Assessing separation anxiety in Italian youth: preliminary psychometric properties of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale

Development of a Computerized Adaptive Test for Separation Anxiety Disorder Among Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common mental disorders among children and adolescents, and it may seriously affect their growth, daily life, and learning. Self-report scales have been used for diagnosis, which require lengthy testing and personnel.

METHODS

A total of 1,241 adolescents were recruited from 16 junior- and senior-high schools in China. The initial item bank was selected from classical SAD scales according to the DSM-5. First, the optimal model was selected using item response theory (IRT) according to data fit. Then, per the IRT analysis, items that did not meet the psychometric requirements were deleted (e.g., discriminating values < 0.2). Consequently, a computerized adaptive test (CAT) for SAD was formed (CAT-SAD).

RESULTS

An average of 17 items per participant was required to achieve and maintain a 0.3 standard error of measurement in the SAD severity estimate. The estimated correlation of the CAT-SAD with the total 68-item test score was 0.955. CAT-SAD scores were strongly related to the probability of a SAD diagnosis with the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale-Child and Adolescent Version. Therefore, SAD could be accurately predicted by the CAT-SAD.

CONCLUSIONS

Exploratory factor analyses revealed that SAD was unidimensional. The CAT-SAD, which has good reliability and validity and high sensitivity and specificity, provides an efficient test for adolescents with SAD as compared to standard paper-and-pencil tests. It can be used to diagnose varying degrees of SAD quickly and reliably and ease the burden on adolescents. Potential applications for inexpensive, efficient, and accurate screening of SAD are discussed.

Spanish Validation of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale

The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale (SAAS) with Spanish schoolchildren. The participants in Study 1 were 1281 children aged 8-11. Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: worry about calamitous events, fear of abandonment, fear of being alone, and fear of physical illness, which explained 47.77 % of the variance. The participants of Study 2 were 4628 schoolchildren aged 8-11. The four related factors model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency (α = .84) and temporal stability (r = .77) were good. The convergent validity was evident from the pattern of correlations with the measures of separation anxiety, sensitivity to anxiety and school fears. The sensitivity of the scale was 83 %, and its specificity, 93 %. The complementary subscales predicted the diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder. The results support the reliability, validity and clinical utility of the SAAS.