

The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a well-known clinical tool for screening anxiety. A number of researches has indicated its utility in a wide range of client groups including adolescents and people with intellectual disability. Its use among predominantly black population in a non-western world, however, is not well-documented. The study set out to examine its psychometric properties among undergraduate students in Ghana. There were 133 participants consisting of 86 males and 47 females with a mean age of 23.83 years (SD = 3.21) who volunteered. The results showed that the full scale mean score was 17.65 (SD = 12.72) with no significant difference between the males and females (t (131) = .05, p > .05, two-tailed). The Cronbach coefficient alpha was .93. The four-factor structure was not supported, instead a three-factor structure consisting of autonomic, somatic, and fear/panic elements was revealed. The correlations between the factors were moderate ranging from .51 to .65. In general, the BAI may be potentially useful as a research tool in Ghana. A number of limitations have been pointed out and future work is required to establish its research and clinical utility in Ghana.