The Beck Anxiety Inventory an Overview The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a well-known measure used to assess for anxiety. It was originally created because a measure was needed to discriminate between anxiety and depression (Beck et al., 1988). It is a widely used by clinicians based on its strong psychometric properties and its ability to be easily administered and scored, the BAI is typically used for initial diagnostic purposes and to assess for treatment success and improvement (Beck et al., 1988). This paper aims to give an overview of this well-known assessment tool.
Creating the Beck Anxiety Inventory
The BAI was created by Aron Beck as a measure to differentiate between anxiety and depression. During the process of creating the
…show more content…
The PDR Checklist (Beck, 1978) included 26 symptoms that were considered common side effects of antianxiety and antidepressant medications as described in the PDR Checklist (Medical Economics, 1977). Items from the PDR Checklist were included in the development of the BAI because some also occurred in anxiety states (e.g., heart pounding and dizziness). The SAC (Beck, 1982) measures an individual’s experience of somatic and cognitive symptoms related to anxiety that occurs in general and when the individual is faced with two specific situations (speaking in public and a problem situation provided by the individual being …show more content…
These characteristics make the measure favorable for use among clinicians with various backgrounds and approaches to treatment. Each item on the BAI can be rated according to four levels: not at all (0), mildly – it did not bother me much (1), moderately – it was very unpleasant, but I could stand it (2), and severely – I could barely stand it (3; Beck et al., 1988). Individuals are instructed to circle which best describes their experience of the item within the last month. Upon completion of the measure, the clinician totals the individual’s scores for all items. Individuals who score 21 or under have lower levels of anxiety, those scoring from 22 to 35 have moderate anxiety, and those scoring over 36 have higher levels of anxiety. Overall, a higher score is likely to indicate a higher level of anxiety, and therefore, result in a higher likelihood of receiving a diagnosis of an anxiety
The sample used to norm the test was inclusive, and studies have showed little to no discrepancies in scores in regards to demographics (gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status). I found limited data regarding the exactly reliability coefficients and the validity of the test. However, I did discover this test to be used when determining concurrent validity of other tests of anxiety. There are no limits to this test in regards to a population or administration, as it is written at an elementary reading level and provides multiple administration types (verbal, audio CD, reading) and response types (verbal or nonverbal). The only area of limitation that I believe exists with this test is its vulnerability to self-report biases, affecting the accuracy of the scores produced for children. I feel very comfortable using this measure in my profession, and believe it can provide a strong base for assessing a child’s anxiety levels and their impacts socially or
Many students face at least one important test in their life. And if that particular student is one of the many that experience test anxiety, this can affect the students test scores. Test anxiety can be caused by the lack of preparation by the student, but it could be caused by the fear of failure as well. Students have so much resting on college and their ability to do well, such as a good paying job to be able to support themselves. Test anxiety causes nausea, light-headedness, and it could even cause the student to have a panic attack. Students that have severe test anxiety do not have a fair advantage (ADAA,
The first part of the essay explained the pathophysiology of MI; importantly, the next part will investigate the psychological impact of MI and the psychosocial effects of CR. The link between post-MI patients and psychological changes, depression and anxiety for example, is now well established. Research has also found a positive relationship between depression and long-term prognosis post-MI. As a result, it is essential to determine the psychological status of the patient to decide an accurate prognosis. In Scotland, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is advocated to determine psychological status post-MI. The HADS comprises of 14 questions, 7 for depression and 7 for anxiety, and the patient answers 0 (strongly disagree) – 3 (strongly agree). Each selection is added up and a score for both depression and anxiety is noted. Both scores are compared against normative data and psychological status is calculated; finally, the psychological status of the patient is rated: normal, borderline abnormal and abnormal.
The Beck Anxiety Inventory is a 21-item scale that measures the severity of self-reported anxiety in adults and adolescents. The inventory was created by Aaron T. Beck and his colleague, Robert A. Steer, at the Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. The most recent edition was published in 1993 by The Psychological Corporation, Harcourt Brace & Company in San Antonio, TX. The first edition was published in 1988. The 1993 edition recommends different scoring guidelines than previous editions. There is only one form and one manual as part of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). To purchase the BAI in 2010, the manual and 25 scoring sheets would cost $110.00. This information is from the Pearson Assessments website.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory-II. Retrieved August 18, 2011from EBSCOhost.
Zung, W. W. K., (1965). A self-rating depression scale. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 12:63-70.[Duke Univ. Med. Ctr., Dept. Psychiatry, Durham, NC]
The Beck Depression Inventory measures depression criteria as evidenced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (Flanagan & Henington, 2005). The Beck Anxiety Inventory assesses childhood fears related to health and school (Flanagan & Henington, 2005). The Beck Anger Inventory appraises the individual’s opinion of mistreatment, negative thoughts, and physiological arousal (Flanagan & Henington, 2005). The Beck Disruptive Behavior Inventory measures behaviors and attitudes related to oppositional and defiant behavior (Flanagan & Henington, 2005). This is consistently seen in youth diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder. Lastly, the Beck Self-Concept Inventory assesses feelings of self-worth and competence (Flanagan & Henington, 2005).
Anxiety is a feeling of tension associated with a sense of threat of danger when the source of the danger is not known. In comparison, fear is a feeling of tension that is associated with a known source of danger. I believe it is normal for us to have some mild anxiety present in our daily lives. Everyday that I can think of I have some kind of anxiety though out that day. Anxiety warns us and enables us to get ready for the ‘fight or flight’ response. However, heightened anxiety is emotionally painful. It disrupts a person's daily functioning.
According to MacNeil (2001), panic disorders tend to be chronic in nature, and much of the data involving treatment effectiveness relates to relative improvement rather than absolute improvement. In a study, Treatment of Panic Disorders with Agoraphobia in an Anxiety Disorders Clinic, done by Vladan Starcevic et al., (2004), they conducted research based on three treatments focusing on CBT: CBT alone, CBT with a high-potency benzodiazepine (CBT+BZ) and CBT combined with fluoxetine (an antidepressant) and BZ (CBT+BZ+AD). There were one hundred and two patients selected with PDA, seventy-four women and twenty-eight men. All patients had to go through an assessment, educa...
Along with being the most widespread mental health disorder, women are more likely to be affected by most anxiety disorders than men. Anxiety disorders are often characterized by feelings of worry, uncertainty, anxiety, or fear, which can be so intense, it can interfere with a person’s daily activities. Therefore, it is likely for a person struggling with an anxiety disorder will find themselves unemployed, financially dependent on others and even have poor quality social relationships as well. As an anxiety disorder may affect other functional impairments, it is also important to be aware of its development considering an anxiety response affects various populations and individuals differently.
Kaut, K. P., & Dickinson, J.A. (2007). The mental health practitioner and psychopharmacology. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 29(3), 204–225.
...sessment should not be used solely for making any diagnostic decisions or decisions related to treatment of any kind but the findings do indicate that the BAI is useful in using as a supportive tool in screening for common anxiety disorders in mental health settings. The assessment would be most effective if used in a tiered diagnostic system, if time constraints interfere with conducting a tiered study then a subsample of individuals would be a suggested option for clinics who are looking for a more time efficient assessment.
Assessment instruments are a critical component in psychological testing. Clinicians use psychological assessments as a process of testing individuals to generate a hypothesis about their behavior, personality, or capabilities. There are four primary types of psychological assessments including, clinical interviews, assessment of intellectual functioning, personality assessment, and behavioral assessments. In addition, other types of psychological testing can include, achievement, aptitude, neuropsychological, occupational, and specific clinical test that can measure current levels of depression or anxiety. For example, the assessment instrument called the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), measures characteristic attitudes
March, J. S., (1997). Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children: Technical manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi Health Systems, Inc.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Studying anxiety disorders. NIH Medline plus, 5, 13-15. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml