A comparison of three worry questionnaires

doi:10.1016/0005-7967(93)90042-S

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume 31, Issue 1, January 1993, Pages 51-56

https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(93)90042-S Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper describes a study comparing three worry questionnaires; The Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ), The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and The Student Worry Scale (SWS). The results suggested that (i) scores on two out of the three questionnaires exhibited sources of variance that were independent of trait anxiety, (ii) content-based questionnaires (the WDQ and SWS) appeared to capture features of task-oriented constructive worrying, whereas the PSWQ did not, and (iii) all three questionnaires indicated that worriers were characterized by an information-seeking, monitoring cognitive style and a tendency to indulge in avoidance coping behaviours. The implications of these findings for the development of a clinically useful diagnostic instrument are discussed.

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The high rate of comorbidity between alcohol use and emotional disorders is well demonstrated, but the mechanisms underlying their relationship remain largely unidentified. One possibility is maladaptive responding to negative affect, such as worry and rumination. The present study sought to examine worry and rumination as putative mediators explaining the link between emotional disorders and alcohol use disorders.
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The process of worry has been associated with reductions in working memory capacity and availability of resources necessary for efficient attentional control. This, in turn, can lead to escalating worry. Recent investigations into working memory training have shown improvements in attentional control and cognitive performance in high trait-anxious individuals and individuals with sub-clinical depression. The current randomised controlled trial investigated the effects of 15 days of adaptive n-back working memory training, or an active control task, on working memory capacity, attentional control and worry in a sample of high worriers. Pre-training, post-training and one-month follow-up measures of working memory capacity were assessed using a Change Detection task, while a Flanker task was used to assess attentional control. A breathing focus task was used as a behavioural measure of worry in addition to a number of self-report assessments of worry and anxiety. Overall there was no difference between the active training and the active control condition with both groups demonstrating similar improvements in working memory capacity and worry, post-training and at follow-up. However, training-related improvements on the n-back task were associated with gains in working memory capacity and reductions in worry symptoms in the active training condition. These results highlight the need for further research investigating the role of individual differences in working memory training.
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A comparison of three worry questionnaires

Abstract

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Personality and Individual Differences

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Personality and Individual Differences

Anxiety and its disorders

Generalized anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder: Description and reconceptualization

American Journal of Psychiatry