scholarly journals Assessing Adolescent Anxiety in General Psychiatric Care

Assessment ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 744-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Olofsdotter ◽  
Karin Sonnby ◽  
Sofia Vadlin ◽  
Tomas Furmark ◽  
Kent W. Nilsson

This study examined the psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy of the Swedish translations of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, self- and parent report versions, in a sample of 104 adolescents presenting at two general psychiatric outpatient units. Results showed high informant agreement and good internal reliability and concurrent and discriminant validity for both versions and demonstrated that this scale can distinguish between adolescents with and without an anxiety disorder in a non–anxiety-specific clinical setting. The relative clinical utility of different cutoff scores was compared by looking at the extent to which dichotomized questionnaire results altered the pretest probability of the presence of a diagnosis as defined by the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children. Optimized for screening and diagnostic purposes in Sweden, cutoff scores obtained in the current study outperformed a previously identified cutoff score derived from an Australian community sample. The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale is a useful clinical instrument for the assessment of anxiety in adolescents.

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 776-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Orgilés ◽  
Miriam Rodríguez-Menchón ◽  
Iván Fernández-Martínez ◽  
Alexandra Morales ◽  
José Pedro Espada

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo A. DeSousa ◽  
Anderson S. Pereira ◽  
Circe S. Petersen ◽  
Gisele G. Manfro ◽  
Giovanni A. Salum ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Forcadell ◽  
Laura Medrano ◽  
Blanca Garcia-Delgar ◽  
Iván Fernández-Martínez ◽  
Mireia Orgilés ◽  
...  

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.


Author(s):  
Maggie H Bromberg ◽  
Rocio de la Vega ◽  
Emily F Law ◽  
Chuan Zhou ◽  
Tonya M Palermo

Abstract Objective Insomnia is a highly prevalent sleep disorder that is particularly common among adolescents with health conditions. We aimed to develop and validate a brief screening measure of insomnia in adolescents that can be used across clinical and community samples. We hypothesized that we would identify evidence supporting reliability, convergent/discriminant validity, and that we would determine preliminary clinical cutoff scores. Methods A team of experts in behavioral sleep medicine developed a 13-item brief screening measure of insomnia in adolescents (Adolescent Insomnia Questionnaire [AIQ]). We evaluated the psychometric properties of the AIQ in a sample of 315 youth (11–18 years old, Mean = 14.90, SD = 2.02; 64% female) who had chronic pain (n = 37), headache (n = 170), insomnia diagnosed by a sleep specialist (n = 22), or were otherwise healthy (n = 86). Results Using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, we identified three subscales consistent with major diagnostic criteria of insomnia. As expected, the measure showed strong reliability through high internal consistency (α =.91). We also found strong convergent validity through expected positive relationships between the AIQ and self-report measures of sleep disturbance, and divergent validity via weak relationships with parent-report of snoring. Results of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) identified a clinical cutoff score that may assist in clinical decision making. Conclusions We found that the AIQ has sound psychometric properties in a large heterogeneous sample of treatment-seeking youth and youth from the community. The AIQ can quickly screen adolescent insomnia and could address an important clinical need in identifying youth in need of insomnia treatment in pediatric practice settings.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Se-Yun Kim ◽  
Eun-Young Yoo ◽  
Min-Ye Jung ◽  
Soo-Hyun Park ◽  
Jae-Shin Lee ◽  
...  

Objective This pilot study examined the internal consistency, test—retest reliability, construct validity, and discriminant validity of the Activity Participation Assessment (APA) for school-age children in Korea. Methods The construct validity of the APA was first established by factor analysis on the response of 134 nondisabled children. Internal consistency was evaluated for each of the factors. A test—retest study was conducted on 22 nondisabled children. Discriminant validity was established by comparing the participation of 56 nondisabled children and 56 children with intellectual disabilities and examining sex differences of 61 boys and 61 girls. Results Analysis of the APA revealed five factors, which were labeled as instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), sports and outdoor activities, hobbies and school activities, social activities, and personal care. The factors showed acceptable levels of internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .63–.89). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the five factors were all in the good range (ICC = .86–.92). We found statistically significant difference between nondisabled children and children with intellectual disabilities in five factors. We also found that girls participated in significantly more IADL, hobbies and school activities, and social activities. However, boys participated in significantly more sports and outdoor activities. Conclusion The APA shows good internal reliability, test—retest reliability, discriminant validity, and construct validity. However, evidence of psychometric properties was limited by a small sample size. Psychometric properties such as interrater reliability as well as concurrent validity and construct validity need to be tested using a larger sample size with representative demographics.


2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo A. DeSousa ◽  
Circe S. Petersen ◽  
Rafaela Behs ◽  
Gisele G. Manfro ◽  
Silvia H. Koller

Objective: To describe the cross-cultural adaptation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) for use in Brazil. Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation followed a four-step process, based on specialized literature: 1) investigation of conceptual and item equivalence; 2) translation and back-translation; 3) pretest; and 4) investigation of operational equivalence. All these procedures were carried out for both the child and the parent versions of the SCAS. Results: A final Brazilian version of the instrument, named SCAS-Brasil, was defined and is presented. Conclusion: The SCAS-Brasil instrument seems to be very similar to the original SCAS in terms of conceptual and item equivalence, semantics, and operational equivalence, suggesting that future cross-cultural studies may benefit from this early version. As a result, a new instrument is now available for the assessment of childhood anxiety symptoms in community, clinical, and research settings.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Reardon ◽  
Susan H. Spence ◽  
Jordan Hesse ◽  
Alia Shakir ◽  
Cathy Creswell

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