The Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Worry Domains Questionnaire: structure, reliability and validity

Abstract

In this study the psychometric properties of the PSWQ and the WDQ were investigated in a community sample. The PSWQ proved to be unidimensional although the results indicated that the negatively keyed items contributed less to the general factor. Internal reliability of the PSWQ was satisfactory. Confirmatory analysis of the WDQ indicated that some alternations with regard to the content of the different domains had to be made. Furthermore, an additional health worry domain was included in the scale. This resulted in a revised revision of the WDQ. Internal reliability of the WDQ-R was satisfactory, as well as consistencies of the different domains, with the exception of the Work Incompetence domain. High to moderate correlations were found between the two worry scales and measures of trait anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive behaviour. In studying the relative impact of these constructs on worry it was found that the predictors accounted for 62 and 61% of the variance in the PSWQ and the WDQ-R respectively, providing further evidence for the separate construct of worry.

The influence of cognitive control training on stress reactivity and rumination in response to a lab stressor and naturalistic stress

“…In addition to a rumination total score, the RRS-NL-EXT provides a Brooding and a Reflection subscale, of which Brooding is viewed as the most maladaptive form of rumination (Joormann et al, 2006;Treynor et al, 2003). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ; Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Borkovec, 1990;van Rijsoort, Vervaeke, & Emmelkamp, 1997) was used to measure worrying. Both measures exhibit adequate psychometric properties (Treynor et al, 2003;van Rijsoort, Emmelkamp, & Vervaeke, 1999 Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) to assess positive and negative affective states, comprising 10 items each.…”

“…The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ; Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Borkovec, 1990;van Rijsoort, Vervaeke, & Emmelkamp, 1997) was used to measure worrying. Both measures exhibit adequate psychometric properties (Treynor et al, 2003;van Rijsoort, Emmelkamp, & Vervaeke, 1999 Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) to assess positive and negative affective states, comprising 10 items each. Self-reported attentional control was measured using the 20-item Attentional Control Scale (ACS-NL; Derryberry & Reed, 2002;Verwoerd, Cieraad, & de Jong, 2007).…”

Worrying and rumination are both associated with reduced cognitive control

“…The items are rated on a 5-point scale for the degree to which they characterize the participant. The Dutch version of the PSWQ has an adequate reliability and high internal consistency (Kerkhof, Hermans, Figee, Laeremans, Peters,et al, 2000;Van Rijsoort, Emmelkamp, &Vervaeke, 1999). …”

Intolerance of uncertainty and negative metacognitive beliefs as transdiagnostic mediators of repetitive negative thinking in a clinical sample with anxiety disorders

“…The measure has demonstrated evidence of construct validity in clinical and community populations (e.g. Brown, Antony, & Barlow, 1992;van Rijsoort, Emmelkamp, & Vervaeke, 1999). Worry as measured by the PSWQ has been shown to be dimensional rather than taxonic (Ruscio, Borkovec, & Ruscio, 2001).…”