Addressing the need for appropriate norms when measuring anxiety in seniors

In order to address the paucity of research concerning the use of anxiety measures in seniors, we investigated whether commonly used measures of anxiety should be normed separately for this population. One hundred and one participants between the ages of 40 and 93 years, who were living independently in the community, were administered three commonly used measures of anxiety. These were the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS). They also completed a brief questionnaire concerning demographic and medical information. The main design involved two (younger versus older persons) × two (males versus females) analyses. ASI scores varied as a function of age and sex (i.e. two main effects) with older and male participants obtaining lower scores. Analysis of the BAI scores revealed a significant age by sex interaction, with older men obtaining significantly lower scores than both younger men and women over 60 years of age. Age did not play a significant role with respect to total FSS scores, although females obtained higher scores than males. The results of this investigation suggest that separate norms should be used when the BAI and the ASI are administered to persons over 60 years of age.