Burns Anxiety Inventory

Evaluates anxiety severity based on a collection of 33 feelings, thoughts and symptoms.

Refer to the text below the calculator for more information about this anxiety assessment tool.

The Burn Anxiety Inventory is a self-report anxiety assessment tool that evaluates anxious symptoms such as worry, nervousness or feelings of panic or a racing heart. The higher the score, the greater the severity level of anxiety.

Each of the 33 items of the Burn Anxiety Inventory is scored on a scale from 0 to 3, where 0 indicates the respondent has not been bothered, whilst 3 indicates the respondent has indeed been bothered a lot by the described feeling, thought or symptom in the past week.

Total Score Degree of Anxiety
0 - 4 Minimal or no anxiety
5 - 10 Borderline anxiety
11 - 20 Mild anxiety
21 - 30 Moderate anxiety
31 - 50 Severe anxiety
51 - 99 Extreme anxiety or panic

Instruction: Please indicate how much each of the below has bothered you in the past several days.

Not at all = 0 | Somewhat = 1 | Moderately = 2 | A lot = 3

Category I: Anxious Feelings

1Anxiety, nervousness, worry or fear
Not at allA lot
2Feeling that things around you are strange or unreal
Not at allA lot
3Feeling detached from all or part of your body
Not at allA lot
4Sudden unexpected panic spells
Not at allA lot
5Apprehension or a sense of impending doom
Not at allA lot
6Feeling tense, stressed, “uptight” or on edge
Not at allA lot

Category II: Anxious Thoughts

7Difficulty concentrating
Not at allA lot
8Racing thoughts
Not at allA lot
9Frightening thoughts
Not at allA lot
10Feeling that you’re on the verge of losing control
Not at allA lot
11Fears of cracking up or going crazy
Not at allA lot
12Fears of fainting or passing out
Not at allA lot
13Fears of physical illnesses or heart attacks or dying
Not at allA lot
14Concerns about looking foolish or inadequate
Not at allA lot
15Fears of being alone, isolated, or abandoned
Not at allA lot
16Fears of criticism or disapproval
Not at allA lot
17Fears that something terrible is about to happen
Not at allA lot

Category III: Physical Symptoms

18Skipping, racing or pounding of the heart (palpitations)
Not at allA lot
19Pain, pressure, or tightness in chest
Not at allA lot
20Tingling or numbness of toes and fingers
Not at allA lot
21Butterflies or discomfort in the stomach
Not at allA lot
22Constipation or diarrhea
Not at allA lot
23Restlessness or jumpiness
Not at allA lot
24Tight, tense muscles
Not at allA lot
25Sweating not brought on by heat
Not at allA lot
26A lump in the throat
Not at allA lot
27Trembling or shaking
Not at allA lot
28Rubbery or “jelly” legs
Not at allA lot
29Feeling dizzy, lightheaded or off balance
Not at allA lot
30Choking or smothering sensations or difficulty breathing
Not at allA lot
31Headaches or pains in the neck or back
Not at allA lot
32Hot flashes or cold chills
Not at allA lot
33Feeling tired, weak, or easily exhausted
Not at allA lot
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Steps on how to print your input & results:

1. Fill in the calculator/tool with your values and/or your answer choices and press Calculate.

2. Then you can click on the Print button to open a PDF in a separate window with the inputs and results. You can further save the PDF or print it.

Please note that once you have closed the PDF you need to click on the Calculate button before you try opening it again, otherwise the input and/or results may not appear in the pdf.

 

Burns Anxiety Inventory Explained

The Burn Anxiety Inventory is a self-report anxiety assessment tool that evaluates anxious symptoms such as worry, nervousness or feelings of panic or a racing heart. The higher the score, the greater the severity level of anxiety.

Each of the 33 items of the Burn Anxiety Inventory is scored on a scale from 0 to 3, where 0 indicates the respondent has not been bothered, whilst 3 indicates the respondent has indeed been bothered a lot by the described feeling, thought or symptom in the past week.

Burns Anxiety Inventory
Item Category Items
Category I: Anxious Feelings 1. Anxiety, nervousness, worry or fear
2. Feeling that things around you are strange or unreal
3. Feeling detached from all or part of your body
4. Sudden unexpected panic spells
5. Apprehension or a sense of impending doom
6. Feeling tense, stressed, “uptight” or on edge
Category II: Anxious Thoughts 7. Difficulty concentrating
8. Racing thoughts
9. Frightening thoughts
10. Feeling that you’re on the verge of losing control
11. Fears of cracking up or going crazy
12. Fears of fainting or passing out
13. Fears of physical illnesses or heart attacks or dying
14. Concerns about looking foolish or inadequate
15. Fears of being alone, isolated, or abandoned
16. Fears of criticism or disapproval
17. Fears that something terrible is about to happen
Category III: Physical Symptoms 18. Skipping, racing or pounding of the heart (palpitations)
19. Pain, pressure, or tightness in chest
20. Tingling or numbness of toes and fingers
21. Butterflies or discomfort in the stomach
22. Constipation or diarrhea
23. Restlessness or jumpiness
24. Tight, tense muscles
25. Sweating not brought on by heat
26. A lump in the throat
27. Trembling or shaking
28. Rubbery or “jelly” legs
29. Feeling dizzy, lightheaded or off balance
30. Choking or smothering sensations or difficulty breathing
31. Headaches or pains in the neck or back
32. Hot flashes or cold chills
33. Feeling tired, weak, or easily exhausted

Interpretation

Total Score Degree of Anxiety
0 - 4 Minimal or no anxiety
5 - 10 Borderline anxiety
11 - 20 Mild anxiety
21 - 30 Moderate anxiety
31 - 50 Severe anxiety
51 - 99 Extreme anxiety or panic

Other measures of anxiety severity include the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) or the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD 7) mental health evaluation.

 

References

Original reference

The Feeling Good Handbook, David Burns, M.D., Penguin Group, 1999.

Other references

Ortuño-Sierra J, Rodríguez L, Debbané M, Fonseca-Pedrero E. Anxiety Assessment: Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Burns Anxiety Inventory. Span J Psychol. 2015; 18:E44.

Specialty: Psychiatry

Year Of Study: 1999

Article By: Denise Nedea

Published On: October 9, 2020 · 12:00 AM

Last Checked: October 9, 2020

Next Review: October 9, 2025