The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is a 16-item self-assessment was developed to discriminate between Generalized Anixety Disorder and other anxiety disorders. The scale measures three dimensions of anxiety: excessiveness, generality, and uncontrollability.

Rate each of the following statements on a scale of 1 (“not at all typical of me”) to 5 (“very typical of me”). Please do not leave any items blank.

  (1) Not at all typical of me (2) (3) (4) (5) Very typical of me
1. If I do not have enough time to do everything, I do not worry about it.
2. My worries overwhelm me.
3. I do not tend to worry about things.
4. Many situations make me worry.
5. I know I should not worry about things, but I just cannot help it.
6. When I am under pressure I worry a lot.
7. I am always worrying about something.
8. I find it easy to dismiss worrisome thoughts.
9. As soon as I finish one task, I start to worry about everything else I have to do.
10. I never worry about anything.
11. When there is nothing more I can do about a concern, I do not worry about it any more.
12. I have been a worrier all my life.
13. I notice that I have been worrying about things.
14. Once I start worrying, I cannot stop
15. I worry all the time.
16. I worry about projects until they are all done.
Sources
  1. TJ Meyer, ML Miller, RL Metzger, and TD Borkovec. Development and Validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. 28 Behav Res Ther 487-495. .