SINHA’S COMPREHENSIVE ANXIETY TEST (SCAT)

Aim: To assess the level of anxiety of the participant by using Sinha's Comprehensive Anxiety Test by
AKP Sinha and LNK Sinha.

Basic Concepts

Anxiety is a vague, objectless fear or an uneasy feeling. It is an apprehensive feeling which is typically
accompanied by a variety of psychological factors, including increase in heart rate, drying up of
mouth, muscular tension and rapid breathing. (write NCERT definition)

Types of anxiety

1. State anxiety – It describes the experience of unpleasant feelings when confronted with specific
situations, demands or a particular object or event. It arises when the person makes a mental
assessment of some type of threat. When the object or situation that is perceived as threatening
goes away, the person no longer experiences anxiety. Thus, it’s a temporary condition in response to
some perceived threat

2. Trait Anxiety – It arises in response to a perceived threat but it differs in its intensity, duration and
the range of situations in which it occurs. It refers to the difference between people in terms of their
tendency to experience state anxiety in response to the anticipation of a threat. People with a high
level of trait anxiety experience more intense degrees of state anxiety to specific situations than
most people do not and experience anxiety toward a broader range of situations or objects than
most people.

3. Somatic anxiety – It is the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as butterflies in the stomach. It is
commonly contrasted with cognitive anxiety, which is the mental manifestations of anxiety or the
specific thought processes that occur during anxiety, such as concern or worry.

Anxiety is observed to manifest itself in the following ways:

Health

Ambition

Social relationships

Future

Family

There are a number of approaches to study anxiety. Psychodynamic approach, Karen Horney's Basic
anxiety and behavioural approach.

Psychodynamic Approach

Freud was one of the persons who emphasised on the study of anxiety. He believed that neurotic
anxiety was the result of a conflict between the id, ego and superego.

The id consists of all biological/primitive impressions based on the pleasure principle.

The ego takes into account the external reality in the shape of instinctive sexual and aggressive urges
and the morality related to it. Ego bridges the gap between id and the superego. Anxiety in this
theory is an unpleasant feeling of tension or worry that is experienced by the person.
Super ego is based on moral principle and focuses on the right/wrong as per the society.

Karen Horney's Basic Anxiety

She was one of the few women psychologists in the early psychoanalytic movement and disagreed
with Freud strongly over his views on differences between men and women.

According to her, basic anxiety could result from a variety of things including direct or indirect
domination, indifference, erratic behaviour, lack of respect for the child's individual needs, hostile
atmosphere at home and so on. (Can write Ncert points from ch-2 too)

Behavioural Approach

This approach believes in ways in which anxiety becomes associated with observation and learning
by modelling.

History and description of the test

SCAT was developed by AKP Sinha and LNK Sinha in 1995. The test consists of 90 items which are to
be answered in five categories on the basis of scores obtained on the extremely high anxiety to
extremely low anxiety.

Reliability

Test retest method – 1

Split half method – 1

Preliminaries

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Qualification: Student

Place of conduction: Psychology Lab

Time:

Materials Required

SCAT manual, SCAT questionnaire form, pen/pencil

Precautions

1. Optimal conditions for testing were ensured before the test begun

2. Time of start and finish were noted

3. The tester should ensure that the participant is not familiar with the test.

4. Participant should be told that there is no correct answer.

5. Participant should not skip any item

Rapport Formation

Rapport was established between the participant and the tester, prior to the test so that he/she
could feel comfortable and at ease. In such a state, she/he should answer the questions in a calm
manner and any doubts should be cleared before starting the test.

Instructions

The following instructions were given:

• In each item there are two options, `yes` or `no`

• Don’t leave any question and try to complete it as soon as possible.

• There are no right or wrong answers.

• Give the first natural answer as it comes to you. When in doubt, give the best possible
answer.

• Read the questions carefully and put a `x` for whichever option suits you the best.

• There is no time limit for this test, still be quick in your work.

Administration

After the instructions were given, the participant was asked to fill in the demographic details. The
participant was asked to check whether he/she left any items unanswered.

Introspective Report

Example-

The test was quite insightful and fun to do. The tester made me feel comfortable during the entire
process. I would love to be a part of such tests in the future too.

[You can write the introspective report given by your participant]

Behavioural report (your observation of the participant while test conduction)

Example-

The participant was calm while answering the questions. He/she did not take a long time to
complete the test.

Scoring

Scoring can be done by hand, for any response indicated `yes` score will be 1 and 0 for `no`. The sum
of all positive responses would be the total score of the participant.

Pages 2 3 4 Total

Raw Score
Interpretation

The aim of administering SCAT was to assess the level of anxiety of the participant. The participant
scored a total of ______ which corresponds to a percentile of ______ , indicating he/she has
_________________ level of anxiety.

Add the following paragraph according to your score & anxiety level:

● A mild level of anxiety is sometimes a good thing as it holds some functional value. It can be
a normal reaction to stress. It helps one to deal with a tense situation by increasing one’s
preparedness to think through potential problems before they happen. Mild anxiety often
motivates people to make changes or to engage in goal-directed activity. For example, it
helps students to focus on studying for an examination.
● A moderate level of anxiety is characterised by a disturbing feeling that something is
definitely wrong; the person becomes nervous or agitated. In moderate anxiety, the person
can still process information, solve problems, and learn new things with assistance from
others. He or she has difficulty concentrating independently but can be redirected to the
topic. For example, the nurse might be giving preoperative instructions to a client who is
anxious about the upcoming surgical procedure. As the nurse is teaching, the client’s
attention wanders but the nurse can regain the client’s attention and direct him or her back
to the task at hand.
● As the person progresses to extremely high level of anxiety, more primitive survival skills
take over, defensive responses ensue, and cognitive skills decrease significantly. A person
with extremely high anxiety level has trouble thinking and reasoning. Muscles tighten and
vital signs increase. The person paces; is restless, irritable, and angry; or uses other similar
emotional-psychomotor means to release tension.

Conclusion

The raw score of my participant is ___ therefore he/she has ____________ level of anxiety.

References

1. SCAT manual

2. NCERT textbook, Psychology