TY - JOUR
T1 - Brief Report: Testing the psychometric properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in autism spectrum disorder
AU - Carruthers, Sophie
AU - Kent, Rachel
AU - Hollocks, Matthew J.
AU - Simonoff, Emily
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Anxiety is a prevalent and impairing co-morbidity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet assessment measures, including screening tools, are seldom validated with autism samples. We explored the psychometric properties of the child and parent reports of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Screen for Anxiety Related Disorder-71 (SCARED-71) with 49 males with ASD (10–16 years, 63% co-occurring anxiety). Both measures had excellent internal consistency and fair-good parent–child agreement. The SCAS has a higher proportion of items evaluating observable behaviors. Predictive power of the measures did not differ. Higher cut-points in the parent reports (SCARED only) and lower cut-points in the child reports may enhance prediction in this sample. Choice of measure and cut-points should be considered alongside intended purpose.
AB - Anxiety is a prevalent and impairing co-morbidity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet assessment measures, including screening tools, are seldom validated with autism samples. We explored the psychometric properties of the child and parent reports of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Screen for Anxiety Related Disorder-71 (SCARED-71) with 49 males with ASD (10–16 years, 63% co-occurring anxiety). Both measures had excellent internal consistency and fair-good parent–child agreement. The SCAS has a higher proportion of items evaluating observable behaviors. Predictive power of the measures did not differ. Higher cut-points in the parent reports (SCARED only) and lower cut-points in the child reports may enhance prediction in this sample. Choice of measure and cut-points should be considered alongside intended purpose.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Psychometrics
KW - Screening tools
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055474071&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10803-018-3774-8
DO - 10.1007/s10803-018-3774-8
M3 - Article
VL - 50
SP - 2625
EP - 2632
JO - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
JF - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
SN - 0162-3257
IS - 7
ER -