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. Response options include “not at all”, “several days”, “more than half the days” and “nearly every day”.
Psychometric properties
| Property | Definition | GAD-7 |
| Reliability | Degree to which respondents in a similar sample had similar scores | No information at present |
| Internal consistency | The degree to which similar items within a scale correlate with each other | Research indicates the GAD-7 shows excellent internal consistency (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Löwe, 2006) |
| Test-retest reliability | Degree to which the same respondents have the same score after period of time when trait shouldn’t have changed | The GAD-7 shows good test-retest reliability (Spitzer et al., 2006) |
| Criterion validity | Extent to which a measure is related to an outcome | The GAD-7 is a useful tool with strong criterion validity for identifying possible cases of GAD (Spitzer et al., 2006) |
Populations
The GAD-7 is to be completed by individuals aged 16+.
Translation
The GAD-7 is available in various languages. To access GAD-7 in other languages, visit this website and select the language from the drop down menu.
Administration
The GAD-7 is a self-administered patient questionnaire:
Scoring
The GAD-7 score is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3, to the response categories of “not at all,” “several days,” “more than half the days,” and “nearly every day,” respectively, and then adding together the scores for the seven questions.
GAD-7 total score for the seven items ranges from 0 to 21.
Interpretation
Scores represent:
• 0-5 = Mild anxiety
• 6-10 = Moderate anxiety
• 11-15 = Moderately severe anxiety
• 15-21 = Severe anxiety
When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater.
Terms of use
The GAD-7 is free to use.
Further informationInstruction manual including information on the GAD-7.
References
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166 (10), 1092-1097.
Please note that the information on this page was last updated in April 2017.