The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) was designed by William W. K. Zung M.D. (1929–1992) a professor of Psychiatry from Duke University, to quantify a patient's level of
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
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[Zung WW. The measurement of affects: depression and anxiety. Mod Probl Pharmacopsychiatry. 1974;7(0):170-88. ]
The SAS is a 20-item self-report assessment device built to measure anxiety levels, based on scoring in 4 groups of manifestations: cognitive, autonomic, motor and central nervous system symptoms. Answering the statements a person should indicate how much each statement applies to him or her within a period of one or two weeks prior to taking the test. Each question is scored on a Likert-type scale of 1–4 (based on these replies: "a little of the time", "some of the time", "good part of the time", "most of the time"). Some questions are negatively worded to avoid the problem of set response. Overall assessment is done by total score.
The total raw scores range from 20–80. The raw score then needs to be converted to an "Anxiety Index" score using the chart on the paper version of the test that can be found on the link below. The "Anxiety Index" score can then be used on this scale below to determine the clinical interpretation of one's level of anxiety:
* 20–44 Normal Range
* 45–59 Mild to Moderate Anxiety Levels
* 60–74 Marked to Severe Anxiety Levels
* 75 and above Extreme Anxiety Levels
See also
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Diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry
Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " cause and effect". In systems engin ...
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Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale
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Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale
The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was designed by Duke University psychiatrist William W.K. Zung MD (1929–1992) to assess the level of depression for patients diagnosed with depressive disorder.
* 20–44 Normal Range
* 45–59 Mildly Dep ...
References
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External links
SAS – Online Anxiety Test Copy of paper version of test with Raw Score-Index Score Conversion table
Anxiety screening and assessment tools