Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)

Instructions:

Choose the response that best describes how typical or characteristic each item is of you.

Not at all typical Rarely typical of me Somewhat typical of me Often typical of me Very typical of me
1 If I don’t have enough time to do everything, I don’t worry about it. 5 4 3 2 1
2 My worries overwhelm me. 1 2 3 4 5
3 I do not tend to worry about things. 5 4 3 2 1
4 Many situations make me worry. 1 2 3 4 5
5 I know I shouldn’t worry about things, but I just cannot help it. 1 2 3 4 5
6 When I am under pressure I worry a lot. 1 2 3 4 5
7 I am always worrying about something. 1 2 3 4 5
8 I find it easy to dismiss worrisome thoughts. 5 4 3 2 1
As soon as I finish one task, I start to 1 2 3 4 5
9 worry about everything else I have to do.
10 I never worry about anything. 5 4 3 2 1
11 When there is nothing more I can do about a concern, I don’t worry about it any more. 5 4 3 2 1
12 I’ve been a worrier all my life. 1 2 3 4 5
13 I notice that I have been worrying about things. 1 2 3 4 5
14 Once I start worrying, I can’t stop. 1 2 3 4 5
15 I worry all the time. 1 2 3 4 5
16 I worry about projects until they are done. 1 2 3 4 5

Description

The PSWQ is a 16-item self-report scale designed to measure the trait of worry. The PSWQ has been found to distinguish patients with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) from other anxiety disorders. This questionnaire can be used in clinical and non-clinical settings.

Validity and Reliability

The PSWQ has been validated in student (Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Borkovec 1990) and clinical samples (Brown, Antony, & Barlow, 1992). This research has demonstrated that those with GAD have significantly higher PSWQ scores than people with other anxiety disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Scores on the PSWQ are positively correlated with other measures of pervasive worry (Gillis, Haaga, & Ford, 1995). The PWSQ also has high internal consistency and good test-retest reliability.

Interpretation

Scores range from 16 to 80 with higher scores indicative of higher levels of trait worry. A total raw score is given as output which is converted into three percentiles, comparing the total score to three different samples: An adult community sample (n = 244) showing the client’s score in relation to the normal population (Gillis, Haaga, & Ford, 1995). A social anxiety disorder percentile comparing the client’s score with those with social anxiety (n = 132) and a GAD percentile comparing scores to people diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder (n = 28), (Turk, Fresco, Mennin & Heimberg (2001). Typically individuals with GAD will score highly on this measure compared to other anxiety disorders.

Developer

Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the penn state worry questionnaire. Behavior Research and Therapy, 28, 487-495.

Number Of Questions

16

References

Brown, T. A., Antony, M. M., & Barlow, D. H. (1992). Psychometric properties of the penn state worry questionnaire in a clinical anxiety disorders sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 30(1), 33-37. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(92)90093-V.

Gillis, M.M., Haaga, D.A. and Ford, G.T. (1995) Normative values for the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Fear Questionnaire, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 7, 450-455.

Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the penn state worry questionnaire. Behavior Research and Therapy, 28, 487-495.

Turk, Fresco, Mennin & Heimberg (2001), Using The Penn State Worry Questionnaire To Distinguish Individuals With Generalized Anxiety Disorder From Individuals With Social Anxiety Disorder. Poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia, PA. http://www.personal.kent.edu/~dfresco/Fresco_Papers/turk.GAD_PSWQ_ROC_AABT.pdf

Developer Reference:

Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the penn state worry questionnaire. Behavior Research and Therapy, 28, 487-495.

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Related terms:

  1. Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)
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  3. Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Adults (PSWQ-A)
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