Assessing individuals with a mental disorder requires a professional to possess specific skills and knowledge. One common disorder that requires attention is anxiety. Anxiety is a disorder that causes a person to have a feeling of worry and unease. Anxiety disorders come in many forms, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one in particular. With a lifetime prevalence of six percent (6.1%) and a year prevalence of about three percent (2.9%) (Stein, 2015), GAD is making its way into the lives of various adults. By exploring the GAD population we can further learn about the symptoms, prevalence, tests to administer and what to be aware of when working with individuals suffering from this condition. Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the
…show more content…
According to Drummond and Jones (2010), two instruments that can be used to assess anxiety are the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) and the Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) (Drummond & Jones, 2010 p. 287).State-trait anxiety inventory was developed to differentiate between the concepts of state anxiety, anxiety in response to specific conditions, and trait anxiety, anxiety similar to state anxiety but differs in intensity, duration and describes a characteristic (Dreger & Katkin, 1978). STAI is a forty item test that has twenty questions asking “how are you feeling right now?” and another twenty assessing “how do you generally feel?” Using this instrument can provide the researcher or counselor with scores that can help in diagnosing the individual as well as distinguish from other disorders. The Beck anxiety inventory is a self-report scale that is designed to measure symptoms of anxiety (Dowd & Waller, 1998). The inventory consists of 21 different items based on a 4-point Likert scale. Created by Aaron Beck, the inventory focuses on common symptoms that have been present in the child or adults recent life. Using the Beck inventory is beneficial because it is easy, quick and is considered an accurate measure. By using both the state- trait and Beck inventories, anxiety can be assessed and interpreted based on the acquired
According to Drummond and Jones (2010), two instruments that can be used to assess anxiety are the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) and the Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) (Drummond & Jones, 2010 p. 287).State-trait anxiety inventory was developed to differentiate between the concepts of state anxiety, anxiety in response to specific conditions, and trait anxiety, anxiety similar to state anxiety but differs in intensity, duration and describes a characteristic (Dreger & Katkin, 1978). STAI is a forty item test that has twenty questions asking “how are you feeling right now?” and another twenty assessing “how do you generally feel?” Using this instrument can provide the researcher or counselor with scores that can help in diagnosing the individual as well as distinguish from other disorders. The Beck anxiety inventory is a self-report scale that is designed to measure symptoms of anxiety (Dowd & Waller, 1998). The inventory consists of 21 different items based on a 4-point Likert scale. Created by Aaron Beck, the inventory focuses on common symptoms that have been present in the child or adults recent life. Using the Beck inventory is beneficial because it is easy, quick and is considered an accurate measure. By using both the state- trait and Beck inventories, anxiety can be assessed and interpreted based on the acquired