How to make a Self-Report Measure of Anxiety

Name of Test Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)

Purpose
It is a personality affective test created by Aaron T. Beck which
measures the severity of anxiety in adults and adolescents ranging
from 17 to 80 years old
Theoretical
Items were selected based upon their consistency with DSM-III-R
Orientation
criteria for anxiety disorders, with an emphasis on panic disorder and
generalized anxiety disorder.
Symptoms of Panic Disorder
shortness of breath (dyspnea) or smothering sensations
dizziness, unsteady feelings, or faintness
palpitations or accelerated heart rate (tachycardia)
trembling or shaking
sweating
choking
nausea or abdominal distress
depersonalization or derealization
numbness or tingling sensations (paresthesia)
flushes (hot flashes) or chills
chest pain or discomfort
fear of dying
fear of going crazy or of doing something uncontrolled
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Motor tension
trembling, twitching, or feeling shaky
muscle tension, aches, or soreness
restlessness
easy fatigability
Autonomic hyperactivity
shortness of breath or smothering sensations
palpitations or accelerated heart rate (tachycardia)
sweating, or cold clammy hands
dry mouth
dizziness or lightheadedness
nausea, diarrhea, or other abdominal distress
flushes (hot flashes) or chills
frequent urination
trouble swallowing or "lump in throat"
Vigilance and scanning
feeling keyed up or on edge
exaggerated startle response
difficulty concentrating or "mind going blank" because of anxiety
trouble falling or staying asleep
irritability
Nature
It is a pen and paper 4 point Likert- type scale self-report inventory. It
may be a group or individual test
Test Format
It is 21- item multiple choice
Response
Set

Reliability

Respondents are asked to report the extent to which they have been
bothered by each of the 21 symptoms in the week preceding (including
the day of) their completion of the BAI.
4-point Likert-type scale: How much the symptom bother you
Not All (0)
Mildly (1)
Moderately (2)
Severely (3)
Test- Retest
Beck et al. (1988) report a test-retest reliability of .75 in a sample of
adult psychiatric outpatients.

Test Construction for Homogenous Personality test (BAI)

Define the Test
Identify the test purpose: To be able to construct a test, you must be able

to identify what of test and its purpose including its scope including
standardization sample. The purpose of Beck Anxiety Inventory is to measure
the severity of anxiety. Specifically, it focuses on the physiological symptoms
of anxiety felt by the individual. Its items were based on the DSM-III-R criteria
for anxiety disorders with emphasis of panic and generalized anxiety disorders
such as dyspnea, trembling or shaking and dizziness. BAI are tested for people
ages 17 to 80 years old, however, it may be used for younger adolescents 12
years of age and older.
Method of Administration: For most pen and paper personality tests,

Likert scale is used as a method of assessing attitudes including anxiety. It is

multiple choice. In BAIs 4-point Likert scale, it consists of series of symptoms
on anxiety. There are 21 items which indicate the anxiety symptom. The
examinees indicate the extent to how much they are bothered by each
symptom and the overall score indicates the intensity of the examinees
anxiety level. Due for the test being a personality test, there is no real time
limit but is reported that it typically takes 10-15 minutes to complete the test.
Response Set of Beck Anxiety Scale
How much the symptom bother you
Not All (0)
Mildly (1)
Moderately (2)
Severely (3)
Reliability
Test- Retest: Test-Retest may be applicable as a measure of reliability for Beck
Anxiety Inventory with at least an interval of 7 days, however, its reliability isnt will
not be high and will be applicable for research purposes.
Beck et al. (1988) report a test-retest reliability of .75 in a sample of adult
psychiatric outpatients. Creamer, Foran, & Bell (1995) report a test-retest
correlation of .62 with an interval of 7 weeks, which they viewed as reasonable,
given that they considered the measure to tap state anxiety (versus trait anxiety).

Internal Consistency: Internal Consistency is highly recommended as a measure

of reliability for Beck Anxiety due to its high reliability.
Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer (1988) reported that the BAI had high internal
consistency reliability (alpha=.92). Fydrich,Dowdall, & Chambless (1992) found a
slightly higher level of internal consistency (.94) in 40 out of 160 outpatients
diagnosed as having DSM-III-R anxiety disorders.
Validity
Content Validity: Beck Anxiety Inventory item contents were based from DSM-III
criteria for anxiety disorders.
Concurrent Validity: The criterion-related concurrent validity can be utilized as a
measure of validity for Beck Anxiety Scale.
BAI was high correlation with other measures of anxiety like The Depression Anxiety
and Stress Scale (DASS) of .84 for its Anxiety Subscale. However, it may have
decent moderate correlation with other tools such as Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale,
Revised with validity coefficient of .51 and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form Y with
its State subscales with validity coefficient of .58 and .47 for its Trait subscales.
The BAI has also been shown to possess acceptable convergent and discriminant
validity for both 14-18 year and inpatients and outpatients.
Scoring:
Beck Anxiety Scale is scored manually but computerized scoring may be available in
some countries. The values for each item are summed yielding an overall or total
score for all 21 symptoms that can range between 0 and 63 points. The higher the
score, the higher the anxiety level.
Interpretation
0 - 7 is interpreted as a "Minimal" level of anxiety
8 - 15 as "Mild"
16 - 25 as "Moderate"
26 - 63 as "Severe"
Generalization:
Beck Anxiety Scale are used for patients or clients with anxiety disorders ages 17
and above. It has been also been used for people who were victims of sexual
abuse, medical trauma, accidents, violent assaults including terrorism and war.

References
Akin, A., & Cetin, B. (2007). The Depression Anxiety and Stress (DASS):The study of Validity and Reliability. Educational
Sciences: Theory & Practice, 261-268.

DeFeo, J. (2005). BAI. Retrieved from http://www.nctsnet.org/: http://www.nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/measure/BAI.pdf

DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS (THIRD EDITION-REVISED). (1987). Washington,DC: American
Psychiatric Association.
Grant, M. M. (n.d.). Beck Anxiety Inventory. Retrieved from http://www.manchester.gov.uk/:
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/19268/beck_anxiety_inventory_explanation