Psychometric evaluation of social phobia and anxiety inventory for children (SPAI-C) and social anxiety scale for children-revised (SASC-R)

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009 Feb;18(2):116-24. doi: 10.1007/s00787-008-0712-x. Epub 2008 Sep 19.

Abstract

The study evaluated the psychometric properties of Finnish versions of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) and the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R). 352 students (M = 12.2 years) participated in the study and completed the SPAI-C and SASC-R. In addition, 68 participants (M = 12.2 years) and their parents were interviewed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (K-SADS-PL). The SPAI-C was more sensitive for identifying youth meeting criteria for social phobia (SP), whereas the SASC-R demonstrated greater specificity. The youth in this sample had lower mean total scores on the self-report questionnaires than did those in the original validitation studies of the SPAI-C and SASC-R conducted in America. These findings question whether cross-cultural differences in the expression of SP influence the clinical cut-off scores used in translated versions of social anxiety questionnaires.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
  • Anxiety / diagnosis*
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Child
  • Child Behavior / psychology*
  • Female
  • Finland
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Male
  • Phobic Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Phobic Disorders / psychology
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Self-Assessment
  • Social Environment
  • Surveys and Questionnaires