Normative data for persons over 65 on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire

Normative data are presented for the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) from 255 healthy New Zealanders over the age of 65. The PSWQ was administered during the course of a two-year trial of the effect on cognition and mood of lowering homocysteine levels using vitamin and folate supplements. The scale proved to have good internal consistency, and there were no significant effects of sex, age, or premorbid IQ on the PSWQ scores. Mean scores and percentiles are presented for both the abbreviated an 8-item short-form (PSWQ-A) developed for use with the elderly by Hopko et al. (2003) and for the total score. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted and provided evidence for the construct validity of both the short-form and the total scale score as single-factor measures of worry. The results of this study, taken together with findings from other studies in the literature suggest that a score on the PSWQ above 50 from a client above the age of 65 is suggestive of a need to assess further for generalised anxiety disorder.