Anxiety symptoms

Information sheet 1 - Generalized Anxiety Disorder – 7 items (GAD-7)

Name of the instrument

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Abbreviation

GAD-7

Number of items

7

Terms of use

Public domain. The source must be mentioned (Spitzer et al., 2006).

Language

English, French and several other languages

Data collection method

Self-report questionnaire or by interview, in hard copy, in person or by telephone.

Target population

Adults

Interpretation of the results and thresholds
  • The items are ranked on a scale of 0 to 3. The maximum score is 21. The recommended threshold to evaluate generalized anxiety disorder is 10.
  • Thresholds:
    • Absence of anxiety: 0-4 points;
    • Mild anxiety: 5-9 points;
    • Moderate anxiety: 10-14 points;
    • Severe anxiety: 15-21 points.

Is the questionnaire available in the toolkit?

Yes, see Questionnaire 1.

Other versions
  • The GAD-2 includes the first two items of the GAD-7. The GAD-2 measures generalized anxiety disorder but does not measure its severity.
  • The PHQ-4 measures depression and anxiety based on the first two questions of the PHQ-9 and the first two questions of the GAD-7. There is a version adapted for children 11 to 17 years of age but it appears to be little used and has not been translated into French.

References
  • Pfizer. (undated-a). Welcome to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) Screeners. PHQ and GAD-7 screeners. Consulted at https://www.phqscreeners.com/
  • Pfizer. (undated-b). Instruction manual. Instructions for Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and GAD-7 Measures. Consulted at https://www.pcpcc.org/sites/default/files/resources/instructions.pdf
  • Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W. and Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097.

Information sheet 2 - Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) – “Generalized anxiety disorder” section

Name of the instrument

Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview

Abbreviation

MINI (M.I.N.I)

Number of items

10

Terms of use
  • A licence must be obtained from Dr. David Sheehan, the lead author. The licence is free of charge if the project has a grant of less than $50 000 and if it is not used in a healthcare system, otherwise it costs $10 (see the entire array of criteria on the Harm Research Institute website: http://harmresearch.org/index.php/mini-international-neuropsychiatric-interview-mini/).
  • MAPI manages the translations. Fees are levied for the translated versions, in particular the French translation. The cost of distribution of the translation differs according to the use. It is roughly €750 for a commercial user, €100 for a funded university research project, e.g. government funding, and free of charge for non-funded research projects.

Language

English, French and more than 70 other languages

Data collection method

Was developed to be administered through a structured interview with a trained interviewer.

Target population

Adults

Interpretation of the results and thresholds

If “yes” is the response to at least three questions, the person displays symptoms of generalized stress disorder.

Is the questionnaire available in the toolkit?

No

Other versions

The MINI is frequently updated to satisfy constantly-changing criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). At the time of dissemination of this toolkit, version 7.0.2 was the most recent version of the MINI and is based on the DSM-5. There is also a shorter MINI Screen version, suitable for screening. The MINI Kid targets children and adolescents. The MINI Plus is more comprehensive and covers 23 health problems.

References