Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale

Anxiety is a common reaction to the threat of nuclear war, and there is a need for a reliable and valid measure to assess it. Existing questionnaires on the specific anxiety due to the danger of nuclear war only measure some of the four clusters of anxiety symptoms (cognitive, emotional, somatic, b...

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Main Authors: Vicko Ćudina, Dominik Patrik Živković, Lara Müller, Jurica Čižmek, Sandra Nakić Radoš
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Rijeka 2024-12-01
Series:Psychological Topics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pt.ffri.hr/pt/article/view/969
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author Vicko Ćudina
Dominik Patrik Živković
Lara Müller
Jurica Čižmek
Sandra Nakić Radoš
author_facet Vicko Ćudina
Dominik Patrik Živković
Lara Müller
Jurica Čižmek
Sandra Nakić Radoš
author_sort Vicko Ćudina
collection DOAJ
description Anxiety is a common reaction to the threat of nuclear war, and there is a need for a reliable and valid measure to assess it. Existing questionnaires on the specific anxiety due to the danger of nuclear war only measure some of the four clusters of anxiety symptoms (cognitive, emotional, somatic, behavioural), or they measure coping strategies or attitudes toward nuclear weapons. Therefore, the main aim was to develop a new Anxiety due to the Nuclear War Threat Scale (ANWTS) and to determine its psychometric characteristics. In a cross-sectional online study, 287 participants from a community setting (64.8% women) filled out the ANWTS, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Nuclear War Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Nuclear Coping Strategies scale. Exploratory factor analysis showed a two-factor structure with Cognitive and Emotional Symptoms Subscale (11 items, ⍵ = .96) and Somatic Symptoms Subscale (6 items, ⍵ = .93). High convergent and divergent validity was demonstrated. Known-group differences validity showed that women reported higher anxiety symptoms on both subscales and total scale than men. A new 17-item ANWTS is reliable and valid in measuring cognitive, emotional, and somatic anxiety symptoms due to possible nuclear war threats.
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spelling doaj-art-2b1918d8f55d49269b2e0e6bd7cb374f2025-08-20T02:36:46ZengUniversity of RijekaPsychological Topics1332-07421849-03952024-12-01333Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat ScaleVicko Ćudina0Dominik Patrik Živković1Lara Müller2Jurica Čižmek3Sandra Nakić Radoš4Catholic University of Croatia, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, CroatiaCatholic University of Croatia, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, CroatiaCatholic University of Croatia, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, CroatiaCatholic University of Croatia, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, CroatiaCatholic University of Croatia, Department of Psychology, Zagreb, Croatia Anxiety is a common reaction to the threat of nuclear war, and there is a need for a reliable and valid measure to assess it. Existing questionnaires on the specific anxiety due to the danger of nuclear war only measure some of the four clusters of anxiety symptoms (cognitive, emotional, somatic, behavioural), or they measure coping strategies or attitudes toward nuclear weapons. Therefore, the main aim was to develop a new Anxiety due to the Nuclear War Threat Scale (ANWTS) and to determine its psychometric characteristics. In a cross-sectional online study, 287 participants from a community setting (64.8% women) filled out the ANWTS, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Nuclear War Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Nuclear Coping Strategies scale. Exploratory factor analysis showed a two-factor structure with Cognitive and Emotional Symptoms Subscale (11 items, ⍵ = .96) and Somatic Symptoms Subscale (6 items, ⍵ = .93). High convergent and divergent validity was demonstrated. Known-group differences validity showed that women reported higher anxiety symptoms on both subscales and total scale than men. A new 17-item ANWTS is reliable and valid in measuring cognitive, emotional, and somatic anxiety symptoms due to possible nuclear war threats. https://pt.ffri.hr/pt/article/view/969anxietynuclear warwarquestionnairevalidityreliability
spellingShingle Vicko Ćudina
Dominik Patrik Živković
Lara Müller
Jurica Čižmek
Sandra Nakić Radoš
Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale
Psychological Topics
anxiety
nuclear war
war
questionnaire
validity
reliability
title Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale
title_full Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale
title_fullStr Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale
title_full_unstemmed Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale
title_short Development and Validation of Anxiety Due to Nuclear War Threat Scale
title_sort development and validation of anxiety due to nuclear war threat scale
topic anxiety
nuclear war
war
questionnaire
validity
reliability
url https://pt.ffri.hr/pt/article/view/969
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AT laramuller developmentandvalidationofanxietyduetonuclearwarthreatscale
AT juricacizmek developmentandvalidationofanxietyduetonuclearwarthreatscale
AT sandranakicrados developmentandvalidationofanxietyduetonuclearwarthreatscale