The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), created by Dr. Aaron T. Beck

Aaron T. Beck

Aaron Temkin Beck is an American psychiatrist and a professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is widely regarded as the father of cognitive therapy, and his pioneering theories are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression...

 and other colleagues, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory

Self-report inventory

A self-report inventory is a type of psychological test in which a person fills out a survey or questionnaire with or without the help of an investigator...

 that is used for measuring the severity of an individual's anxiety

Anxiety

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...

.

BAI

The BAI consists of twenty-one questions about how the subject has been feeling in the last week, expressed as common symptoms of anxiety (such as numbness, hot and cold sweats, or feelings of dread). Each question has the same set of four possible answer choices, which are arranged in columns and are answered by marking the appropriate one with a cross. These are:

• NOT AT ALL
• MILDLY: It did not bother me much.
• MODERATELY: It was very unpleasant, but I could stand it.
• SEVERELY: I could barely stand it.

The BAI has a maximum score of 63.

• 0-7: minimal level of anxiety
• 8-15: mild anxiety
• 16-25: moderate anxiety
• 26-63: severe anxiety

Note: women with anxiety disorders tend to score 4 points higher than men with anxiety disorders

Clinical use

Evidence suggests the scale is best at assessing panic

Panic disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring severe panic attacks. It may also include significant behavioral change lasting at least a month and of ongoing worry about the implications or concern about having other attacks. The latter are called anticipatory attacks...

 symptoms. It has been used in a variety of different patient groups, including adolescent and elderly patients.

A 1999 review found that it was the third most used research measure of anxiety, behind the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory is a psychological inventory based on a 4-point Likert scale. The STAI measures two types of anxiety-state anxiety, or anxiety about an event, and trait anxiety. Higher scores are positively correlated with higher levels of anxiety...

 which differentiates between “state anxiety” and “trait anxiety” and the Fear Survey Schedule which provides quantitative information about how clients react to possible sources of maladaptive emotional reactions.

See also

• Beck Depression Inventory
  Beck Depression Inventory
  The Beck Depression Inventory , created by Dr. Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, one of the most widely used instruments for measuring the severity of depression...
  
  
• Beck Hopelessness Scale
  Beck Hopelessness Scale
  The Beck Hopelessness Scale is a 20-item self-report inventory developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck that was designed to measure three major aspects of hopelessness: feelings about the future, loss of motivation, and expectations...
  
  
• Major Depression Inventory
  Major Depression Inventory
  The Major Depression Inventory is a self-report mood questionnaire developed by the World Health Organisation. The instrument was constructed by a team led by Professor Per Bech, a psychiatrist based at Frederiksborg General Hospital in Denmark...
  
  
• Diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry
  Diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry
  The following diagnostic systems and rating scales are used in psychiatry and clinical psychology.-Diagnostic Criteria:*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders *ICD-10 Chapter V: Mental and behavioural disorders...