Which statement best describes the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)?

• A. A 7-item scale for generalized anxiety disorder.
• B. A clinician-administered interview for social anxiety.
• C. A 21-item self-report scale measuring severity of anxiety symptoms.
• D. A 10-item scale for panic symptom severity.

Answer: (C)

The Beck Anxiety Inventory is a self-report measure of how severe anxiety symptoms are. It includes 21 items that describe common anxiety symptoms, and respondents rate how much they’ve been bothered by each symptom over the past week on a 0 to 3 scale. The sum of the items gives an overall severity score, useful for tracking change over time or across treatment. It isn’t a diagnostic interview and it isn’t specific to one disorder or a short 7- or 10-item tool. That combination—21 items, self-administered, focused on severity of a range of anxiety symptoms—is why this statement is the best fit.