The use of GAD-7 across different anxiety disorders is warranted since GAD is an anxiety disorder with a high degree of comorbidity ( Kessler et al., 2012). The GAD-7 is increasingly used as a measure for anxiety in general ( Beard and Björgvinsson, 2014) and in anxiety disorder research ( Dear et al., 2011). Even though GAD-7 was developed for GAD, it is also used in other anxiety disorders. 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. The seven items with the highest correlation with the total 13-item scale were selected ( Spitzer et al., 2006). Items were then correlated with the total score. Originally, the development of the GAD-7 started with 13 items based on the criteria for GAD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and other items in anxiety measures. The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorders Scale (GAD-7 Spitzer et al., 2006) was developed as a screener for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in primary care settings. The GAD-7 has excellent internal consistency, and the one-factor structure in a heterogeneous clinical population was supported. Correlating the residuals among items assessing somatic symptoms led to a good fit in a respecified CFA solution. The EFA indicated a clear one-factor solution, but the one-factor solution with CFA provided a poor fit to the data. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on a random sample (50%) of the patients at intake and then conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to confirm the factor structure in the other part of the sample at intake. Internal consistency and convergent validity were excellent for the total sample, and there was acceptable variation related to treatment groups. Measures of depression, well-being, and other anxiety measures were also completed, making it possible to investigate convergent and divergent validity. Patients undergoing treatment ( N = 1201), both inpatient and outpatient patients, completed the GAD-7 at pre- and post-treatment. However, there has been disagreement regarding the factor structure of the GAD-7, and there is a need for larger studies investigating the psychometric properties of the measure. The GAD-7 is commonly used as a measure of general anxiety symptoms across various settings and populations.
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