Overview
A seven-item self-report scale identifying probable cases of GAD and measuring symptom severity.
Use cases
Anxiety screening in primary care and stepped-care psychological services.
Assessment intelligence
- Score range
- 0 – 21
- Direction
- Higher = worse
- Scoring method
- Sum
- Time to score
- ~1 min
Subscales
- Total Anxiety Severity0-21
Sum of seven GAD-7 items rated 0-3.
Cutoff thresholds & interpretation
| Severity | Threshold | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Minimal | 0-4 | No clinically significant anxiety |
| Mild | 5-9 | Mild anxiety; monitor |
| Moderate | 10-14 | Probable GAD; further evaluation |
| Severe | 15-21 | Severe anxiety; active treatment |
Score ≥10 is the standard screening cutoff for generalized anxiety disorder.
Editorial notes
Sensitivity 89%, specificity 82% at cutoff >=10; excellent internal consistency (alpha 0.92).
Available languages
Validation studies (2)
- A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, et al. · Archives of Internal Medicine · 2006DOI: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092
- GAD-7 anxiety severity and outcome across stepped careKroenke K, Spitzer RL, et al. · General Hospital Psychiatry · 2010DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2010.03.006