A bstract A rating scale to m easure anxiety in dementia sufferers was developed and evaluated in a sample of 51 inpatients and 32 day-hospital patients. Anxiety scores were not related to sex, age, accomm odation or DSM-IV diagnosis of the type of dem entia. However, both subjects with physical illnesses and subjects with insight into their m em ory problems had signi® cantly higher anxiety scores. The kappa values for inter-rater reliability ranged from 0.51 to 1 and for test-retest reliability from 0.53 to 1, which indicates moderate to good reliability. The overall agreem ent on individual items ranged from 82± 100% (inter-rater) and 84± 100% (test-retest). The professionals working in the care of the elderly and carer groups felt that the scale was comprehensive and all the items in the scale were important, thereby con® rm ing that it has good content validity. The scale signi® cantly correlated with other anxiety scales and also with independent ratings both by a consultant psychiatrist and also nursing staff, indicating good concurrent validity. Anxiety scores were signi® cantly higher in dementia patients who ful® lled modi® ed DSM-IV criteria for anxiety and clinical diagnosis of anxiety disorder. This showed evidence of good criterion validity. Factor analysis showed ® ve factors, including all items of the scale. Scores of 11 and above on the scale indicated signi® cant clinical anxiety. Overall, the scale had good reliability and validity. It should be a useful clinical and research instrument for assessing anxiety in dementia sufferers.

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