Assessment of Anxiety in Older Adults: A Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis of Commonly Used Measures

We conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis of the 12 most commonly used measures of anxiety in older adults aged 65 and older. Of the 136 articles considered for inclusion, only 24% of published studies reported reliability coefficients from their original data collection. We used 63 reliability coefficients from 51 articles and 16,183 individuals to provide internal consistency reliability estimates for this meta-analysis. We present the average score reliabilities for each of the 12 measures, characterize the variance in score reliabilities across studies, and consider sample and study characteristics that are predictive of score reliability. We discuss the importance of considering factors specific to the assessment of older adults (e.g., the frequency of a comorbid medical condition) as well as the importance of conducting sample specific reliability analyses. Recommendations are provided for researchers and clinicians choosing a measure of anxiety for use with older adults.