Assessment of Anxiety in Persons with Dual Diagnosis

Recently there has been increasing recognition that mental health disorders, including anxiety disorders, occur at high rates among persons with intellectual disabilities. In order to accurately diagnose comorbid anxiety, clinicians working with individuals with intellectual disabilities should be aware of the different assessment methods available. Furthermore, it is important to select the most appropriate methods given an individual’s level of functioning. This chapter aims to provide an overview of anxiety symptom expression in this population and considerations when assessing individuals with varying levels of intellectual disability. Several assessment methods are explored including behavioral interviews, both broadband and anxiety-specific rating scales, and direct observational behavior methods. The reliability and validity of these measures is also discussed.