GAD-7 Anxiety Test

What the GAD-7 Measures

The GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7) was developed by Drs. Robert Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet Williams, and Bernd Löwe and made freely available for clinical and research use. The original 2006 validation study (Spitzer et al., Archives of Internal Medicine) reported 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity for generalized anxiety disorder at a cutoff of 10, with sensitivity above 74% for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and PTSD.

The seven items measure core anxiety symptoms: feeling nervous or on edge, inability to control worry, worrying excessively about different things, difficulty relaxing, restlessness, irritability, and a sense of dread or impending doom. Each question asks how often the symptom occurred over the past two weeks, scored 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day).

GAD-7 Scoring Ranges

Total scores range from 0 to 21. The four severity ranges used in clinical and research settings worldwide are:

When to Seek Help for Anxiety

A score of 10 or above is the standard clinical threshold for further evaluation. A lower score does not mean anxiety is not affecting you, if worry is persistent, difficult to control, or interfering with work or relationships, speaking with a healthcare provider is appropriate regardless of your score. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that anxiety disorders are among the most treatable mental health conditions, with cognitive behavioral therapy and medication both showing strong efficacy.

Anxiety and depression co-occur in approximately 50% of cases. If your GAD-7 score is elevated, taking the PHQ-9 depression screen alongside this test provides a more complete clinical picture. For a detailed explanation of how clinicians use the GAD-7 and what it cannot tell you, see our GAD-7 clinical guide.