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Assessment of anxiety in children and adolescents: a comparative study on the validity and reliability of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale in children and adolescents with anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Ramona Toscano
  • , Andrew J. Baillie
  • , Heidi J. Lyneham
  • , Anna Kelly
  • , Theresa Kidd
  • , Jennifer L. Hudson*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVE: The present study assessed the utility of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale - Parent Form (SCAS-P) across parents of children with (i) anxiety and (ii) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

    METHOD: Parents of children aged 7-18 years with anxiety or ASD completed the SCAS-P. Multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) structural equation modelling was utilized to analyse the data.

    RESULTS: Analysis revealed different factor structures between the Anxious and ASD groups and evidence for measurement variance across groups in some parts of the SCAS-P.

    CONCLUSION: Results on the SCAS-P in children with ASD need to be interpreted with caution. Some SCAS-P items cannot be interpreted in the same way in an ASD population compared to neurotypical children with anxiety.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)569-576
    Number of pages8
    JournalJournal of Affective Disorders
    Volume260
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2020

    Keywords

    • anxiety
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
    • assessment
    • children
    • adolescents

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