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The utility of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale (GADSS) with older adults in primary care
Brandon J Weiss1, Jessica Calleo, Howard M Rhoades
1Houston Center for Quality of Care Utilization Studies, Health Service Research and Development Service, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
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 of the GADSS, administered via telephone, with a sample of older 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.
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