Psychometric properties of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale with young adolescents

J Anxiety Disord. 2003;17(6):605-25. doi: 10.1016/s0887-6185(02)00236-0.

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) were examined with 875 adolescents aged 13 and 14 years. This self-report measure was designed to evaluate symptoms relating to separation anxiety, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic-agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, and fears of physical injury. Results of confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses supported six factors consistent with the hypothesized subtypes of anxiety. There was support also for a model in which the first-order factors loaded significantly on a single second-order factor of anxiety in general. The internal consistency of the total score and sub-scales was high, and 12-week test-retest reliability was satisfactory. The SCAS correlated strongly with a frequently used child self-report measure of anxiety and significantly, albeit at a lower level, with a measure of depression.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anxiety / diagnosis*
  • Anxiety / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*