Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2008 Dec;21(4):223-31.
doi: 10.1177/0891988708324936.

Comparison of self-report measures for identifying late-life generalized anxiety in primary care

Sarah A Webb  1 , Gretchen Diefenbach, Paula Wagener, Diane M Novy, Mark Kunik, Howard M Rhoades, Melinda A Stanley
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of self-report measures for identifying late-life generalized anxiety in primary care

Sarah A Webb et al. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2008 Dec.

Abstract

This study evaluated the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Abbreviated, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV for identifying generalized anxiety disorder in older medical patients. Participants were 191 of 281 patients screened for a clinical trial evaluating cognitive-behavior treatment, n = 110 with generalized anxiety disorder, 81 without. Participants completed the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV at pretreatment. Kappa coefficients estimated agreement with the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis. Receiver operating characteristic curves compared sensitivity and specificity of self-report measures. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (cutoff = 50) provided the strongest prediction of generalized anxiety disorder (sensitivity, 76%; specificity, 73%; 75% correctly classified; kappa = .49. Item 2 of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV demonstrated comparable accuracy. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV, and briefer versions of these measures may be useful in identifying late-life generalized anxiety disorder in medical settings.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Receiver operating curves for the full sample. GAD-Q-IV = Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV; ROC = Receiver operating characteristic; PSWQ-Tot = Penn State Worry Questionnaire—Total; PSWQ-A = Penn State Worry Questionnaire—Abbreviated.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Beekman ATF, Bremmer MA, Deeg DJH, et al. Anxiety disorders in later life: a report from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1998;13:717–726. - PubMed
    1. Brenes GA, Guralnik JM, Williamson JD, et al. The influence of anxiety on the progression of disability. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005;53:34–39. - PMC - PubMed
    1. deBeurs E, Beekman ATF, van Balkom AJLM, Deeg DJ, van Dyck R, van Tilburg W. Consequences of anxiety in older persons: its effect on disability, well-being and use of health services. Psychol Med. 1999;29:583–593. - PubMed
    1. Stanley MA, Roberts RE, Bourland SL, Novy DM. Anxiety disorders among older primary care patients. J Clin Geropsychol. 2001;7:105–116.
    1. Stanley MA, Diefenbach GJ, Hopko DR, et al. The nature of generalized anxiety in older primary care patients: preliminary findings. J Psychopathol Behav Assess. 2003;25:273–280.

Publication types