Panic attacks are sudden outbursts of anxiety‚ accompanied by one or more of the following symptoms:
· palpitations‚ pounding heart‚ or increased heart rate
· sweating
· trembling or shaking
· dry mouth
· difficulty breathing
· feeling of choking
· chest pain or discomfort
· nausea or abdominal distress (churning in stomach)
· feeling dizzy‚ unsteady‚ faint‚ or light-headed
· feelings that objects are unreal (like in a dream)
· fear of losing control‚ “going crazy‚” or passing out
· fear of dying
· hot flushes or cold chills
· numbness‚ or tingling sensations
Panic attacks develop suddenly and increase in intensity within about 10 minutes.
1- How frequently did you have panic attacks?
· no panic attacks in the past week
· 1 panic attack in the past week
· 2-3 panic attacks in the past week
· 4-6 panic attacks in the past week
· more than 6 panic attacks in the past week
2- How severe were the panic attacks in the last week?
· no panic attacks
· attacks were usually mild
· attacks were usually moderate
· attacks were usually severe
· attacks were usually extremely severe
3- How long did the panic attacks last?
· no panic attacks
· 1 to 10 minutes
· 10 to 60 minutes
· 1 to 2 hours
· over 2 hours
4- Were most of the attacks expected (occurring in feared situations) or unexpected (spontaneous)?
· mostly unexpected (or no panic attacks)
· more unexpected than expected
· some unexpected‚ some expected
· more expected than unexpected
· mostly expected
5- In the past week‚ did you avoid certain situations because you feared having a panic attack or a feeling of discomfort?
· no avoidance (or my attacks don’t occur in specific situations
· infrequent avoidance of feared situations
· occasional avoidance of feared situations
· frequent avoidance of feared situations
· very frequent avoidance of feared situations
6- Please check the situation(s) you avoided or in which you developed panic attacks or a feeling of discomfort when you are not accompanied:
· Airplanes
· Subways (underground)
· Buses‚ trains
· Ships
· Theaters‚ cinemas
· Supermarkets
· Standing in lines (queues)
· Auditoriums‚ stadiums
· Parties‚ social gatherings
· Crowds
· Restaurants
· Museums
· Elevators (lifts)
· Enclosed spaces (tunnels)
· Classrooms‚ lecture halls
· Driving or riding in a car
· Large rooms (lobbies)
· Walking on the street
· Fluids‚ wide streets‚ courtyards
· High places
· Crossing bridges
· Travelling away from home
· Staying home alone
· Other
7- How important were the avoided situations?
· unimportant (or no agoraphobia)
· not very important
· moderately important
· very important
· extremely important
8- In the past week‚ did you suffer from the fear of having a panic attack (anticipatory anxiety or “fear of being afraid?”)
· no anticipatory anxiety
· infrequent fear of having a panic attack
· sometimes fear having a panic attack
· frequent fear of having a panic attack
· fear having a panic attack all the time
9- How strong was this “fear of fear?”
· none
· mild
· moderate
· marked
· extreme
10- In the past week‚ did panic attacks or agoraphobia lead to an impairment in your family relationships (partner‚ children‚ etc.)?
· no impairment
· mild impairment
· moderate impairment
· marked impairment
· extreme impairment
11- In the past week‚ did panic attacks or agoraphobia lead to an impairment of your social life and leisure activities (for example‚ you weren’t able to go a film or party)?
· no impairment
· mild impairment
· moderate impairment
· marked impairment
· extreme impairment
12- In the past week‚ did panic attacks or agoraphobia lead to an impairment of your work or household responsibilities?
· no impairment
· mild impairment
· moderate impairment
· marked impairment
· extreme impairment
13- In the past week‚ did you worry about suffering harm from your panic attacks (for example‚ having a heart attack or fainting)?
· not true
· hardly true
· partly true
· mostly true
· definitely true
14- Do you sometimes believe that your doctor was wrong when he told you your symptoms (like rapid heart rate‚ tingling sensations‚ or shortness of breath) have a psychological cause? Do you believe the actually cause of these symptoms is an undiscovered physical problem?
· not true (rather psychic disease)
· hardly true
· partly true
· mostly true
· definitely true (rather organic disease)
Panic attacks‚ agoraphobic avoidance‚ anticipatory anxiety‚ disability‚ and functional avoidance (health concerns)
Cronbach’s α .86 for the total score and .66-.82 for the subscales were reported. A mean score of 23.5 (SD = 10.3) was observed in a sample of 425 PD/AG patients (Bandelow‚ 1999).
This instrument can be found at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/
Bandelow B. 1995. Assessing the Efficacy of Treatments for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. II. The Panic and Agoraphobia Scale. International Clinical Psychopharmacology‚ 10(2)2;73-81.
Bandelow B. (1999) The Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS) Hogrefe & Huber Publishing.
Bandelow B‚ Broocks A‚ Pekrun G‚ et al. 2000. The use of the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (P & A) in a controlled clinical trial. Pharmacopsychiatry ‚33(5):174-81
R Lam‚ EE Michalak‚ RP Swinson. 2004. Assessment Scales in Depression‚ Mania And Anxiety‚ 136-140.