Development and Validation of the Parkinson's Disease Specific Anxiety Inventory (PDSAI)

BackgroundAnxiety is poorly recognized and inadequately treated in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD).ObjectiveThe present study aimed to develop and validate a new clinical screening and research outcome measure to identify triggers and manifestations of anxiety specific to PD, the Parkinson's disease Specific Anxiety Inventory (PDSAI).MethodData from PDSAI derived from 172 people with PD across Australia and the United States was used to assess the reliability and validity of the inventory. Construct validity was assessed.ResultsFrequency analyses revealed low rates of missing data across the 40 items. The inventory demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's a = 0.93, split-half = 0.68) and mid to high concurrent validity between the PDSAI and (i) Hamilton Anxiety Scale (r = 0.51), (ii) Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (r = 0.697) and Parkinson's Anxiety Scale (r = 0.747).ConclusionsThe PDSAI is a valid and reliable tool designed to capture PD specific triggers and manifestations of anxiety in people with PD.