Brief Description
The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is designed to measure the trait of worry in adults. The scale measures the excessiveness, generality, and uncontrollable dimensions of worry. Worry is regarded as a dominant feature of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The PSWQ has been found to distinguish patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) from other anxiety disorders. This questionnaire can be used in clinical and non-clinical settings as a screening and diagnosis instrument. Respondents rate how often they experience the worry symptoms listed (e.g., “My worries overwhelm me”) on a scale from “Not at all typical of me” to “Very typical of me.”
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
16
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
No standardized frequency; recommend administering every other week or as clinically indicated.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The PSWQ contains 16 items that are scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("Not at all typical of me") to 5 ("Very typical of me"). Questions #1, 3, 8, 10, and 11 are reverse scored. A total score is calculated by summing the item responses and ranges from 16 to 80; higher scores are associated with higher amounts of worry.
Scores can be in the following severity ranges:
Score | Interpretation |
16-29 | Not anxious or a worrier |
30-52 | Bothered by worries, below clinical range for worry |
52-65 | Currently has problems with worry |
66+ | Chronic worrier |
Blueprint Adjustments
N/A
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 2-5 minutes
The PSWQ has been shown to distinguish those with GAD from other types of anxiety disorders; those with GAD tend to score higher on this assessment.
There is also a child version of this assessment available for children ages 7-17.
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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