16-item measure of worry tendency as a stable personality trait. ≈ 5 min to complete. Free with attribution.
PSWQ (Penn State Worry Questionnaire) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess 16-item measure of worry tendency as a stable personality trait.. It is most often used for 16-item measure of worry tendency as a stable personality trait.. The instrument contains 16 items. Typical administration time is ≈ 5 min.
Source / attribution: Free to use with citation
16-item measure of worry tendency as a stable personality trait. PSWQ is part of standard practice in this setting because it provides a structured, replicable assessment that can be tracked over time and compared across patients or visits.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, PSWQ is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 16 items below to see your PSWQ score and interpretation.
Each item is scored on a 5-point scale (5–1). Your score updates live as you answer.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Sum all 16 items scored 1-5. Total range 16-80. Higher scores indicate greater worry.
Scoring notes: Sum all 16 items scored 1-5. Total range 16-80. Higher scores indicate greater worry.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 16–30 | Low worry | None |
| 31–50 | Moderate worry | Monitor |
| 51–80 | High worry | Consider treatment |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If I do not have enough time to do everything, I do not worry about it | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 2 | My worries overwhelm me | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 3 | I do not tend to worry about things | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 4 | Many situations make me worry | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 5 | I know I should not worry about things, but I just cannot help it | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 6 | When I am under pressure I worry a lot | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 7 | I am always worrying about something | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 8 | I find it easy to dismiss worrisome thoughts | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 9 | As soon as I finish one task, I start to worry about everything else I have to do | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 10 | I never worry about anything | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 11 | When there is nothing more I can do about a concern, I do not worry about it anymore | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 12 | I have been a worrier all my life | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 13 | I notice that I have been worrying about things | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 14 | Once I start worrying, I cannot stop | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
| 15 | I worry all the time | Rarely typical of me | 2 |
| 16 | I worry about projects until they are all done | Sometimes typical of me | 3 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 + … (items 9–16 sum to 20) = 41
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 41 falls between 31 and 50 → Moderate worry
Moderate worry. Monitor
A score is one input alongside history and examination. PSWQ supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
Psychometric figures are drawn from the validation literature and may vary across clinical populations and translations.
If PSWQ doesn't fit your context, related instruments in anxiety include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAD-2 | Ultra-brief anxiety screening based on first two GAD-7 items. | 2 | ≈ 1 min |
| STAI | Measures both temporary state anxiety and long-standing trait anxiety. | 20 | ≈ 10 min |
| BAI | 21-item self-report inventory measuring severity of anxiety symptoms with focus on somatic symptoms. | 21 | ≈ 5 min |
| HADS-A | 7-item anxiety subscale for hospital and clinical settings. | 7 | ≈ 2 min |
| PHQ-9 | Severity of depression | 9 | ≈ 3 minutes |
| GAD-7 | Severity of generalized anxiety | 7 | ≈ 2 minutes |
| AUDIT | 10-item WHO screening tool for hazardous alcohol consumption and dependence. | 10 | ≈ 3 min |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
PSWQ (Penn State Worry Questionnaire) is a validated instrument that assesses worry tendency as a stable personality trait. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. It takes about 5 min to complete, and the 16 items are summed to produce a total score.
PSWQ typically takes about 5 min to administer. The exact duration varies a little depending on whether it is self-administered or completed with a clinician. Its brief format is part of what makes it practical for routine clinical use and for repeat administration when tracking change over time.
PSWQ contains 16 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 16 to 80, grouped into 3 interpretation bands from ‘Low worry’ up to ‘High worry’.
On the PSWQ (total score 16–80), scores of 51–80 fall in the ‘High worry’ band — interpreted as: Consider treatment. The full ladder is: 16–30 — Low worry: None.; 31–50 — Moderate worry: Monitor.; 51–80 — High worry: Consider treatment. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 16–30 fall in the ‘Low worry’ band: None. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
PSWQ has reported Cronbach's α of 0.95 in validation samples and test–retest reliability of 0.92. Excellent internal consistency; discriminates GAD from other anxiety disorders. In practical terms, a Cronbach’s α around 0.95 indicates excellent internal consistency (the items hang together well), and a test–retest reliability of 0.92 means scores are strongly stable when the scale is repeated without real clinical change.
PSWQ is free to use with attribution — clinical, educational, and research use is permitted provided the original source is credited. If you publish results or reproduce the scale, include the citation to the source paper.
Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28(6), 487-495. This is the original publication for the PSWQ — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. PSWQ is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of worry tendency as a stable personality trait — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
PSWQ is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: