Evaluating the Japanese version of the Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale

Anxiety disorders among children are a serious problem globally. Anxiety disorder symptoms are not only a burden on the mind and body but also interfere with daily life activities. The Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale (CALIS-C) is widely used to measure the degree to which anxiety interferes with a child’s daily life; however, no scale has been developed for use in Japan. Therefore, this study developed a Japanese version of the CALIS-C and tested its reliability and validity. The sample comprised 590 junior and senior high school students (between 12 and 18 years of age). Participants completed the CALIS-C along with additional measures, such as the Japanese version of the Short-Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (Short-CAS), the Children’s Cognitive Error Scale (CCES), and the Japanese version of the School Liking and Avoidance Questionnaire (SLAQ). All participants and their guardians provided informed consent for participation in this study. An exploratory factor analysis was performed and the results indicated that the Japanese version of the CALIS-C had sufficient internal consistency and was suggested to be most appropriately characterized by a one‑factor structure. In addition, the results indicated a moderate correlation with anxiety symptoms. These findings indicated that the CALIS-C had high internal consistency and criterion-related validity. Finally, future application possibilities and research prospects for CALIS-C were discussed.