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

• DOI: 10.1007/s00787-008-0712-x
• Publication Date: 2008-09-19T14:59:53Z
• Authors: Kuusikko Sanna; Pollock-Wurman Ra...; Ebeling Hanna; Hurtig Tuula; Joskitt Leena; Mattila Marja-Leena; Jussila Katja; Moilanen Irma
• Keywords: Male; Self-Assessment; Adolescent; Psychometrics; Child Behavior; Anxiety; Social Environment; ddc:150; Surveys and Questionnaires; SASC-R; Psychology; Humans; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; psychologische Diagnostik und Beratung, psychologische Methoden; Child; Finland; Internal-External Control; Psychological Disorders, Mental Health Treatment and Prevention; 4. Education; 05 social sciences; Reproducibility of Results; Psychologie; Phobic Disorders; social anxiety; social phobia; SPAI-C; SASC-R; psychische Störungen, Behandlung und Prävention; Adolescent Behavior; Female; social anxiety; SPAI-C; Psychological Testing, Psychological Counseling, Psychological Methodology; social phobia

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.