Psychometric Properties and Factorial Structure of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) in Spanish Adolescents

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Spence Children's Anxiety Scale in Iranian Adolescents

The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a tool for measuring anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. In this study, the psychometric properties of the Persian version of SCAS were investigated in an Iranian adolescents. This study was conducted on a sample of 684 adolescents. For standardization of SCAS, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses wereperformed. Also, to evaluate convergent and divergent validity, Fornell and Larcker criteria (1994), along with the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS)and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), was used. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was also performedto determine the cut-off point. The model fit of the correlated six-factor model was good however, a second-order model provided a statistically superior fit to the data. The reliability coefficients for the total scale and its dimensions were satisfactory (α > 0.7). Therefore, it can be concluded that the Persian version of SCAS has acceptable reliability and validity and can be used as a useful tool for early screening of anxiety in Iranian adolescents due to its easy use and specific design for children and adolescents.

COVID-19 and mental health disorders in children and adolescents (Review)

The new coronavirus has been present for two years and has had a widespread and sustained impact worldwide. There is growing evidence in the literature that COVID-19 may have negative effects on mental illness in patients and in healthy populations. The unprecedented changes brought about by COVID-19, such as social isolation, school closures, and family stress, negatively affect people's mental health, especially that of children and adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature and summarize the impact of COVID-19 disorders on children's and adolescents' mental health, the mechanisms and risk factors, screening tools, and intervention and prevention. We hope that the mental dysfunction caused by the pandemic will be mitigated through appropriate and timely prevention and intervention.

Cross-cultural adaptation of an anxiety measure in a disadvantaged South African community context: Methodological processes and findings

An important challenge to enhancing community access to mental health interventions in marginalised, transcultural settings is the development of culturally relevant screening measures. Cross-cultural adaptation (CCA) and translation methods offer guidelines for the adaption of existing screening measures for use across cultures with the aim of preserving semantic and construct equivalence as well as validity. Yet, the application of CCA methods has been inconsistent and validation strategies have focused predominantly on expert review and quantitative validity testing. Additionally, potentially important context-specific interpretations of measure items have been lost in translation-heavy approaches. The missing link in the CCA of existing measures may be the addition of culturally sensitive, community-based evaluative methods. This paper presents a report of the application of a seven-step CCA method developed by the first author to address the issue of cultural relevance in the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS) an anxiety measure for use in a specific South African community context. The findings emphasise the surprising context-specific interpretations of items in measures applied transculturally, which support the case for qualitative, community-based validation of translated, CCA screening measures used to explore the effectiveness of mental health interventions across cultural contexts.

Psychometric Properties of the Children's Version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) in a Spanish Clinical Sample

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.

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

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.

Spanish Validation of the School Anxiety Scale-Teacher Report (SAS-TR)

This study aimed to examine the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the School Anxiety Scale-Teacher Report (SAS-TR) in a community sample of 315 Spanish children aged 5 to 12 years. Thirty-seven teachers from eleven schools completed the SAS-TR and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for each child. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original two-factor structure, but a better fit model was obtained after removing four items. The scale was found to have high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and satisfactory test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87) for the Spanish sample. Convergent validity was supported by positive significant correlations between the SAS-TR and the Emotional Symptoms subscale of the SDQ. Lower correlations between the SAS-TR and the SDQ Conduct Problems subscale supported the divergent validity. Overall, the findings suggest that the Spanish version of the SAS-TR is a reliable and valid instrument for teachers to assess anxiety in Spanish children.

DSM-IV-defined anxiety disorder symptoms in a middle-childhood-aged group of Malaysian children using the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale

INTRODUCTION

Pediatric anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders in the middle-childhood age group. The purpose of this study is to assess anxiety disorder symptoms, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), in a large community sample of low socioeconomic level rural children and to investigate some of the psychometric properties (internal consistency, construct and convergent validity and items rated as often or always experienced) of the Malay version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale - Child version (SCAS-C).

METHOD

Six hundred children aged 9-11 and 424 of their parents completely answered the child or parent versions of the SCAS.

RESULTS

Results indicated that the internal reliability of subscales were moderate to adequate. Significant correlations between child and parent reports supported the measure's concurrent validity. Additionally, anxiety levels in this Malaysian sample were lower than among South-African children and higher than among their Western peers. There were both similarities and differences between symptom items reported as often or always experienced by Malaysian students and by children from other cultures. Confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of the existence of five inter-correlated factors for anxiety disorders based on SCAS-C.

CONCLUSION

Although some of the instrument's psychometric properties deviated from those observed in some other countries, it nevertheless appears to be useful for assessing childhood anxiety symptoms in this country.

A systematic review of the factor structure and reliability of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale

BACKGROUND

The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a widely used instrument for assessing symptoms of anxiety disorders among children and adolescents. Previous studies have demonstrated its good reliability for children and adolescents from different backgrounds. However, remarkable variability in the reliability of the SCAS across studies and inconsistent results regarding its factor structure has been found.

METHODS

The present study aims to examine the SCAS factor structure by means of a systematic review with narrative synthesis, the mean reliability of the SCAS by means of a meta-analysis, and the influence of the moderators on the SCAS reliability. Databases employed to collect the studies included Scholar Google, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus since 1997.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine and 32 studies, which examined the factor structure and the internal consistency of the SCAS, respectively, were included. The SCAS was found to have strong internal consistency, influenced by different moderators. The systematic review demonstrated that the original six-factor model was supported by most studies.

LIMITATIONS

Factorial invariance studies (across age, gender, country) and test-retest reliability of the SCAS were not examined in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

It is concluded that the SCAS is a reliable instrument for cross-cultural use, and it is suggested that the original six-factor model is appropriate for cross-cultural application.

Teens that fear screams: A comparison of fear conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement in adolescents and adults

This study investigated differences between adolescents and adults on fear conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement (i.e., the recovery of conditioned fear following re-exposure to the unconditioned stimulus [US] post-extinction). Participants underwent differential conditioning (i.e., the Screaming Lady) where one neutral face (CS+) was followed by the same face expressing fear and a loud scream (US) while another neutral face (CS-) remained neutral. Extinction involved non-reinforced presentations of both CSs, after which participants were reinstated (2xUSs) or not. On two self-report measures, both ages showed conditioning, good extinction learning and retention, and reinstatement-induced relapse. However, only adolescents showed conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement on the eye tracking measure; relapse on this measure could not be assessed in adults given they did not show initial conditioning. Lastly, higher levels of depression predicted stronger conditioning and weaker extinction in adolescents only. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for adolescent anxiety disorders.

Assessing Adolescent Anxiety in General Psychiatric Care: Diagnostic Accuracy of the Swedish Self-Report and Parent Versions of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale

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.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale in Malaysia

Introduction: Anxiety among children has increased in recent years. Culturally adapted questionnaires developed to measure the level of anxiety are the best screening instruments for the general population. This study describes the scientific translation and adaptation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) into the Malay language.Method: The process of scientific translation of this selfreport instrument followed the guidelines of the Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).Results: The Malay version and its adaptation for a new cultural context are described.Conclusion: The Malay version achieved the aims of the original version and its conceptual and operational equivalence. It may be used as the first Malay instrument to measure anxiety among children in research and in clinical and community settings.