Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
Beck Anxiety Inventory
Have you been feeling anxious or experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety lately? The BAI is a 21-item self-report inventory widely used to assess anxiety severity in adults. It focuses on physical and cognitive symptoms over the past week. Takes about 5-8 minutes.
What Is the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)?
The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is a 21-item self-report inventory developed by Aaron T. Beck and colleagues in 1988. It is one of the most widely used clinical instruments for assessing anxiety severity. Unlike other anxiety measures, the BAI emphasizes somatic symptoms of anxiety—such as heart pounding, trembling, and breathing difficulty—rather than cognitive worry, giving it strong discriminant validity from depression.
Psychometric Properties
- Internal consistency: Cronbach's α = 0.92
- Test-retest reliability (1 week): r = 0.75
- Correlation with Hamilton Anxiety Scale: r = 0.51
- Correlation with Hamilton Depression Scale: r = 0.25 (good discriminant validity)
Instructions
- Rate how much you have been bothered by each symptom during the past month (including today)
- 4-point Likert scale: 0=Not at all 1=Mildly 2=Moderately 3=Severely
- Self-screening reference only — not a substitute for clinical diagnosis
Reference
Beck, A.T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R.A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. *Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology*, 56(6), 893-897.Chinese Validation
Che, H.H., Lu, M.L., Chen, H.C., Chang, S.W., & Lee, Y.J. (2006). Validation of the Chinese Version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory. *Formosan Journal of Medicine*, 10(4), 447-454.Scoring Guide
BAI total score = sum of all 21 items (0-3 each). 0-21 = low anxiety; 22-35 = moderate anxiety; ≥36 = potentially concerning levels of anxiety.
Result Interpretation
After completing the 21 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed instantly on screen. No account, email, or login required.