Objective: Pathological worry is considered to be a defining feature for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is an instrument for assessing pathological worry. Two earlier studies demonstrated the suitability of the PSWQ as screening instrument for GAD in outpatient and non-clinical samples. This study examined the suitability of the PSWQ as a screening instrument for GAD in a German inpatient sample (N=237). Furthermore, a comparison of patients with GAD and patients with depression and other anxiety disorders regarding pathological worry and depression was carried out in a sub-sample of N=118 patients