Table of Contents
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
Validity and Reliability
Interpretation
Developer
Number Of Questions
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.
Cite this article
mohammad looti (2026). Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/penn-state-worry-questionnaire-pswq-2/
mohammad looti. "Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/penn-state-worry-questionnaire-pswq-2/.
mohammad looti. "Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/penn-state-worry-questionnaire-pswq-2/.
mohammad looti (2026) 'Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/penn-state-worry-questionnaire-pswq-2/.
[1] mohammad looti, "Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.
mohammad looti. Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.