Composition Factor Analysis and Factor Invariance of the Physical Appearance State and Trait Anxiety Scale (PASTAS) in Sports and Non-Sports Practitioner Mexican Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to adapt and validate the Physical Appearance State and Trait Anxiety Scale (PASTAS) for Mexican adolescents, verifying the factor invariance by sports and non-sports practitioners. A sample of 930 Mexican adolescents (46.0% females), aged 11-15 years old, voluntarily participated in the study. A total of 415 participants regularly played sports in a club and/or regularly participated in sports competitions and 515 were non-sports practitioners. The adolescents filled out the trait version of the PASTAS questionnaire, which was previously translated and adapted for Mexican-speaking adolescents following the International Test Commission guidelines. The results of the confirmatory factor analyses showed an adequate measurement model for the original two-factor structure (e.g., GFI = 0.913; RMSEA = 0.078; CFI = 0.943). The internal consistency of the two dimensions was excellent (α and Ω = 0.92-0.93). Additionally, the results of the factorial invariance analyses showed an appropriate fit of the two-structure model (e.g., GFI = 0.96; CFI = 0.98; RMSEA = 0.04) among both sports and non-sports practitioners. The proposed trait version of the PASTAS questionnaire adapted to a Mexican-speaking population shows adequate psychometric properties among Mexican adolescents. The Mexican version of the PASTAS questionnaire supports the original two-factor structure (i.e., factor related to the body weight and factor not related to body weight) among adolescents. Additionally, the factorial invariance analyses support the equivalence of the two-factor structure among both sports and non-sports practitioners.