Emotional health resources for adults and older adults

Adult anxiety

This is the most common form of mental disorder. Work stress, relationship difficulties, having a child or thinking of future goals like retirement are everyday features that can be common causes of anxiety in adults.

Common forms that anxiety can take include fears of social interactions and other people, fears of physical symptoms, fears of germs or sickness, repeated panic attacks, worry about everyday activities and problems, and worries about past events or future dangers.

Anxiety often includes physical symptoms such as:

• sweating
• a racing or pounding heart
• blushing
• trembling
• nausea
• chest pain or feeling dizzy.

Anxiety generally occurs as a response to a feared situation and is made worse by negative or fearful thoughts. Common negative thoughts include:

• “everyone thinks I’m stupid”
• “I am incompetent”
• “I am having a heart attack”
• “I will get sick or hurt”.

Worries, fears, shyness and anxiety can affect all aspects of a person’s life including their social relationships, work, personal and family relationships, or their physical health.

Learn more about treatments available.

• Anxiety, Worry and Low Mood in Older Adults
• GP Brochure: Identifying Anxiety and Depression in Older Adults

The CBQ measures core beliefs about the self for social anxiety disorder and depression. The questionnaire includes three versions of the CBQ:

• a Trait version (fundamental absolute statements about the self)
• a Contingent version (statements about the self related to a specific social-evaluative situation)
• and an ‘Other’ version (statements about how others view the self in social-evaluative situations generally).

Relevant references

• Wong, Q. J. J., Gregory, B., Gaston, J. E., Rapee, R. M., Wilson, J. K., & Abbott, M. J. (2017). Development and validation of the Core Beliefs Questionnaire in a sample of individuals with social anxiety disorder PDF, 250.76 KB. Journal of Affective Disorders,
  207, 121-127. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.09.020

Subtle avoidance and safety behaviours are key processes in the maintenance of social anxiety. The SAFE provides an assessment of the extent to which an individual engages in potentially problematic safety strategies in social situations. Items are derived from clinical interviews and experience.

Relevant references

• Cuming, S., Rapee, R. M., Kemp, N., Abbott, M. J., Peters, L., & Gaston, J. E. (2009). A self report measure of subtle avoidance and safety behaviours relevant to social anxiety: Development and psychometric properties. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 879-883.
• Rapee, R. M., Gaston, J. E., & Abbott, M. J. (2009). Testing the efficacy of theoretically-derived improvements in the treatment of social phobia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(2), 317-327.

The APPQ is an instrument designed to measure interceptive , agoraphobic, and social situational fear.

English

• APPQ PDF, 59.34 KB
• APPQ Scoring PDF, 110.91 KB

Relevant references

• Rapee , R.M., Craske, M.G. & Barlow, D.H., (1994-1995). Assessment instrument for panic disorder that includes fear of sensation-producing activities: the Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire. Anxiety, 1:114-22.

The ASQ is a measure of perceived control over emotional reactions and perceived control over external threats specific to anxiety disorders.

Relevant references

• Rapee, R. M., Craske, M. G., Brown, T. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1996). Measurement of perceived control over anxiety-related events. Behavior Therapy, 27(2), 279-293.

The SPS is a measure assessing performance during speech tasks. Two forms are available, one self-assessing performance and a second assessing performance from an observer’s perspective.

Relevant references

• Rapee, R. M., & Lim, L. (1992). Discrepancy between self- and observer ratings of performance in social phobics. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101(4), 728-731.

The SIAS-6 and the SPS-6 is a short form of the Social Interaction Anxiety (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS) which are a companion set of measures that aim to assess two related yet distinct facets of social phobia - specific scrutiny fears (ie eating, drinking, writing, and using public toilets in the presence of others) and the more generalised social interaction anxieties.

English

• SIAS-6 and SPS-6 PDF, 207.96 KB

Relevant references

• Peters, L., Rapee, R.M., Sunderland, M., Andrews, G., Mattick, R.P. (2011). Development of a Short Form Social Interaction Anxiety (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS) Using Nonparametric Item Response Theory: The SIAS-6 and the SPS-6. American Psychological Association, DOI: 10.1037/a0024544.