Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) is a widely used and validated self-report rating scale. The GAD-7 is frequently employed to assess general anxiety symptoms in various settings and among various populations (Johnson et al, 2019). It is designed to assess the severity of generalized anxiety disorder.
When considering its application in psychotherapy and psychiatric assessment, the three most important components of the psychiatric interview appear to be: First, the fundamental element is the study of problem presentation. Understanding the client’s main complaints and symptoms is an important part of the psychiatric interview for a comprehensive assessment. GAD-7 is consistent with this, as it targets symptoms such as excessive worry, restlessness, and difficulty controlling anxiety. By incorporating the GAD-7 into the interview process, I, as a PMHNP, can gain valuable information about the client’s perceived anxiety level (Bischoff et al., 2020). At the same time, this will facilitate a targeted discussion of the relevant symptoms.
Second, a thorough assessment of the client’s psychiatric history is a must. This includes a comprehensive review of previous mental health diagnoses, treatment, and response to intervention. The GAD-7 is a simple scale, making it an effective tool in the right context. It allows for quick and regular assessments, tracking changes in symptoms, and making decisions about treatment adjustments.
Third, it is important to assess symptoms for daily functioning. The psychiatric interview should delve into how the client’s anxiety affects his professional, social, and personal life. In this regard, the GAD-7 provides a measure of the severity of anxiety, helping to identify functional impairments.
The GAD-7 has psychometric properties demonstrating good scale reliability and validity for detecting generalized anxiety disorder. This instrument is particularly reliable due to numerous studies on its reliability and sensitivity, including those conducted in China, Germany, and Korea (Gong et al., 2021). It is self-contained and easy to use, making it suitable for routine use in psychiatric examinations.
References
Bischoff, T., Anderson, S. R., & Tambling, R. (2020). Establishment of a reliable change index for the GAD-7. Psychology, Community & Health, 8(1), pp. 176-187.
Gong, Y., Zhou, H., Zhang, Y., Zhu, X., Wang, X., Shen, B., Xian, J., & Ding, Y. (2021). Validation of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) as a screening tool for anxiety among pregnant Chinese women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 282(1), pp. 98-103.
Johnson, S. U., Ulvenes, P. G., Øktedalen, T., & Hoffart, A. (2019). Psychometric properties of the General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7) scale in a heterogeneous psychiatric sample. Frontiers Psychology, 10.