Below is a list of common symptoms of anxiety. Please carefully read each item in the list. Indicate how much you have been bothered by that symptom during the past month, including today, by circling the number in the corresponding space in the column next to each symptom.
Not At All
Mildly but it didn’t bother me much.
Moderately – it wasn’t pleasant at times
Severely – it bothered me a lot
Numbness or tingling
0
1
2
3
Feeling hot
0
1
2
3
Wobbliness in legs
0
1
2
3
Unable to relax
0
1
2
3
Fear of worst happening
0
1
2
3
Dizzy or lightheaded
0
1
2
3
Heart pounding/racing
0
1
2
3
Unsteady
0
1
2
3
Terrified or afraid
0
1
2
3
Nervous
0
1
2
3
Feeling of choking
0
1
2
3
Hands trembling
0
1
2
3
Shaky / unsteady
0
1
2
3
Fear of losing control
0
1
2
3
Difficulty in breathing
0
1
2
3
Fear of dying
0
1
2
3
Scared
0
1
2
3
Indigestion
0
1
2
3
Faint / lightheaded
0
1
2
3
Face flushed
0
1
2
3
Hot/cold sweats
0
1
2
3
Column Sum
Scoring – Sum each column. Then sum the column totals to achieve a grand score. Write that score here ____________ .
Interpretation
A grand sum between 0 – 21 indicates very low anxiety. That is usually a good thing. However, it is possible that you might be unrealistic in either your assessment which would be denial or that you have learned to “mask” the symptoms commonly associated with anxiety. Too little “anxiety” could indicate that you are detached from yourself, others, or your environment.
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A grand sum between 22 – 35 indicates moderate anxiety. Your body is trying to tell you something. Look for patterns as to when and why you experience the symptoms described above. For example, if it occurs prior to public speaking and your job requires a lot of presentations you may want to find ways to calm yourself before speaking or let others do some of the presentations. You may have some conflict issues that need to be resolved. Clearly, it is not “panic” time but you want to find ways to manage the stress you feel.
A grand sum that exceeds 36 is a potential cause for concern. Again, look for patterns or times when you tend to feel the symptoms you have circled. Persistent and high anxiety is not a sign of personal weakness or failure. It is, however, something that needs to be proactively treated or there could be significant impacts to you mentally and physically. You may want to consult a physician or counselor if the feelings persist.
Beck Anxiety Inventory Scoring
August 4, 2009 | Posted by SWilson
After rating each of the twenty-one anxiety symptoms on the Beck Anxiety Inventory from 0 to 3, the ratings are totaled for the individual’s Beck Anxiety Inventory score. If you’d like to see how you would score, you may rate the twenty-one anxiety symptoms in the Beck Anxiety Inventory sample. The Beck Anxiety Inventory sample is in the post titled “The Beck Anxiety Inventory.”
The Beck Anxiety Inventory scoring is simple. The person’s total score will fall within one of the ranges for the Beck Anxiety Inventory scoring. If the person’s score is under twenty-one, the person is considered to have a very low amount of anxiety.
A score between twenty-two and thirty five demonstrates moderate anxiety. A person with moderate anxiety can often benefit from stress management to relieve anxiety.
A Beck Anxiety Inventory scoring of thirty-six or more can be an indication of a serious problem with anxiety. If a person has severe anxiety, the person may benefit from professional treatment to manage stress and control anxiety. A therapist can help identify causes of anxiety and work with the person towards alleviating anxiety.
The events of the past week may need to be considered when evaluating the accuracy of the Beck Anxiety Inventory scoring. The results may not be typical if there were unusual circumstances over the past week. For example, it is only natural for someone who is nervous or afraid of taking tests to have heightened anxiety during a week of final exams. If the past week was fairly typical, the score is more likely to reflect the person’s usual anxiety levels.
There are some serious limitations of the Beck Anxiety Inventory. One problem is that only certain symptoms are considered. Many people have certain nervous behaviors and individualized symptoms of anxiety. These would not be considered in the scoring of the Beck Anxiety Inventory.
Another problem with Beck Anxiety Inventory scoring is that it is not especially helpful for someone with anxiety. If someone has enough anxiety symptoms to get a score showing a high level of anxiety, chances are that they were already aware of this problem. With the focus being on the anxiety symptoms and no significant information on why anxiety should be treated or how it should be treated, the test is extremely limited.
There are benefits of the Beck Anxiety Inventory for mental health professionals. The Beck Anxiety scale could be used as part of the measurement of how effective treatment has been for the individual being treated for anxiety. For example, if a therapist administers the test early in treatment, future tests may show whether or not the person’s anxiety has improved with treatment.
From
http://ptsdcentral.com/beck-anxiety-inventory-scoring/
yeahhhh!!!!
Beck Anxiety Inventory
Purpose: Designed to discriminate anxiety from depression in individuals.
Population: Adults.
Score: Yields a total score
Time: (5-10) minutes.
Author: Aaron T. Beck.
Publisher: The Psychological Corporation.
Description: The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was developed to address the need for an instrument that would reliably discriminate anxiety from depression while displaying convergent validity. Such an instrument would offer advantages for clinical and research purposes over existing self-report measures, which have not been shown to differentiate anxiety from depression adequately.
Scoring: The scale consists of 21 items, each describing a common symptom of anxiety. The respondent is asked to rate how much he or she has been bothered by each symptom over the past week on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 to 3. The items are summed to obtain a total score that can range from 0 to 63.
Reliability: The scale obtained high internal consistency and item-total correlations ranging from .30 to .71 (median=.60). A subsample of patients (n=83) completed the BAI after 1 week, and the correlation between intake and 1-week BAI scores was .75.
Validity: The correlations of the BAI with a set of self-report and clinician-rated scales were all significant. The correlation of the BAI with the HARS-R and HRSD-R were .51 and .25, respectively. The correlation of the BAI with the BDI was .48. Convergent and discriminant validity to discriminate homogeneous and heterogeneous diagnostic groups were ascertained from three studies. The results confirm the presence of these validities.
Norms: The three normative samples of psychiatric outpatients were drawn from consecutive routine evaluations at the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The total sample size was 1,086. There were 456 men and 630 women.
Suggested Uses: Recommended for use in assessing anxiety in clinical and research settings.
Fromm
http://cps.nova.edu/~cpphelp/BAI.html
more info
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
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The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) discriminates between anxious and nonanxious groups. The inventory contains 21 items rated from 0 to 3 by the taker, with a total possible score of 63 points. The items are experiences related to anxiety such as “Fear of worst happening” or “Heart pounding/racing”. The Five to ten minutes is necessary for completing the test.
Author: Aaron T. Beck
Interpretation
Low anxiety. That is usually a good thing. However, it is possible that you might be unrealistic in either your assessment which would be denial or that you have learned to “mask” the symptoms commonly associated with anxiety. Too little “anxiety” could indicate that you are detached from yourself, others, or your environment.
Moderate anxiety. Your body is trying to tell you something. Look for patterns as to when and why you experience the symptoms described above. For example, if it occurs prior to public speaking and your job requires a lot of presentations you may want to find ways to calm yourself before speaking or let others do some of the presentations. You may have some conflict issues that need to be resolved. Clearly, it is not “panic” time but you want to find ways to manage the stress you feel.
High Anxiety is a potential cause for concern. Again, look for patterns or times when you tend to feel the symptoms you have circled. Persistent and high anxiety is not a sign of personal weakness or failure. It is, however, something that needs to be proactively treated or there could be significant impacts to you mentally and physically. You may want to consult a physician or counselor if the feelings persist.
Validity and Reliability
A sample of 83 patients whom had finished the Beck Anxiety Inventory after a week showed a average correlation with the items of .60. Internal consistency was strong, over .7, for the scale. The scale was compared with the HARS-R, HRSD-R, and the BDI scales. Correlation rating of .51, .25, and .48 were calculated respectively with the scales listed. The Beck Anxiety Inventory is recommended for clinical and research settings in order to obtain the highest accuracy.
Obtaining the Beck Anxiety Inventory
http://www.psychcorp.co.uk/product.aspx?n=1316&s=1322&cat=1426&skey=2644
more info
It is easy to take the Beck anxiety inventory test to evaluate one’s level of anxiety symptoms. The inventory only requires that the person be aware of their feelings within the last one week in order to check whether the symptoms of anxiety are low, moderate or very high.
On the inventory, the questions have four possible answers:
* Not at all
*Mildly (“but it doesn’t affect me much”)
* Moderately (“it is unpleasant at times”), and
*Severely (“it bothered me greatly”).
These answers are ascribed by the respondent according to the specific symptoms described in the inventory questions, such as muscle tension and tingling sensations, feelings of dread, hot or cold sweats, and so on.
Every answer comes with a corresponding rating. The total sum of the ratings is then used to measure the respondent’s anxiety level. The highest possible score is 36. A score that is in the range of 0 to 7 reflects very low anxiety levels. Any score that is higher than 26 indicates a very high level and serious case of anxiety.
Listed questions in the inventory
The following includes the list of symptoms of anxiety asked in the Beck inventory. Review them individually and choose one of the answers, 1 being “Not at all”, 2 “Mildly”, 3 “Moderately” and 4 “Severely”.
1. Feeling hot
2. Muscle numbness or tingling
3. Feeling unable to relax
4. Dizzy or light headed
5. Feeling wobbly in the legs
6. Feeling unsteady
7. Heart racing or pounding
8. Nervousness
9. Choking feeling
10. Trembling hands
11. Unsteadiness
12. Terror or fear
13. Afraid of losing control
14. Indigestion
15. Flushed face
16. Hot or cold sweats
17. Feeling scared
18. Having laborious breathing
19. Feeling the fear of dying
20. Feeling like the worst is happening
21. Feeling faint
Once you have rated your symptoms, add up all the scores.
Interpretation of scores
A score that is in the range of 0 to 7 reflects a low anxiety level, which can be a positive thing. However, it may also suggest that one is living in denial or has an unrealistic view of his life. A low score may also reflect the possibility that one is detached from the world, himself and his loved ones.
A moderate score (8-21) usually indicates that your body is trying to send you some signals. There may be specific situations that may cause the symptoms of anxiety to arise, such as public speaking, making presentations, during examinations in school or even getting intimate with someone else. You should find methods of calming yourself before the strenuous activity in order to perform it well.
Any score above 22 is an indicator of very high anxiety levels, and is a cause for concern. This is by no means a sign of failure or personal weakness. It is something that requires proactive measures of prevention before the anxiety becomes even more severe and affects your body and mind any further. Medication and counselling are good measures to take when anxiety levels are high.
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