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Spanish Validation of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale (SAAS) with Spanish schoolchildren. The participants in Study 1 were 1281 children aged 8–11. Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: worry about calamitous events, fear of abandonment, fear of being alone, and fear of physical illness, which explained 47.77 % of the variance. The participants of Study 2 were 4628 schoolchildren aged 8–11. The four related factors model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency (α = .84) and temporal stability (r = .77) were good. The convergent validity was evident from the pattern of correlations with the measures of separation anxiety, sensitivity to anxiety and school fears. The sensitivity of the scale was 83 %, and its specificity, 93 %. The complementary subscales predicted the diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder. The results support the reliability, validity and clinical utility of the SAAS.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Spanish National Plan for Research, Development and Technological Innovation Grant (EDU2008-05060) awarded to Xavier Méndez, and the FPU program grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports awarded to Aurora Orenes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Personality and Psychological Assessment and Treatment, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Aurora Orenes & Xavier Méndez

  2. Department of Developmental and Didactic Psychology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    José M. García-Fernández

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  1. Aurora Orenes
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  2. Xavier Méndez
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  3. José M. García-Fernández
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Correspondence to Aurora Orenes.

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Orenes, A., Méndez, X. & García-Fernández, J.M. Spanish Validation of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 48, 468–477 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0673-0

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