The psychometric properties of a new, brief measure, the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale–Second Edition (RCMAS-2) Short Form, were examined in a sample of 1,003 U.S. elementary and secondary students. The RCMAS-2 Short Form consists of the first 10 items of the RCMAS-2. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the modified one-factor model provided an adequate fit for students in Grades 2 to 12. The results of tests of measurement invariance supported configural, weak, and strong invariance of the RCMAS-2 Short Form across gender and configural, weak, and partial strong invariance of the RCMAS-2 Short Form across age. Gender and age differences were also examined on the RCMAS-2 Short Form. The results of latent mean analyses indicated that adolescents (ages 12-19) and females had significantly higher factor means than children (ages 7-11) and males, respectively, on the RCMAS-2 Short Form. Moderate correlations between the RCMAS-2 Short Form scores and scores of measures of test anxiety were found. Implications of the findings for researchers and clinicians who work with children and adolescents are discussed.
AmeringenM. V.ManciniC.FarvoldenP. (2003). The impact of anxiety disorders on educational achievement. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 561-571. doi:10.1016/S0887-6185(02)00228-1
2.
AngR. P.LoweP. A.YusofN. (2011). An examination of the RCMAS-2 scores across gender, ethnic background, and age in a large Asian school sample. Psychological Assessment, 23, 899-910. doi:10.1037/a0023891
3.
BrownT. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
4.
BrowneM. W.CudeckR. (1993). Alternate ways of assessing model fit. In BollenK. A.LongJ. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136-162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
5.
ByrneB. M. (1994). Testing for the factorial validity, replication, and invariance of a measuring instrument: A paradigmatic application on the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 26, 583-605. doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr2903_5
6.
CattellR. B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 629-637. doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr0102_10
7.
CheungG. W.RensvoldR. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233-255. doi:10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
8.
EdelbrockC.CostelloA. J.DulcanM. K.KalasR.ConoverN. C. (1985). Age differences in the reliability of the psychiatric interview of the child. Child Development, 56, 265-275. doi:10.2307/1130193
9.
FleschR. (1979). How to write plain English: A book for lawyers and consumers. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
10.
GreenbergP. E.SisitskyT.KesslerR. C.FinkelsteinS. N.BerndtE. R.DavidsonJ. R. T.. . . FryerA. J. (1999). The economic burden of anxiety disorders in the 1990s. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60, 427-435. doi:10.4088/JCP.v60n0702
11.
GulloneE.KingN. J.OllendickT. H. (2001). Self-reported anxiety in children and adolescents: A three-year follow-up study. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 162, 5-19. doi:10.1080/00221320109597878
12.
HerzbergP. Y.BrählerE. (2006). Assessing the Big-Five personality domains via short forms: A cautionary note and a proposal. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22, 139-148. doi:10.1027/1015-5759.22.3.139
13.
HishinumaE. S.MiyamotoR. H.NishimuraS. T.NahuluZ. B. (2000). Differences in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scores for ethnically diverse adolescents in Hawaii. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 6, 73-83. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.6.1.73
14.
HornJ. L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30, 179-185. doi:10.1177/001316446502500202
15.
HuL.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structural analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118
16.
KaiserH. F. (1960). The application of electric computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 141-151. doi:10.1177/001316446002000116
17.
KillgoreW. D. (2000). Sex differences in identifying the facial affect of normal and mirror-reversed faces. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 91, 525-530. doi:10.2466/PMS.91.6.525-530
18.
KingR. B.GanoticeA. F.WatkinsD. A. (2012). Validation of the Chinese version of the Sense of Self (SOS) Scale. Asia Pacific Education Review, 13, 323-331. doi:10.1007/s12564-011-9195-4
19.
KovacsM. (1992). Children’s Depression Inventory. New York, NY: Multi-Health Systems.
20.
KozinaA. (2014). Developmental and time-related trends of anxiety from childhood to early adolescence: Two-wave cohort. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 11, 546-559.
21.
LittleT. D. (1997). Mean and covariance structures (MACS) analyses of cross-cultural data: Practical and theoretical issues. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 32, 53-76. doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr3201_3
22.
LittleT. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modeling. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
23.
LoweP. A. (2014). The Test Anxiety Measure for Adolescents (TAMA): Examination of the reliability and validity of the scores of a new multidimensional measure of test anxiety for middle and high school students. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 32, 404-416. doi:10.1177/0734282913520595
24.
LoweP. A. (2015, February). Reliability and validity of the RCMAS-2 Short Form scores. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of School Psychologists, Orlando, FL.
25.
LoweP. A.GrumbeinM. J.RaadJ. M. (2011). Examination of the psychometric properties of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) scores. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29, 503-514. doi:10.1177/0734282910395894
26.
McCraeR. R.CostaP. T.Jr. (2007). Brief versions of the NEO-PI-3. Journal of Individual Differences, 28, 116-128. doi:10.1027/1614-0001.28.3.116
27.
MuthénL. K.MuthénB. O. (1998-2013). Mplus Version 7.1. Los Angeles, CA: Author.
28.
NeilA. L.ChristensenH. (2009). Efficacy and effectiveness of school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 208-215. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.01.002
29.
NunnallyJ. C.BernsteinI. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
30.
OlatunjiB. O.ColeD. A. (2009). The longitudinal structure of general and specific anxiety dimensions in children: Testing a latent trait-state-occasion model. Psychological Assessment, 21, 412-424. doi:10.1037/a0016206
31.
PlanckJ. A.WatkinsM. W.WorrellF. C.HallT. A. (2013). Anxiety disorder symptoms in Trinidadian adolescents. The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 13, 51-73.
32.
RammstedtB.JohnO. P. (2005). Kurzversion des Big Five Inventory (BFI-K): Entwicklung und Validierung eines ökonomisschen Inventars zur Erfassung der fünf Faktoren der Persönlichkeit [Short version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-K): Development and validation of an economic inventory for assessment of the five factors of personality]. Diagnostica, 51, 195-206. doi:10.1026/0012-1924.51.4.195
33.
ReynoldsC. R. (1985). Multitrait validation of the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale for children of high intelligence. Psychological Reports, 56, 402. doi:10.2466/pr0.1985.56.2.402
34.
ReynoldsC. R. (1998). Need we measure anxiety differently for males and females?Journal of Personality Assessment, 70, 212-221. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa7002_2
35.
ReynoldsC. R.RichmondB. O. (1978). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children’s manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 271-280. doi:10.1007/BF00919131
36.
ReynoldsC. R.RichmondB. O. (2008a). Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale–Second Edition (RCMAS-2). Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
37.
ReynoldsC. R.RichmondB. O. (2008b). Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale–Second Edition (RCMAS-2): Manual. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
38.
ReynoldsM. R.KeithT. Z. (2013). Measurement and statistical issues in child assessment research. In SaklofskeD. H.ReynoldsC. R.SchweanV. L. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of child psychological assessment (pp. 48-83). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
39.
RubensS. L.FiteP. J.GabrielliJ.EvansS. C.HendricksonM. L.PedersonC. A. (2013). Examining relations between negative life events, time spent in the United States, language use, and mental health outcomes in Latino adolescents. Child Youth Care Forum, 42, 389-402. doi:10.1007/s10566-013-9205-2
40.
SchaeferB. B.WatkinsM. W.BurnhamJ. J. (2003). Empirical fear profiles among American youth. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 1093-1103. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(02)00258-9
41.
SempleR. J.LeeJ.RosaD.MillerL. F. (2010). A randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children: Promoting mindful attention to enhance social-emotional resiliency in children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 218-229. doi:10.1007/s10826-00909301-y
42.
ShacharI.AderkaI. M.Gilboa-SchechtmanE. (2014). The factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for children and adolescents: Development of a brief version. Child Psychiatry Human Development, 45, 285-293. doi:10.1007/s10578-013-0398-2
43.
SpielbergerC. D. (1980). Test Anxiety Inventory manual. Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden.
44.
SpielbergerC. D.AntonW. D.BedellJ. (1976). The nature and treatment of test anxiety. In ZuckermanM.SpielbergerC. D. (Eds.), Emotions and anxiety: New concepts, methods, and applications (pp. 317-344). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
45.
SwearingenE. M.CohenL. H. (1985). Measurement of adolescents’ life events: The Junior High Life Experiences Survey. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13, 69-85. doi:10.1007/BF00923260
46.
TaylorC. J. (2013). Depression and anxiety as predictors of obesity in children (Doctoral dissertation). Available from Dissertation Abstracts International. (AA13539212)
47.
TaylorJ. (1951). The relationship of anxiety to the conditioned eyelid response. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 41, 81-92. doi:10.1037/h0059488
48.
TuebertD.PinquartM. (2011). A meta-analytic review on the prevention of symptoms of anxiety in children and adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 1046-1059. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.07.001
WarrenS. L.SroufeL. A. (2004). Developmental issues. In OllendickT. H.MarchJ. S. (Eds.), Phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A clinician’s guide to effective psychosocial and pharmacological interventions (pp. 92-115). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
51.
WeemsC. F.GrahamR. A.ScottB. G.BanksD. M.RussellJ. D. (2013). Suppressor effects and age differences in the expression of anxious emotion. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 283-287. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2013.02.007
52.
WestenbergP. M.SiebelinkB. M.TreffersP. D. A. (2001). Psychosocial development theory in relation to anxiety and its disorders. In SilvermanW. K.TreffersP. D. A. (Eds.), Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: Research, assessment and intervention (pp. 72-89). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
53.
ZeidnerM. (1998). Test anxiety: The state of the art. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
