(AMAS™) Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale™

BY CECIL R. REYNOLDS, PHD, BERT O. RICHMOND, EDD, AND PATRICIA A. LOWE, PHD

Developed by the authors of the highly regarded Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, Second Edition (RCMAS-2), this self-report inventory measures the level and nature of anxiety in adults. The AMAS incorporates the best attributes of the RCMAS-2 while adding age-appropriate item content and scales for three different stages of adult life.

Three Age-Appropriate Forms

The scale is available in three forms: AMAS-A for adults (ages 19 to 59); AMAS-E for elderly individuals (60 and above); and AMAS-C for students enrolled in college. The three forms were independently developed and normed, and each includes some unique items and/or subscales. The AMAS-A, for example, contains several items addressing work pressures, while the AMAS-E includes items focusing on fear of aging, and the AMAS-C adds a Test Anxiety scale. Subscales for each version are listed below: 

AMAS-A

Worry/Oversensitivity

Social Concerns/Stress

Physiological Anxiety     

AMAS-E

Worry/Oversensitivity

Physiological Anxiety     

Fear of Aging

AMAS-C

Worry/Oversensitivity

Social Concerns/Stress

Physiological Anxiety

Test Anxiety

In addition, all versions include a Lie Scale to assess response validity.

Just 10 Minutes

Containing 36 to 49 items, each AMAS form can be administered in just 10 minutes. The respondent answers “yes” or “no” to each item, and the “yes” responses are summed to obtain scale scores and a total score.

The standardization samples totaled more than 2,800 individuals (1,419 for the AMAS-A; 636 for the AMAS-E; and 818 for the AMAS-C). Each of the three norm groups included both males and females and corresponded roughly to U.S. Census figures in terms of ethnicity and geographic region. The AMAS-A data were collected at church, parent, and community groups; the AMAS-E sample was recruited primarily at retirement communities and senior citizen centers; and the AMAS-C sample was drawn from five college campuses in different states. For each version of the test, normalized T-scores are presented for the entire group and for males and females separately.

A Targeted Assessment

The AMAS offers a simple, efficient way to measure anxiety experienced by adults. Because it has three age-specific forms, it permits a targeted assessment that takes into account many of the situations that predictably condition an individual’s moods and feelings. The test is useful in general clinical practice, college counseling centers, and geriatric settings. It is an excellent way to monitor the effects of psychotherapy and drug therapy.