Child Psychiatry & Human Development

, Volume 41, Issue 3, pp 342–352 | Cite as

Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity of the Taiwanese Version of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children

  • Cheng-Fang Yen
  • Pinchen Yang
  • Yu-Yu Wu
  • Fan-Ching Hsu
  • Chung-Ping Cheng
Original Article
First Online:

Abstract

The aims of this study were to examine the factor structure, internal consistency 1 month test–retest reliability and the discriminant validity for the diagnosis of anxiety disorder of the Taiwanese version of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC-T). A total of 12,536 Taiwanese children and adolescents in the community were recruited to examine the adequacy of the original four-factor structure of the MASC-T by confirmatory factor analysis and the internal-consistency reliability by Cronbach’s alpha across gender and age. The 1 month test–retest reliability was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) in 105 children and adolescents in the community. The discriminant validity of the MASC-T for the diagnosis of anxiety disorder was examined in 132 children and adolescents from clinical units. The results of this study supported the four-factor structure of the MASC-T in Taiwanese children and adolescents and the four-factor structure was invariant across gender and age. The 1 month test–retest reliability of the MASC-T was in the satisfactory to excellent range and the internal consistency reliability of the Physical Symptoms, Harm Avoidance, and Social Anxiety scales was acceptable. The discriminant validity of the total MASC-T and the anxiety disorder index for the diagnosis of any anxiety disorder was also confirmed. These results indicate that the MASC-T is appropriate for assessing anxiety in Taiwanese children and adolescents.

Keywords

Anxiety Adolescent Child Factor structure Multidimensional anxiety scale for children Psychometric 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by grant NSC 98-2410-H-037-005-MY3 awarded by the National Science Council, Taiwan (ROC).

References

  1. 1.
    Costello EJ, Mustillo S, Erkanli A et al (2003) Prevalence and development of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence. Arch Gen Psychiatry 60:837–844CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. 2.
    Yonkers KA, Warshaw MR, Maisson AO, Keller MB (1996) Phenomenology and course of generalized anxiety disorder. Br J Psychiatry 168:308–313CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Albano AM, Chorpita BF, Barlow DH (2003) Childhood anxiety disorders. In: Mash EJ, Barkley RA (eds) Child psychopathology, 2nd edn. Guilford Press, New York, pp 279–329Google Scholar
  4. 4.
    American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn (DSM-IV). American Psychiatric Association, WashingtonGoogle Scholar
  5. 5.
    Puig-Antich J, Chambers W (1978) The schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school age children (Kiddie-SADS). New York State Psychiatric Institute, New YorkGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    Gau SSF, Chong MY, Chen THH, Cheng ATA (2005) A 3-year panel study of mental disorders among adolescents in Taiwan. Am J Psychiatry 162:1344–1350CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Dadds MR, Barrett PM (2001) Practitioner review: psychological management of anxiety disorders in childhood. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 42:999–1011CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. 8.
    Greenhill LL, Pine D, March J et al (1998) Assessment issues in treatment research of pediatric anxiety disorders: what is working, what is not working, what is missing, and what needs improvement. Psychopharmacol Bull 34:155–164PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Baldwin JS, Dadds MR (2007) Reliability and validity of parent and child versions of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children in community samples. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 46:252–260CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. 10.
    March JS, Parker JD, Sullivan K et al (1997) The multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC): factor structure, reliability and validity. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:554–565PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. 11.
    Silverman WK, Ollendick TH (2005) Evidence-based assessment of anxiety and its disorders in children and adolescents. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 34:380–411CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. 12.
    March JS (1997) Multidimensional anxiety scale for children. Multi-Health Systems Inc, North TonawandaGoogle Scholar
  13. 13.
    Grills-Taquechel AE, Ollendick TH, Fisak B (2008) Reexamination of the MASC factor structure and discriminant ability in a mixed clinical outpatient sample. Depress Anxiety 25:942–950CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    March JS, Conners C, Arnold G et al (1999) The multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC): confirmatory factor analysis in a pediatric ADHD sample. J Atten Disord 3:85–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. 15.
    March JS, Sullivan K, Parker J (1999) Test-retest reliability of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children. J Anxiety Disord 13:349–358CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. 16.
    Rynn MA, Barber JP, Khalid-Kahn S et al (2006) The psychometric properties of the MASC in a pediatric psychiatric sample. J Anxiety Disord 20:139–157CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. 17.
    Ólason DT, Sighvatsson MB, Smári J (2004) Psychometric properties of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC) among icelandic schoolchildren. Scand J Psychol 45:429–436CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  18. 18.
    Ivarsson T (2006) Normative data for the multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC) in Swedish adolescents. Nord J Psychiatry 60:107–113CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. 19.
    Fincham D, Schickerling J, Temane M et al (2008) Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children among adolescents in the Cape Town metropole of South Africa. Depress Anxiety 25:E147–E153CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. 20.
    Muris P, Merckelbach H, Ollendick T et al (2002) Three traditional and three new childhood anxiety questionnaires: their reliability and validity in a normal adolescent sample. Behav Res Ther 40:753–772CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  21. 21.
    Dierker LC, Albano AM, Clark GN et al (2001) Screening for anxiety and depression in early adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 40:929–936CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. 22.
    Kingery JN, Ginsburg GS, Burstein M (2009) Factor structure and psychometric properties of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children in an African American adolescent sample. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 40:287–300CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. 23.
    Yao S, Zou T, Zhu X et al (2007) Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children among Chinese secondary school students. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 38:1–16CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. 24.
    Kleinman A, Lin TY (1980) Normal and abnormal behavior in Chinese culture. Dordrecht, NetherlandsGoogle Scholar
  25. 25.
    van Gastel W, Ferdinand RF (2008) Screening capacity of the multidimensional anxiety scale for children (MASC) for DSM-IV anxiety disorders. Depress Anxiety 25:1046–1052CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. 26.
    Brislin RW (1970) Back-translation for cross-culture research. J Cross Cult Psychol 1:185–216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. 27.
    Ministry of the Interior (2002) 2001 Taiwan-Fukien demographic fact book, Republic of China. Executive Yuan, Taipei (in Chinese)Google Scholar
  28. 28.
    Gau SSF, Chong MY, Yang PC, Yen CF, Liang KY, Cheng ATA (2007) A longitudinal study on psychiatric and psychosocial predictors for substance use disorders among adolescents. Bri J Psychiatry 190:42–48CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. 29.
    Hu L, Bentler PM (1998) Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychol Methods 3:424–453CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. 30.
    Browne MW, Cudeck R (1993) Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In: Bollen KA, Long JS (eds) Testing structural equation models. Sage, Newbury Park, pp 136–162Google Scholar
  31. 31.
    Black B (1995) Separation anxiety disorder and panic disorder. In: March J (ed) Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Guilford Press, New York, pp 212–234Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Cheng-Fang Yen
    • 1
  • Pinchen Yang
    • 1
  • Yu-Yu Wu
    • 2
  • Fan-Ching Hsu
    • 3
  • Chung-Ping Cheng
    • 4
  1. 1.Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, and Faculty of Medicine, College of MedicineKaohsiung Medical UniversityKaohsiungTaiwan
  2. 2.Department of Child Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital- Linkou Medical CenterChang Gung University College of MedicineTaoyuanTaiwan
  3. 3.Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University HospitalKaohsiung Medical UniversityKaohsiungTaiwan
  4. 4.Department of PsychologyNational Chung Cheng UniversityMinhsiung Township, Chiayi CountyTaiwan

Personalised recommendations