Generalizability of DSM-III-R generalized anxiety disorders to proposed DSM-IV criteria and cross-validation of proposed changes

Proposed changes in the diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in DSM-IV could affect the generalizability of prior research on DSM-III-R GAD. It would thus be important to determine whether clients selected by the differing criteria are similar or dissimilar. Replication of the results that led to the proposed changes would also be useful for strengthening their validity. We examined 40 clients with DSM-III-R GAD and 36 nonanxious subjects using a modified Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule and a self-report questionnaire, both of which included questions relevant to the proposed changes. All DSM-III-R GAD clients met DSM-IV criteria, the proposed diagnostic features were found to be highly prevalent among the clients, and these features significantly differentiated the clients from control subjects. The results provide further empirical support for the proposed DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for GAD and suggest that these criteria will allow for continuity in GAD research.