Symptom scale for anxiety and depression disorders (ESTAD): psychometric properties and sociodemographic profile in Peruvian university students

Background: Anxiety and depression are two of the main psychological disorders that affect thousands of people in the world, including university students. This research is justified because it seeks to reevaluate, compare and confirm the psychometric properties and establish the sociodemographic profile of the Anxiety and Depression Disorders Symptom Scale in Peruvian university students. The main objective of this study was to determine the evidence of psychometric properties, and the sociodemographic profile, of the Symptom Scale for Anxiety and Depression Disorders in university students from the region of Piura, Peru. Methods: The sample was determined using proportional, probabilistic sampling that included 6 universities in Piura, Peru, consisting of 1243 participants. The scale has 35 Items within 7 subscales. Results: The results identified that the items fall within the range of ± 1.5 for skewness and kurtosis, except for items 22 and 35. The construct validity, assessed through factor analysis, shows that 100% of the items achieve scores greater than 0.5, with a significance level of less than < 0.001. The goodness-of-fit index through confirmatory factor analysis aligns with the transdiagnostic theoretical model, with scores for CFI and TLI ≥ 0.90, and for RMSEA and SRMR ≤ 0.60. The scale demonstrates adequate composite reliability according to MacDonald’s Omega Coefficient (0.959). Furthermore, there is a moderate significant association (p = 0.001; γ = − 0.192) between age, the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms. A strong significant association (p = 0.001; γ = 0.365) is observed between sex and the presence of core symptoms of anxiety and depression. Conclusion: In conclusion, the scale evidence an adequate psychometric consistency, presenting itself as a valid and reliable instrument. Of the university students evaluated, it was generally identified that 24% reach a high level and 50% reach a moderate level of anxiety and depression symptoms. Additionally, being a woman and an adolescent increases the likelihood of presenting elevated levels of the symptoms evaluated by the scale.