Background: The high frequency of anxiety and depression in university students is related to social, family factors and academic stress. The aim of this research is to determine the internal consistency and validity of a questionnaire on socio-familiar and academic situations which may be related to psychopathological situations in university students.
Methods: The research was carried out at the Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia with 700 students, to whom a questionnaire made by the researchers was given. This questionnaire included items which evaluated academic and socio-familiar aspects. Variables regarding various stressful situations amongst students, and the Goldbergs level of anxiety and depression scale were used as independent facts of research in order to measure the validity of the questionnaire.
Results: The reliability of the questionnaire was shown after obtaining an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.819. The original questionnaire with 19 items was reduced to 15 items after the homogeneity analysis, obtaining a Cronbach alpha of 0.758. The validity of constructio was evaluated with the factor analysis of the questionnaire, with a result of two factors which represented academic aspects and socio-familiar aspects. Those students with a positive anxiety and depression test were the ones who obtained the higher score on the global questionnaire and in both factors, proving the validity of the criteria.
Conclusions: The research questionnaire is an agile and easy to use tool for the assessment and early detection of anxiety and depression in university students.