Development of the short version of the Spielberger State—Trait Anxiety Inventory

The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory has been widely used to measure state and trait components of anxiety. We sought to develop a short, yet reliable and valid form of these scales for use in circumstances where the full‐form is inappropriate. Using three large samples (total N = 3399, age-range = 16-90) we abbreviated the scales based on Item Response Theory analyses to retain the items that could discriminate the best among subjects. We calculated cut-off scores for the five-item short versions of state and trait scales using Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve analyses. The short forms have sound psychometric properties that are comparable to those obtained on the full-form. We report detailed descriptive statistics that could be used in further studies as standards. The short scales are reliable measures that could be used in clinical screening and in behavioural research; especially where practical considerations preclude the use of a longer questionnaire.