Many self-assessments have been developed to assess levels of anxiety (Julian, 2011). Most of these instruments can be completed and scored quickly. Some are even free to complete online. While anxiety self-assessments shouldn’t be used to make diagnoses (Julian, 2011), people scoring as highly anxious on these scales might consider whether professional help could be beneficial. Below we identify three of the more well-known anxiety self-assessments.
Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS): This scale, first published in the early 1970s, remains widely used today (Zung, 1971). An auto-scoring version is available online at https://psychology-tools.com/zung-anxiety-scale/
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7): This scale was developed by DSM-III editor Robert Spitzer and colleagues to assess generalized anxiety symptoms (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Löwe, 2006). An auto-scoring version is available online at https://patient.info/doctor/generalised-anxiety-disorder-assessment-gad-7
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI): This 21-scale inventory was developed by Aaron Beck and colleagues in the 1980s (Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988). This inventory isn’t available for free online, but you can learn a lot about it by doing an online search.
