Rapid anxiety assessment in medical patients: evidence for the validity of verbal anxiety ratings.

Rapid assessment of patient anxiety is necessary to insure quality care. A number of self-report measures provide valid and reliable measures of anxiety. These measures can be time-consuming to complete, however, and may be burdensome to medical patients who are in pain or acute anxiety states. Many medical procedures are performed in conditions in which written measures are cumbersome (e.g. patient in supine position), and scoring and interpretation of written measures in a busy clinical setting may be difficult for medical personnel. The present study provides validity data for a verbally administered (0-10) anxiety rating. One hundred and ninety-eight adult interventional radiology patients completed standard measures assessing state anxiety, trait Negative and Positive Affect, and the dimensions of the five-factor model of personality. Verbal anxiety rating was highly correlated with Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory, showed moderate correlations to the related constructs of neuroticism and trait Negative Affect, and was largely unrelated to theoretically distinct constructs. Verbal anxiety ratings made prior to the invasive procedure also predicted pain and anxiety during the procedure. The verbal anxiety rating also demonstrated sensitivity to changes in anxiety that occurred as a result of changes in situation. Findings support the convergent and discriminant validity of verbal anxiety ratings.