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

    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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