A Brief Measure of Worry Severity (BMWS): personality and clinical correlates of severe worriers

This report describes the development of a brief and valid self-report measure to assess severe and dysfunctional worry (the Brief Measure of Worry Severity or BMWS). Using three independent subject groups (clinical and non-clinical), the measure was used to examine the differential severity of worry in depression and anxiety and to examine the clinical and personality correlates of severe worriers. Preliminary psychometric evaluation revealed that the BMWS possesses good construct and clinical discriminant validity. Subjects reporting greater worry severity tended to be more “introverted” and “obsessional,” but less “agreeable” and “conscientious.” Subjects with depression only, reported less problems with worrying compared to those with co-morbid anxiety disorders. However, among the anxiety disorders, severe and dysfunctional worry was not exclusively experienced by subjects with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This study suggests that pathological worry is not only relevant for patients with GAD, but may be an equally detrimental cognitive activity for patients with panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.