title: Comparison of self-report measures for identifying late-life generalized anxiety in primary care.
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.
authors.affiliation: Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 200 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Gretchen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Diefenbach
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wagener
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Novy
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kunik
authors.forename: Howard M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Rhoades
authors.forename: Melinda A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires