Scale-Description

The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale – Child Version (SCAS-C) is an assessment tool designed to measure anxiety levels in children. The SCAS-C evaluates various forms of anxiety, such as social anxiety, generalized anxiety, agoraphobia, and specific phobias. It is a self-report scale that allows children to report their experiences with anxiety in everyday situations.

Data Analysis and Usage

Analyzing data from the SCAS-C involves collecting and evaluating the responses children provide to the questionnaire items. Each item is typically rated on a Likert scale (e.g., from 0 = “never” to 3 = “always”).
Data Usage:
Data Collection: Children complete the questionnaire, indicating the frequency with which they experience different types of anxiety.
Score Calculation: Scores for each anxiety domain (e.g., social anxiety, agoraphobia) as well as a total anxiety score are calculated.
Score Analysis: The scores are used to assess the child’s level of anxiety. Analysis may also examine the relationship between anxiety and other factors, such as age or living conditions.
The analysis includes statistical evaluation of the scale’s reliability (e.g., internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha) and its validity (e.g., comparative assessment with other anxiety scales and clinical evaluations).

Purpose

The primary goal of the SCAS-C is to provide a reliable method for self-assessing anxiety in children. The tool aims to understand the level of anxiety a child is experiencing and helps in detecting, monitoring, and guiding interventions for managing anxiety.

Calibration

The calibration of the SCAS-C involves validating the scale through reliability and validity assessments:
Internal Consistency: Assessed using Cronbach’s alpha to ensure that the questionnaire items are well correlated with each other.
Validity: Includes comparisons with other anxiety scales and clinical assessments to confirm that the SCAS-C effectively measures anxiety in children.

References

Spence, S. H. (1998). A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(5), 545-566.
Spence, S. H. (2001). Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale – Manual. Brisbane, Australia: University of Queensland.
Bayer, J. K., & Sanson, A. (2000). The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale: Psychometric properties in an Australian sample. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34(1), 48-56.