Psychometric properties of the child and parent versions of Spence children's anxiety scale in a Danish community and clinical sample

Abstract

This study examined the psychometric properties and norms of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the associated parent version (SCAS-P) in a Danish community and a clinical sample. The total sample consisted of 1240 children (972 from community sample), age 7-17 years, and 805 parents (537 from community sample). Results indicated that SCAS and SCAS-P had good internal consistency on the total scale and all subscales, with exception of the subscale for fear of physical injury. Both scales showed satisfactory 2-week and 3-month retest stability. All subscales and total scales of the SCAS and SCAS-P discriminated between the clinical and community sample. A comparison with the Beck Youth Inventories and the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire in the clinical sample supported the scales' convergent and divergent validity. Results of confirmatory factor analyses for SCAS and SCAS-P were in favor of the original model with six correlated factors.

Keywords: Adolescents; Anxiety; Assessment; Children; Parents; Spence Children's Anxiety Scale.