ISRA: a psychology test to measure anxiety

Anxiety, in its various forms of manifestation, is one of the most important mental health problems. Having instruments to detect its presence is essential to make a good diagnosis. The psychology test to measure anxiety (ISRA), which we will talk about in this article, also has some differential advantages.

Due to its structural characteristics, it allows obtaining very detailed and complete information.. This is truly useful at different times in the psychotherapy process. Initially, it makes it easier to carry out the diagnosis and functional analysis of the problem; Later, it is a good measure to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of treatment.

Psychology test to measure anxiety (ISRA)

The Inventory of Anxiety Situations and Responses (ISRA), which was developed in Spain, includes 22 situations (S) and 24 responses (R) of anxiety, which when crossed form 224 items. Within the basic information of its technical sheet we find:

Name: Inventory of Anxiety Situations and Responses (ISRA).Authors: Juan José Miguel-Tobal and Antonio Cano-Vindel.Test duration: approximately 50 minutes.Application age: 16 years and older.Forms of application: individual.Areas evaluated: general level of anxiety (general anxiety trait), evaluation of cognitive, physiological and motor anxiety responses, anxiety in evaluation, interpersonal, phobic and everyday life situations.

Situations and responses

The psychology test to measure anxiety (ISRA) is a reliable instrument to measure anxiety. Its main distinguishing characteristic is its format, focused on anxiety situations and responses. It describes 22 specific situations that can be anxiety-provoking and, for each of them, several responses are presented. that are possible to be triggered in the person.

In this way, the task of the evaluated individual is to imagine himself in each of the situations presented and think about how he would react to them. You then have to point out How often does each response occur?. For example:

Situation: “before an exam in which I have a lot at stake, or if I am going to be interviewed for an important job.”Possible answers: “I think that people will notice my problems or the clumsiness of my actions”, “I think about things too much without reaching a decision.”

The task will consist of writing down how often (from 0 to 4) the person reacts to an exam or assignment thinking that others will perceive their clumsiness or by thinking too much about the matter. As we can see, both The situations and responses are presented in a very practical and specific way.which makes the answer easier.

Anxiety factors evaluated

The psychology test to measure anxiety (ISRA) allows you to identify the anxiety factors that are problematic for the person. It specifically measures four factors for which it presents very specific possible situations. Let’s see below which factors are evaluated and some examples of the items that correspond to them:

Evaluation anxiety: fear of being judged If I have to speak in public.Sexual situations and social interaction: if a person is very close to me, touching me.Anxiety in phobic situations: when I have to travel by plane or by boat.Common situations in everyday life: when I’m going to be late for an appointment.

In this way, it is much easier to understand What type of anxiety disorder does the person have? and what are the specific situations that trigger it?. In addition, we explore their most frequent ways of responding to specific anxiety-producing situations, which helps us design a personalized intervention.

The three levels of manifestation of anxiety

Finally, another comparative advantage over other psychology tests to measure anxiety (ISRA) is that it allows the three components of anxiety to be evaluated separately. This manifests itself at both a cognitive (thoughts), physiological (physical symptoms) and motor (behaviors) level.

The most curious and relevant thing is that, frequently, These three levels are not associated. A person may show high physiological anxiety and few anxious behaviors. The ISRA provides response options specific to each of the levels so that the person can indicate how frequently they occur:

Cognitive: “I have negative thoughts about myself, like I’m clumsy.”Physiological: “my hands are sweating,” “I feel discomfort in my stomach.”Engine: “I stay paralyzed”, “I stutter”.

Advantages of the psychology test to measure anxiety (ISRA)

This is a reliable, valid and very complete instrument that, Through its situation-response interaction system, it allows us to know the person’s own reactions to certain situations.. It provides us with a general measure of anxiety and also a differential diagnosis of which of the four anxiety factors is problematic.

In addition, it allows us to detect the degree to which anxiety manifests at each of its levels. All of this gives us extensive information about the person in front of us and their problem. Thus, using these data, It is easier to adapt intervention techniques to your specific problem.

To conclude, ISRA is an instrument that can be applied in different contexts: work, educational, clinical, research, etc. Its use and implementation facilitates the functional analysis of behavior by carrying out a systematic exploration, with considerable time savings.

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