Penn State Worry Questionnaire – Children (PSWQ-C)
Measures the tendency of children and adolescents to engage in excessive, generalized, and uncontrollable worry.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Penn State Worry Questionnaire – Children (PSWQ-C) was developed by Bruce F. Chorpita, S. A. Tracey, T. A. Brown, T. J. Collica, & D. H. Barlow (1997). It is designed to measure Worry. The scale is intended for use with Children and adolescents (aged 7-17).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 14 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Never, 1 = Sometimes, 2 = Often, 3 = Always.
The scale includes 3 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 42. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Worry: 0 – 15
- Moderate Worry: 16 – 29
- High Worry: 30 – 42
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha between .82 and .91.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.