Measurement invariance and psychometric properties of the Spence Children’s anxiety scale-short version (SCAS-S) in Chinese students

Abstract The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) has demonstrated good psychometric properties in several countries and cultures. Nevertheless, most of the previous studies that explore these properties have combined clinical and community samples. We aimed to validate the Spanish version of the SCAS in a large clinical sample (N = 130) of children and adolescents. The Spanish adaptation of the SCAS showed good internal consistency for the total scale, and good test-retest reliability for all the subscales. Furthermore, its convergent and discriminant validity were supported by significant correlations with other anxiety questionnaires (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders [SCARED], Youth Self-Report [YSR] subscales for anxiety disorders and internalizing symptomatology), and lower or non-significant correlations with depression symptoms and externalizing symptoms scales respectively. For the first time in a purely clinical sample, the original factor structure of the SCAS based on six correlated factors was confirmed. Future studies need to evaluate whether the factorial structure of the present instrument is the most suitable for use in clinical populations.

Download Full-text

Validation of the parent report version of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS-P) for Spanish children

Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1359104519835579 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 776-790 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mireia Orgilés ◽

Miriam Rodríguez-Menchón ◽

Iván Fernández-Martínez ◽

Alexandra Morales ◽

José Pedro Espada

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Factor Model ◽

Community Sample ◽

Clinical Intervention ◽

Parent Report ◽

Anxiety Scale ◽

Children’S Anxiety ◽

Spence Children’S Anxiety Scale ◽

Test Retest Reliability

Although Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a widely used anxiety measure in many countries around the world, until now, research has barely focused on the usefulness of the parent version (SCAS-P) in young children. This study examines the psychometric properties and the factor structure of the SCAS-P in a Spanish community sample of 181 children aged 6–8 years ( M = 6.87, SD = 0.78). Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the original six-factor model to the Spanish sample. The internal consistency and the test–retest reliability of the scale were high. Regarding the validity of this measure, higher and significant correlations between the SCAS-P and internalizing problems and lower correlations with externalizing problems were obtained, as found in the original version. Girls seemed to show more anxiety problems than boys, but no significant differences were found. The results suggest that the SCAS-P is an adequate measure to assess anxious symptomatology in young children. The availability of measures with good psychometric properties allows psychologists to assess and carry out a correct and early diagnosis of anxiety disorders in children, making possible an early clinical intervention.

Download Full-text