Essay on Evaluating the Beck Anxiety Inventory

Classical test theory looks at the true score, observed score and error and examines how they relate to determine how reliable a test is. Multiple studies have proven that the BDI-2 is reliable method of assessing developmental disorders in infancy and early childhood (Hogan & Brooke, 2007).

Due to the extreme changes in Vanessa’s life, the therapist has chosen to administer the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II), as well as Beck’s Anxiety Inventory Tests (BAI). Both tests will determine if the client’s feelings in the past week to two weeks are symptoms of either depression or anxiety. Depending on her score on the BDI-II, she could be experiencing minimal, mild, moderate, to severe depression. The BAI will indicate whether the client is experiencing minimal, mild, moderate, to severe anxiety. These tests should help the therapist in providing the best treatment plan for the

Test worthiness is utilized to determine if an assessment/test is appropriate or suitable to be used. The four criteria for an assessment consist of validity, reliability, cross-cultural fairness, and practicality (Neukrug & Fawcett, 2015). These characteristics should resemble a how a counselor should portray themselves in a Christian worldview because a Christian must be able to utilize testing in a trustworthy manner that would allow for critical thinking to make the best interpretation to treat and encourage clients/patients that is worthy of their humanity. It is important to be able to provide a testing that is consistent and accurate in able to provide an understanding that leads to a better conceptualization and treatment plan. Being

d. What was measured? What were the variables? – The English Worry and Anxiety Questionnaire measured general anxiety disorder symptoms. A high score represented more symptoms. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire measured the severity of trait worrying. The higher the score the more severe. The English Why Worry II measured the correlation of positive beliefs and worry. A high score indicated stronger beliefs in positive correlation. A subscale was also implemented to measure worry aids, worry motivates, worry protects from negative emotions after negative events, the act of worrying prevents negative events, being a high worrier is a good personality trait. The Metacognitions Questionnaire measured beliefs regarding worry, memory and thought awareness. It also consisted of five subscales that measured: positive beliefs,

Largely, the entire test proved thought provoking as this was a subjective test. Meaning everyone's values are not the same, everyone is not driven by the same motives. This could be problematic in obtaining valid results. It has given this writer cause to carefully examine assessments that are being administered clients. Reliability and validity have a great importance in how counselor should utilize assessments and can assist in finding appropriate instruments in order to be more effective with clients.

To experience any form of anxiety, such as interviews, a drive in traffic, or even a first date is a natural- human experience. For instance, one begins to undergo a feeling of failure regarding specific class. Nevertheless, sometimes, the emotion, keeps us motivated and school work-orientated. Yet, now and then, anxiety can take a hold on one when intense fear and distress becomes too overwhelming; it can prevent one from doing everyday thing. As a result, anxiety disorder can be the cause (B. T. Anxiety Disorders, 2016). According to National Alliance of Mental Illness, known as NAMI (2016), anxiety disorders are a common mental health concern in the United States. Roughly, forty million adults in the United States, and eight percent of children and teenagers face some sort of a negative impact of an anxiety disorder. Consequently, people develop symptoms of anxiety disorder before the age twenty-one.

The questioner that will be administered to the participants will be the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale comprises of 13 questions related to performance anxiety and 11 concern social situations. The scale is composed of 24 items divided into 2 subscales, 13 items concerning performance anxieties, and 13 items concerning to social situations. The items on the test are first rated from 0 to 3 on fear felt during the situations. Secondly, the same items then are rated regarding avoidance of the situation. Subsequently, the total score of the fear and avoidance are combined and will be utilized to assess if race and ethnicity are significantly impacted by these factors. For the purposes of this perspective, experiment scores will also be assessed separately and assessed to identify if fear or anxiety and avoidance are impacted by assertiveness.

Evaluation for an anxiety disorder often begins with a visit to a primary care provider. Some physical health conditions, such as an overactive thyroid or low blood sugar, as well as taking certain medications, can imitate or worsen an anxiety disorder. A thorough mental health evaluation is also helpful, because anxiety disorders often co-exist with other related conditions, such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Given the prevalence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and associated impairments as well as the significant burden imposed on health care resources, accurate assessment of anxiety is needed. Evaluating GAD and its severity by mental health and primary care clinicians is an increasingly important goal. Reliable

It tests cognitive performance in six domains: reaction time, processing speed, learning, working memory, delayed memory, and spatial memory (Kane, Roebuck-Spencer, Short, Kabat, Wilken, 2007;, Eonta, et al., 2011). It has been shown to be a reliable screening tool for detecting neurocognitive deficits, especially when compared to baseline measures (Kelly, Coldren, Parish, Dretsch, Russell, 2012; Johnson, Vincent, Johnson, Gilliland, & Schlegel, 2008; Roebuck-Spencer, Vincent, Gilliland, Johnson, & Cooper, 2013; Woodhouse, et al., 2013).

The Depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21) is a 21-item quantitative measure of distress that has 3 scales- anxiety, stress and depression, each of which has 7-items (Henry & Crawford, 2005). The DASS-21 is a shorter version of the full 42-item questionnaire (DASS) both of which are typically used to discriminate between the three related states of depression, anxiety and stress (Antony, Bieling, Cox, Enns, & Swinson, 1998). Distinguishing between these states has proven difficult, particularly between anxiety and depression (Clark & Watson, 1991a) . Many of the major scales predominantly measure the common factor of negative affectivity (Watson & Clark, 1984). While the full version DASS is used in both clinical and research settings, the DASS-21 is typically used for research purposes (Lovibond, 2013). As such this paper will evaluate the empirical evidence for the validity and reliability of the DASS-21 for research purposes.

What is an anxiety disorder?- Anxiety is “a mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities...” Anxiety disorders involve more than temporary fear or worry. There are numerous disorders involving anxiety, which includes: social phobia, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, etc.

The NEO PI-R is available for purchase at the publisher’s website, for individuals with a qualification level of S or B. A level S qualification requires that buyers have a degree, certificate, or license to practice in a health care profession, in addition to having the appropriate training and experience in ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation of clinical behavioral assessment measures (NEO PI-R™, 2012). A level B qualification is very similar to the level S qualification in that it requires a license or certification that required appropriate training and experience in the ethical and knowledgeable use of psychological tests, or a degree in psychology, counseling, or a related field, in addition to having completed coursework in test interpretation, psychometrics, measurement theory, and educational statistics with a passing grade (NEO PI-R™, 2012). This helps to ensure that the test is only handled by individuals who have the necessary knowledge to interpret the test without misinterpretation, which could have negative outcomes.

Test-retest reliability is conducting the same test with the same respondents at different moments of time. For example, a group of participants is given a personality test and then are given the same is tested at a later time, maybe a month or year later (Kline, 2005).

One issue with test retest reliability is that longer intervals are likely to impose psychological change, thus changing true scores (Furr, & Bacharach, 2013).  Therefore, the interval amount of time can have an impact on the client’s score. Cusins et al. (2012), research does not indicate the interval time, but their retest reliability score of 0.81 is indicative of a strong relationship.

There comes a time when we all come across a specific test such as school tests, driving test, or even as simple as food tasting test. However, there is a difference between regular tests and testing’s when referring to psychological testing. There are several different psychological tests that many psychiatrists, psychologists, and school counselors use to determine certain abilities, however each of the tests are used for a specific purpose. It is vital for the individuals to contain high knowledge of the tests before applying it to others.