Revisiting the factor structure of the insomnia severity index among survivors of the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan.

OBJECTIVE

The insomnia severity index (ISI) is often used as a screening tool used with its recommended clinical cutoff scores. However, this practice presumes a single-factor structure, which has received little theoretical or empirical support. This study examined the factor structure of the ISI with the aim to validate its clinical application in postdisaster contexts.

METHOD: One hundred sixty-eight Filipino adult survivors of the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan completed two waves of questionnaires that were 7 months apart. Confirmatory factor analyses were first conducted to compare models with different factor structures, followed by a test of longitudinal measurement invariance. The longitudinal interrelations among factors of the ISI as well as between insomnia and symptoms of psychological distress were then examined with path analysis.

RESULTS

Results supported a two-factor model, composed of severity and impact of insomnia, which achieved strong longitudinal invariance. The change in impact of insomnia at T2 was predicted by severity of insomnia at T1. Impact of insomnia was significantly associated with symptoms of stress but not depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSION

We preliminarily propose a model in which the impact of insomnia mediates the influence of severity of insomnia on subsequent stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).