The seven items assess (1) feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge; (2) being able to stop or control worrying; (3) worrying too much about different things; (4) trouble relaxing; (5) being restless; (6) becoming easily annoyed or irritable; and (7) feeling afraid as if something awful might happen.
GAD-7 items reflect the DSM-IV criteria for GAD. Respondents are asked to rate each item for frequency of occurrence using a 4-point Likert scale (Not at all = 0, Several days = 1, More than half the days = 2, and Nearly every day = 3). All responses are summed to calculate the total GAD-7 score.
Score interpretation
The following guidelines are recommended for the interpretation of scores: 0–9, normal or no anxiety; 10–18, mild to moderate anxiety; 19–29, moderate to severe anxiety; and 30–63, severe anxiety.
Research has suggested that the GAD-7 is a valid screening tool for GAD in a primary care setting and for assessing its severity in clinical practice and research (Spitzer et al., 2006). The average GAD-7 score was 11.60 (SD = 5.44) in our sample.
The GAD-2 is an ultra-quick version of the seven-item scale that incorporates the first two questions of the GAD-7, which are also critical components of any anxiety disorder.
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) is one of the most frequently used diagnostic self-report scales for screening, diagnosis and severity assessment of anxiety disorder.
The reliability coefficient Cronbach's α for the overall GAD-7 scale is 0.895, which is greater than the recommended value of 0.80 suggesting excellent reliability [63].
GAD-7 total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 21. 0–4: minimal anxiety. 5–9: mild anxiety. 10–14: moderate anxiety. 15–21: severe anxiety.
GAD-7 Anxiety Severity
Scores represent: 0-5 mild. 6-10 moderate. 11-15 moderately severe anxiety. 15-21 severe anxiety.
What do GAD antibody results mean? The GAD antibody test results confirm the level of GAD antibodies in the blood. A normal result is under 5 units/ml. High levels of GAD antibodies often occur in people with a lower body mass index (BMI) and predict a more rapid progression toward requiring insulin.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7)
It uses scores of 5, 10, and 15 to indicate mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively. This assessment tool for generalized anxiety disorder is great for quick screening and ongoing progress measurements.
Compared to the range of possible GAD-7 scores (0–21), the standard error of measurement was rather small (SEM = 1.94). Accordingly, the MCID for the GAD-7 was 3.8, resulting in change scores of 4 or greater to reflect a clinically relevant change in individual patients over the course of treatment.
Within the clinical range we have identified the score of 11 as the lower boundary of the 'mild' level, 15 for the 'moderate' level, and 20 for the 'moderate-to-severe' level. A score of 25 or over marks the 'severe' level.
For example, you may feel intense worry about your safety or that of your loved ones, or you may have a general sense that something bad is about to happen. Your anxiety, worry or physical symptoms cause you significant distress in social, work or other areas of your life.
Overview. The Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) is a seven-item instrument that is used to measure or assess the severity of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Each item asks the individual to rate the severity of his or her symptoms over the past two weeks.
The straightforward answer is yes, but only under certain conditions. If you experience symptoms that are so severe that your ability to care for yourself or your ability to function at work is severely affected, you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits or Supplemental Security Income benefits.
To diagnose an anxiety disorder, a doctor performs a physical exam, asks about your symptoms, and recommends a blood test, which helps the doctor determine if another condition, such as hypothyroidism, may be causing your symptoms. The doctor may also ask about any medications you are taking.
The two main treatments for generalized anxiety disorder are psychotherapy and medications. You may benefit most from a combination of the two. It may take some trial and error to discover which treatments work best for you.
Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater. Using the threshold score of 10, the GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for GAD.
Generalized anxiety disorder can be hard to recognize because you may not think of yourself as worried or anxious. But if you are having physical pain, or waking up in the night, or sensitive to sounds, or overthinking things, you may have GAD.
A score of 10 or greater on the GAD-7 represents a reasonable cut point for identifying cases of GAD. Cut points of 5, 10, and 15 might be interpreted as representing mild, moderate, and severe levels of anxiety on the GAD-7, similar to levels of depression on the PHQ-9. 10.
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire is a seven-item, self-report anxiety questionnaire designed to assess the patient's health status during the previous 2 weeks.
Anxiety is not considered a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adults, but generalized anxiety disorder is autism's most common comorbid condition.