Introduction: Anxiety symptoms and disorders are common in later-life but they often go undetected and untreated in long-term care settings. This may be linked to the lack of a go-to reliable anxiety screener validated for use in this population. This study examined the psychometric properties of an anxiety measure specifically designed for use in long-term care settings, the Geriatric Anxiety Scale -Long Term Care Version (GAS-LTC). Method: Data were collected from residents (N = 66; M age = 84.4 years, range = 59 to 100 years; 74.2% women) of three nursing homes and assisted living facilities.Participants completed four self-report measures. The measures included the GAS-LTC, the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI), the Geriatric Depression Scale -15 (GDS-15), and the Prospective-Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). Results: The GAS-LTC demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .80), good convergent validity with a measure of anxiety, the GAI (r = .70, p < .01), and a measure of depression, the GDS-15 (r = .67, p < .01). It was also found that internal consistency on the GAS-LTC did not significantly vary between groups with high (α = .75) and low (α = .77) self-reported memory impairment. Discussion: The results from this study preliminarily indicate that the GAS-LTC is a promising assessment measure of anxiety for older adults in long-term care settings. The measure demonstrated good internal consistency, as well as good iv convergent validity with measures of anxiety and depression, and subjective memory complaints.
The experience of clinically significant anxiety and anxiety disorders represent significant and often debilitating problems for many residents in long-term care (LTC) settings. However, anxiety problems often go undetected and untreated in this growing population. The purposes of this paper are to examine the prevalence and impact of anxiety problems among residents in LTC facilities, describe the efficacy of the current instruments that are used to detect anxiety in these settings, and provide clinical guidance for the thorough assessment of anxiety. Regarding measurement tools, the GAI, GAI-SF, GAS-LTC, and the BADS are the only self-report measures designed for older adults that have been successfully validated for use with older adults living in LTC settings. Clinicians should focus on ways to educate LTC directors and staff to emphasize the importance of screening and assessing for anxiety, using validated measures, to improve the assessment and treatment of anxiety in their residents.
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