The Beck Anxiety Inventory: a measure of controversy

Abstract

Increasing debate surrounds the relationship between anxiety and depression in the literature relating to this subject. One focus of this debate is the ability of measures to differentiate between the two disorders. The research literature reports high correlations between widely used rating scales of anxiety and depression suggesting that the two syndromes cannot be meaningfully separated. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (B.A.I.) using three subject groups, university students, non-students and a clinical group (thirteen clinically anxious and ten clinically depressed). All subjects were given the B.A.I and Beck Depression Inventory (B.D.I.) to complete. Results indicated that the B.A.I. was a highly reliable measure with a high degree of internal inconsistency. The ability of the two tests to differentiate between small clinically anxious and depressed group was explored and found to be poor. The B.A.I showed high correlations with the B.D.I. confirming the previously noted problems with discriminant validity. Design limitations were discussed and clinical implications considered.