Overview
The Worry Behaviours Inventory (WBI) is a 10‑item self‑report measure assessing maladaptive safety behaviours and avoidance behaviours commonly used by individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) to prevent, control, or avoid worry. It captures behavioural patterns that maintain chronic worry and anxiety.Scoring & Interpretation
The Worry Behaviours Inventory consists of 10 items rated on a frequency scale, producing a total score that reflects the extent to which an individual engages in maladaptive worry‑related behaviours. Higher scores indicate greater use of safety behaviours and avoidance. The measure also yields two subscale scores—Safety Behaviours (6 items) and Avoidance (4 items)—which can be interpreted alongside the total score. There are no reverse‑scored items and no established clinical cut‑offs; scores are interpreted dimensionally, with higher values reflecting more entrenched behavioural avoidance patterns.Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency
In the original validation, Cronbach’s alpha was .86 for the total scale, with subscale alphas of .85 for Safety Behaviours and .75 for Avoidance, indicating good reliability. These values were replicated in later clinical and community samples, supporting the measure’s stability and coherence across populations.
Test-Retest Reliability
Test–retest analyses in replication studies show that the WBI has acceptable temporal stability over short intervals, with correlations typically falling in the acceptable‑to‑good range.
Factor Structure
Exploratory factor analysis identified a two‑factor structure comprising Safety Behaviours and Avoidance.
Validity
The WBI shows strong convergent validity through robust associations with measures of worry and GAD symptom severity. Divergent validity is supported by weaker correlations with constructs such as depression, social anxiety, panic symptoms and general disability, indicating specificity to worry‑related behaviours.
Concurrent validity is demonstrated by the measure’s ability to distinguish clinical from community samples, and criterion validity is reflected in its association with functional impairment and anxiety severity.
The WBI also shows predictive validity: reductions in WBI scores during treatment correspond with improvements in GAD symptoms, and baseline behavioural patterns predict treatment response.