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Comparing Parent and Child Self-report Measures of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in Children and Adolescents with a Chronic Health Condition

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Abstract

Anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with a chronic health condition have been estimated as high as 40% lifetime prevalence. Clinicians often rely on parent/caregiver information to supplement or substitute child self-report related to pediatric physical and mental health. We developed a caregiver proxy version (STAI-P) for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) State Anxiety Scale that was compared with a child self-report version in 201 parent–child dyads to evaluate its utility in measuring state anxiety in chronically ill youth. For patients aged 7–12, self-reports of state anxiety were moderately associated with parent distress and health provider-reported functional status, but negatively associated with parent STAI-P scores. For patients aged 13–17, self-reports of state anxiety were significantly associated with STAI-P scores, parent distress, and health provider-reported functional status. The STAI-P parent version may be a useful tool in identifying and addressing anxiety symptoms in youth living with a chronic health condition.

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Acknowledgements

Permission was granted in 2009 by Charles D. Spielberger, Ph.D., of University of South Florida, to develop and test the parent version of the STAI. The authors gratefully acknowledge Haven Battles, Ph.D., for her careful review of this manuscript and the help of Eliza Lanzillo, B.A., of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Funding

This work was supported by the Intramural Programs of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Mental Health at the National Institutes of Health (ZIA-MH002922-09, NCT00824278)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Lindsey M. Shain

  2. Office of the Clinical Director, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Maryland Pao, Mary V. Tipton & Lisa M. Horowitz

  3. Pediatric Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Sima Zadeh Bedoya & Lori Wiener

  4. Genetic Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Sun J. Kang

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  1. Lindsey M. Shain
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  2. Maryland Pao
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Correspondence to Lori Wiener.

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Shain, L.M., Pao, M., Tipton, M.V. et al. Comparing Parent and Child Self-report Measures of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in Children and Adolescents with a Chronic Health Condition. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 27, 173–181 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-019-09631-5

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