The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: Signal detection and validation
Mossman, S.A.; Luft, M.J.; Schroeder, H.K.; Varney, S.T.; Fleck, D.E.; Barzman, D.H.; Gilman, R.; DelBello, M.P.; Strawn, J.R.
Annals of Clinical Psychiatry Official Journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists 29(4): 227-234a
2017
ISSN/ISBN: 1547-3325 PMID: 29069107 Document Number: 692373
In pediatric patients with anxiety disorders, existing symptom inventories are either not freely available or require extensive time and effort to administer. We sought to evaluate a brief self-report scale-the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7)-in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) and the GAD-7 were administered to youth with GAD (confirmed by structured interview). Relationships between the measures were assessed, and sensitivity and specificity was determined with regard to a global symptom severity measure (Clinical Global Impression-Severity). In adolescents with GAD (N = 40; mean age, 14.8 ± 2.8), PARS and GAD-7 scores strongly correlated (R = 0.65, P ≤ .001) and a main effect for symptom severity was observed (P ≤ .001). GAD-7 scores ≥11 and ≥17 represented the optimum specificity and sensitivity for detecting moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. The PARS and GAD-7 similarly reflect symptom severity. The GAD-7 is associated with acceptable specificity and sensitivity for detecting clinically significant anxiety symptoms. GAD-7 scores may be used to assess anxiety symptoms and to differentiate between mild and moderate GAD in adolescents, and may be more efficient than the PARS.