Background:

Insomnia can harm daily functioning and is strongly associated with depression and anxiety symptoms, especially in women. El Salvador has no scales with adequate psychometric properties for their measurement. In this context, the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) is a viable option to measure this symptomatology, given its short length of time, solid theoretical foundation, and relevance in other countries.

Objective:

To analyze the psychometric properties of AIS in the Salvadoran population, in its complete (AIS-8) and abbreviated (AIS-5) versions.

Method:

The study consisted of 1479 Salvadoran adults from the 14 departments of the country (mean age = 33.3 years, SD = 11.7) who were screened through a non-probability sampling design. Evidence of reliability, validity based on internal structure, and convergent validity were examined.

Results:

Both scales showed adequate internal consistency, validity based on internal structure through a one-factor structure, invariance between sexes, and convergent validity with depression, anxiety, and stress scales.

Conclusions:

Both versions have adequate psychometric properties. Shared covariances and partial mismatch indexes suggest the need to analyze its cultural adequacy. Despite this, there is sufficient evidence to support its usefulness in evaluating symptoms of non-organic insomnia in the Salvadoran population.