The DAS-A is an 8-item General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) specific health-related daily assessment to measure the efficacy of generalized anxiety disorder treatments.
The questionnaire was initially developed in the US [Morlock et al. 2007] for use in individuals diagnosed with GAD. Items selected based on input from patients participating in focus groups, a literature review, existing questionnaires, and information obtained from clinical experts.
Data were collected during a randomized, 4-week, double-blind, multi-center, fixed-dose, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical study in the United States using oral doses of lorazepam, paroxetine, and an oral placebo.
The validation testing mean age of the total sample (N= 167) was 36, 58% were female, and 73% were Caucasian.
Item level descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alphas, effect sizes, and validity correlations with other scales were favorable.
Instrument is capable of detecting reduction in anxiety symptoms within 24 hours of first dose.
The DAS-A is self-administered in a paper-diary format consisting of 8 items utilizing 10-point Likert response scales with a recall period of 24 hours.
Completion time for the scale is approximately 5 minutes.
DAS-A, Version 2 is currently in development. For details contact Rob Morlock at rbt_jms@yahoo.com.
