Title

Psychometric Properties of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) A Sample of Italian School-Aged Children From the General Population

Authors

Authors

A. Ogliari; S. Scaini; M. J. Kofler; V. Lampis; A. Zanoni; P. Pesenti-Gritti; C. A. M. Spatola; M. Battaglia;D. C. Beidel

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Eur. J. Psychol. Assess.

Keywords

social anxiety; children; self assessment instrument; psychometric; properties; SPAI-C; COMORBIDITY SURVEY REPLICATION; DSM-IV DISORDERS; CONSTRUCT-VALIDITY; NORMATIVE DATA; DISCRIMINATIVE VALIDITY; DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES; CHILDHOOD; ANXIETY; RISK-FACTORS; ADOLESCENTS; SCREEN; Psychology, Applied

Abstract

Reliable and valid self-report questionnaires could be useful as initial screening instruments for social phobia in both clinical settings and general populations. The present study investigates the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) in a sample of 228 children from the Italian general population aged 8 to 11. The children were asked to complete the Italian version of the SPAI-C and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that social phobia can be conceptualized as a unitary construct consisting of five distinct but interrelated symptom clusters named Assertiveness, General Conversation, Physical/Cognitive Symptoms, Avoidance, and Public Performance. Internal consistency of the SPAI-C total scores and two subscales was good; correlations between SPAI-C total scores and SCARED total scores/subscales ranged from moderate to high (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, for social phobia), with the SCARED Social Phobia subscale as the best predictor of SPAI-C total scores. The results indicate that the SPAI-C is a reliable and sensitive instrument suitable for identifying Social Phobia in the young Italian general population.

Journal Title

European Journal of Psychological Assessment

Volume

28

Issue/Number

1

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

51

Last Page

59

WOS Identifier

WOS:000298369700008

ISSN

1015-5759

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