The utility of the generalized anxiety disorder severity scale (GADSS) with older adults in primary care

Background: The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale (GADSS) is an interview rating scale designed specifically for assessing symptom severity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which has demonstrated positive psychometric data in a sample of adult primary care patients with GAD and panic disorder. However, the psychometric properties of the GADSS have not been evaluated for older adults. Methods: This study evaluated the psychometric properties ofthe GADSS, administered via telephone, with a sample ofolder primary care patients (n = 223) referred for treatment of worry and/or anxiety. Results: The GADSS demonstrated adequate internal consistency, strong inter-rater reliability, adequate convergent validity, poor diagnostic accuracy, and mixed discriminant validity. Conclusions: Results provide mixed preliminary support for use of the GADSS with older adults.