Spence children’s anxiety scale through parent report: Psychometric properties in a community sample of Iranian children

This study examined the psychometric properties of the parent version of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale [SCAS-P] as part of the process of developing the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale for Parents in a community sample of Iranian children; ۳۱۵ mothers and children aged six to ten years participated in the study. The results of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for six inter-correlated factors, that corresponded with the child self-report as well as with the classification of anxiety disorders by DSM-IV namely separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, social phobia, panic/agoraphobia, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and fear of physical injuries. The SCAS-P demonstrated moderate to high internal consistency (alpha = ۰.۶۵–۰.۸۹) and test–retest reliability (interclass correlation coefficients = ۰.۳۹–۰.۶۸ over ۲ weeks). Evidence was found for both convergent and divergent validity: the measure correlated well with the parent report for internalizing symptoms, and lower with externalizing symptoms. A MANOVA indicated no significant gender or age differences for the total scale score or any subscale scores. The SCAS-P is recommended as a screening instrument for normal children.

Keywords:

anxiety , Children , Parent , assessment , Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale