The traditional Chinese version of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties and cutoff point for detecting anxiety.

• The GAI-TC is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing older adults' anxiety symptoms. • The GAI-TC has three factors: cognition anxiety, impact of anxiety, and somatic anxiety. • The optimal cutoff point of the GAI-TC for detecting anxiety in older persons in the community is 9/10. The study aimed to translate the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory into traditional Chinese (GAI-TC), examine its psychometric properties, and identify the optimal cutoff point. This research recruited 337 older adults from two community activity centers. Structured questionnaires were used, including demographic information and characteristics, the GAI-TC, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Cronbach's α of the GAI-TC was 0.93. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.90. The content validity index was 1.0. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that three factors in the GAI-TC, including cognition anxiety, impact of anxiety, and somatic anxiety, explained 59.46 % of the variance. The criterion-related validity showed a significant positive correlation between the GAI-TC and STAI, with an optimal cutoff of 9/10 for detecting anxiety in older persons living in the community. The GAI-TC had good reliability and validity and can provide professionals with a tool for the early identification of anxiety among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]