The aim of this study was to explore the internal consistency and confirm the factor structure of the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory for Children (SASI–C) in a community sample of 329 Italian children, ages 6 to 10 years. A confirmatory factor analysis yielded two interpretable factors. Correlations between scores for the SASI–C and the Italian Fear Survey Schedule for Children were calculated to estimate convergent validity; medium effect sizes are hypothesized. Implications regarding the clinical utility of the SASI–C are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000) DSM-IV–TR: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (4th ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force. (2008) Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools? An evidentiary review and recommendations. American Psychologist, 63, 852–862.
3.
BirmaherB.KhetarpalS.BrentD.CullyM.BalachL.KaufmanJ.McKenzie NeerS. (1997) The Screen for Child Anxiety-related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): scale construction and psychometric characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 545–553.
4.
BollenK. A. (1989) Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
5.
BurnhamJ. J. (2006) Comparing children's fears in Alabama: an investigation using post-9/11 and post-invasion into Iraq data. The Alabama Counseling Association Journal, 32, 32–42.
6.
CarrA. (2004) The handbook of child and adolescent clinical psychology: a contextual approach. London: Routledge.
7.
ChessaD.DelvecchioE.Di RisoD.LisA.EisenA. R. (in press) A preliminary examination of the psychometric properties of the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory in Italian children. Bollettino di Psicologia Applicata.
8.
CohenJ. (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd ed.) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
9.
ComptonS. N.NelsonA. H.MarchJ. S. (2000) Social phobia and separation anxiety symptoms in community and clinical samples of children and adolescents, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1040–1046.
10.
CostelloE. J.AngoldA. (1995) Epidemiology. In MarchJ. S., (Ed.), Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. New York: Guilford. Pp. 109–124.
11.
Di RisoD.SalcuniS.ChessaD.LisA. (2010) The Fear Survey Schedule for Children–Revised: normative developmental data in Italy. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 110, 625–646.
12.
EisenA. R.PincusD. B.HashimR.CheronD. M.SantucciL. C. (2008) Seeking safety. In EisenA. R. (Ed.), Treating childhood behavioral and emotional problems: a step-by-step evidence-based approach. New York: Guilford.
13.
EisenA. R.SussmanJ. M.SchmidtT.MasonL.HauslerL. A.HashimR. (2011) Separation anxiety disorder. In McKayD.StorchE. A. (Eds.), Handbook of child and adolescent anxiety disoders: Part 4. New York: Springer. Pp. 245–259.
14.
FeigonS. A.WaldmanI. D.LevyF.HayD. A. (2001) Genetic and environmental influences on separation anxiety disorder symptoms and their moderation by age and sex. Behavior Genetics, 31, 403–411.
15.
FrancisG.LastC. G.StraussC. C. (1987) Expression of separation anxiety disorder: the role of age and gender. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 18, 82–89.
16.
GreenfieldP. M.TrumbullE.KellerH.Rothstein-FischC.SuzukiL.QuirozB. (2006) Cultural conceptions of learning and development. In AlexanderP.WinneP. H. (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology. (2nd ed.) Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 675–692.
17.
GulloneE.KingN. J.TongeB. J.HeyneD.OllendickT. H. (2000) The Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II (FSSC–II): validity data as a treatment outcome measure. Australian Psychologist, 35, 238–243.
18.
HambletonR. K.MerendaP. F.SpielbergerC. D. (2005) Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
19.
HollingsheadA. B. (1975) Four-factor index of social status. Unpublished working paper. New Haven, CT: Yale Univer. Press.
20.
HommersenP.JohnstonC. (2010) Separation anxiety and oppositional defiant behavior: perceived comorbidity resulting from ambiguous behavioral items. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32, 96–107.
21.
HsuH. C.LavelliM. (2005) Perceived and observed parenting behaviour in American and Italian first-time mothers across the first 3 months. Infant Behavior & Development, 28, 503–518.
La GrecaA. M.HarrisonH. W. (2005) Adolescent peer relations, friendships, and romantic relationships: do they predict social anxiety and depression?Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 49–61.
24.
LastC. G.PerrinS.HersenM.KazdinA. E. (1992) DSM-III–R anxiety disorders in kids: sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 1070–1076.
25.
MarchJ. S.ParkerJ. D.SullivanA.StallingsK. P. (1997) The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC): factor structure, reliability, and validity. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 554–565.
26.
MasiG.MucciM.MillepiediS. (2001) Separation anxiety disorder in children and adolescents: epidemiology, diagnosis and management. CNS Drugs, 15, 93–104.
27.
MendezX.EspadaJ. P.OrgilesM.HidalgoM. D.Garcia-FernandezJ. M. (2008) Psychometric properties and diagnostic ability of the Separation Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC). European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 17, 365–372.
28.
MerendaP. F. (2006) An overview of adapting educational and psychological assessment instruments: past and present. Psychological Reports, 99, 307–314.
29.
MurisP. L.LoxtonH.NeumannH.Du-PlessisA.KingM. N.OllendickT. H. (2006) DSM-defined anxiety disorders symptoms in South African youths: their assessment and relationship with perceived parental rearing behaviors. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 883–896.
30.
MurisP.MayerB.VermeulenV.HiemstraH. (2007) Theory-of-mind, cognitive development, and children's interpretation of anxiety-related physical symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2121–2132.
31.
MurisP.MerckelbachH.MayerB.PrinsE. (2000) How serious are common childhood fears?Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38, 813–818.
32.
MurisP.OllendickT. H. (2002) The assessment of contemporary fears in adolescence using a modified version of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children Revised. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 16, 563–584.
33.
OllendickT. H. (1983) Reliability and validity of the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-R). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 685–692.
34.
PeñaE. D. (2007) Lost in translation: methodological considerations in cross-cultural research. Child Development, 78, 4, 1255–1264.
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.
36.
ReynoldsC. R.RichmondB. O. (1979) Factor Structure and construct validity of “What I Think and Feel”: the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 43, 281–283.
37.
SalcuniS.Di RisoD.MazzeschiC.LisA. (2009) Children's fears: a survey of Italian children ages 6 to 10 years. Psychological Reports, 104, 971–988.
38.
Schermelleh-EngelK.MoosbruggerH.MullerH. (2003) Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: tests of significance and goodness-of-fit models. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8, 23–74.
39.
ShearK.JinR.RuscioA. M.WaltersE. E.KesslerR. C. (2006) Prevalence and correlates of estimated DSM–IV child and adult separation anxiety disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1074–1083.
40.
SiloveD.ManicavasagarV.O'ConnellD.BlaszczynskiA.WagnerR.HenryJ. (1993) The development of the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI). Australian New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 27, 477–488.
41.
SpenceS. H. (1997) Structure of anxiety symptoms among children: a confirmatory factor-analytic study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 280–297.
42.
SpenceS. H. (1998) A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behavior Research and Therapy, 36, 545–566.
43.
SpielbergerC.GorsuchR.LucheneR. (1976) Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
44.
Van de VijverF.HambletonR. K. (1996) Translating tests: some practical guidelines. European Psychologist, 1, 89–99.
45.
Van DykeC. J.ReganJ.AlbanoA. M. (2009) Separation anxiety disorder. In McKayD.StorchE. A. (Eds.), Cognitive-behavior therapy for children: treating complex and refractory cases. New York: Springer. Pp. 115–140.
46.
Van WidenfeltB. M.TreffersP. D.De BeursE.SiebelinkB. M.KoudijsE. (2005) Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of assessment instruments used in psychological research with children and families. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 8(2), 135–147.
47.
WoodJ. J.McLeodB. D.SigmanM.HwangW.ChuB. C. (2003) Parenting and child anxiety: theory, empirical findings, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 134–151.
48.
WoodJ. J.PiacentiniJ. C.Southam-GerowM.ChuB. C.SigmanM. (2006) Family cognitive behavioural therapy for child anxiety disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 314–321.