Worry / anticipatory anxiety (PSWQ-16)

The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (Meyer, Miller, Metzger & Borkovec) is the gold standard for measuring trait worry: not "what you worry about," but how excessive, generalized, and hard to control your worry is. It's the key cognitive trait of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and one of the main targets of CBT work with anxiety. The PSWQ assesses the worry process itself, not specific topics — so it sees whether the mind is "running idle."

Before you start

This assesses the trait of worry, not a GAD diagnosis. Worry is a normal function of the mind; the problem begins where it becomes excessive, generalized, and out of control. The measurement shows how prone you are to that pattern, not "how much anxiety you have."