The Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire (ASA-27): reliability of the German translation, factor structure, and concurrent validity with anxiety sensitivity and agoraphobic cognition.

BACKGROUND

Separation anxiety disorder (SEPAD) is characterized by pronounced fear or anxiety concerning separation from attachment figures. Despite its high lifetime prevalence, adult SEPAD often remains undetected due to a lack of diagnostic tools in multiple languages. The Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire (ASA-27) is a key instrument for assessing symptoms of SEPAD in adults. However, no validated German version is available.

OBJECTIVES

This study addressed the translation and validation of the ASA-27 in a German-speaking population to introduce the first German questionnaire assessing SEPAD.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A consecutive forward and backward translation was conducted. Reliability and validity of the German ASA-27 against several established anxiety-related psychometric scores were assessed in a large sample of 1520 healthy participants.

RESULTS

Results revealed robust internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.87) and a factor structure explaining 49.7% of variations in answers. Concurrent validity was confirmed through significant correlations with established anxiety measures. Younger age and female sex were positively correlated with ASA-27 scores.

CONCLUSION

The German ASA-27 constitutes a promising diagnostic tool for adult SEPAD with sound psychometric properties and a coherent factor structure, offering a structured and reliable assessment of SEPAD and its dimensional evaluation in German-speaking populations.