Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psychometric Properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale with Adolescents in Japanese High Schools

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
School Mental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated anxiety symptoms of Japanese adolescents in community high schools. Japanese high school students (N = 1500) from diverse types of schools including general, vocational, and part-time schools completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS). First, confirmatory factor analysis supported the 6-factor structure with strong goodness-of-fit indices comparable with the original studies as well as those with Japanese elementary and junior high school students. Girls showed more anxiety symptoms, and items related to worry, insects/spiders phobia, checking, and fear of negative evaluations were the most common symptoms, similar to younger youth. Finally, students who attended part-time high school reported higher anxiety symptoms than those in full-time schools. The utility of the SCAS for assessment of anxiety symptoms in high school students and the need for preventive interventions for students at risk for developing anxiety were discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We also examined whether anxiety symptoms differed for students who attended general courses in the full-time and part-time schools; specifically, general-general, general-advanced, nighttime part-time general, and daytime part-time general were compared. Significantly, a group difference was found, F (3, 911) = 6.43, p < .001. Post hoc analyses indicated that there was no significant difference between daytime and nighttime courses in the part-time school students, nor between students in the general-general and general-advanced courses in full-time high schools. However, students who attended part-time daytime general courses showed significant higher scores than those in full-time general-general courses, p < .001. In addition, we compared SCAS scores for courses in the two full-time schools, which included the six courses in the full-time vocational school (agriculture, business, commerce, electricity, engineering, and social welfare) and two courses in the other full-time school (general-general and general-advanced). Given the difference in ratio of gender in courses (there were very few girls in electricity and engineering courses), we conducted ANCOVA after controlling a gender effect. Despite a significant overall course effect, F (7, 1332) = 2.52, p < .05, there were no significant post hoc contrast differences in SCAS total scores between the eight courses.

References

  • Abramowitz, J. S., & Jacoby, R. J. (2014). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in the DSM-5. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 21, 221–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, text revision (4th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Birleson, P. (1981). The validity of depressive disorder in childhood and the development of self-rating scale. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22, 73–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birleson, P., Hudson, I., Buchanan, D. G., & Wolff, S. (1987). Clinical evaluation of a self-rating scale for depressive disorder in childhood (Depression Self-Rating Scale). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 43–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birmaher, B., Khetarpal, S., Brent, D., Cully, M., Balach, L., Kaufman, J., et al. (1997). The screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED): Scale construction and psychometric characteristics. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 545–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, C. M., Caporino, N. E., & Kendall, P. C. (2014). Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: 20 years after. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 816–845.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davey, G. C. L., McDonald, A. S., Hirisave, U., Prabhu, G. G., Iwawaki, S., Jim, C. I., et al. (1998). A cross-cultural study of animal fears. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 735–750.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A., Conradt, J., & Petermann, F. (2000). Frequency, comorbidity, and psychosocial impairment of anxiety disorders in German adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 14, 263–279.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A., & Gabbidon, J. (2013). Epidemiology, comorbidity and mental health services utilization. In C. A. Essau & T. H. Ollendick (Eds.), Treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders (pp. 23–42). London: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A., Muris, P., & Ederer, E. M. (2002). Reliability and validity of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders in German children. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 33, 1–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A., Sakano, Y., Ishikawa, S., & Sasagawa, S. (2004). Anxiety symptoms in Japanese and in German children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 601–612.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A., Sasagawa, S., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Guzmán, B. O., & Ollendick, T. H. (2011). Psychometric properties of the Spence Child Anxiety Scale with adolescents from five European countries. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 19–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essau, C. A., Sasagawa, S., Ishikawa, S., Okajima, I., O’Callaghan, J., & Bray, D. (2012). A Japanese form of social anxiety (Taijin kyofusho): Frequency and correlates in two generations of the same family in Japan. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 58, 635–642.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hinton, D. E., Park, L., Hsia, C., Hofmann, S. G., & Pollack, M. H. (2009). Anxiety disorder presentations in Asian populations: A review. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 15, 295–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., & Hinton, D. E. (2010). Cultural aspects in social anxiety and social anxiety disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 1117–1127.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Holly, L. E., Little, M., Pina, A. A., & Caterino, L. C. (2015). Assessment of anxiety symptoms in school children: A cross-sex and ethnic examination. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 297–309.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa, S., Sato, H., & Sasagawa, S. (2009). Anxiety disorder symptoms in Japanese children and adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 104–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa, S., Shimotsu, S., Ono, T., Sasagawa, S., Kondo-Ikemura, K., Sakano, Y., et al. (2014). A parental report of children’s anxiety symptoms in Japan. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 45, 306–317.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaneko, M., & Ito, M. (2015). The factors affect enjoyment of attending and school attendance behaviors for students in a part-time high school. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Nara Women’s University, 2, 15–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, C. A. (2008). School absenteeism and school refusal behavior in youth: A contemporary review. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 451–471.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1985). The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995–998.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krieg, A., Xu, Y., & Cicero, D. C. (2016). Comparing social anxiety between Asian Americans and European Americans: An examination of measurement invariance, Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191116656438.

  • Li, J. C.-H., Lau, W.-Y., & Au, T. K.-F. (2011). Psychometric properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale in a Hong Kong Chinese community sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 584–591.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. S., Parker, J. D., Sullivan, K., Stallings, P., & Conners, C. K. (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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., & Hocevar, D. (1985). Application of confirmatory factor analysis to the study of self-concept: First- and higher-order factor models and their invariance across groups. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 562–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Sui, L., et al. (2010). Life time prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescents Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 980–989.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2011). Current condition of high school education. Retrieved from http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/09/27/1299178_01.pdf.

  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2012). The survey of part-time and correspondence courses. Retrieved from http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/kaikaku/seido/1321484.htm.

  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2013). Part-time and correspondence courses. Retrieved from http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo3/047/siryo/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2013/07/12/1336336_1.pdf.

  • Murata, T., Shimizu, A., Mori, Y., & Oushima, S. (1996). Childhood depressive state in the school situation: Consideration from the Birleson’s scale. Saishin Seishin Igaku, 1, 131–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., Ollendick, T., King, N., & Bogie, N. (2002a). Three traditional and three new childhood anxiety questionnaires: Their reliability and validity in a normal adolescent sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 753–772.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., Schmidt, H., Engelbrecht, P., & Perold, M. (2002b). DSM-IV-defined anxiety disorder symptoms in South African children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 1360–1368.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., Schmidt, H., & Merckelbach, H. (2000). Correlations among two self-report questionnaires for measuring DSM-defined anxiety disorder symptoms in children: The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 333–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neil, A. L., & Christensen, H. (2009). Efficacy and effectiveness of school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 208–215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orgilés, M., Fernandez-Martinez, I., Guillen-Riquelme, A., Espada, J. P., & Essau, C. A. (2016). A systematic review of the factor structure and reliability of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 333–340.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orgilés, M., Méndez, X., Spence, S. H., Huedo-Medina, T. B., & Espada, J. P. (2012). Spanish validation of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 43, 271–281.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. O. (1978). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children’s manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 271–280.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, L. D., & Gahr, J. L. (2013). Course and outcome of child and adolescent anxiety. In C. A. Essau & T. H. Ollendick (Eds.), Treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders (pp. 44–67). London: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, S. H. (1997). Structure of anxiety symptoms among children: A confirmatory factor-analytic study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 280–297.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, S. H. (1998). A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 545–566.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, S. H. (2008). The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale Website: Information for researchers and practitioners. (November 27, 2008), www.scaswebsite.com.

  • Spence, S. H., Barrett, P. M., & Turner, C. M. (2003). Psychometric properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale with young adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 605–625.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenberg, R. J. (2002). Toward a further understanding of an improvement in measurement invariance methods and procedures. Organizational Research Methods, 5, 139–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenberg, R. J., & Lance, C. E. (2000). A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 4–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteside, S. P., & Brown, A. M. (2008). Exploring the utility of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scales parent- and child-report forms in a North American sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 1440–1446.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J., Xing, X., & Wang, M. (2012). Psychometric properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) in Mainland Chinese children and adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26, 728–736.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto, 610-0394, Japan

    Shin-ichi Ishikawa

  2. Nichinan Shintoku High School, 410, Itajiki, Nichinan, Miyazaki, 889-2532, Japan

    Yayoi Takeno

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuen-Kibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan

    Yoko Sato

  4. Graduate School of Psychology, Doshisha University, 1-3 Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto, 610-0394, Japan

    Kohei Kishida & Yuto Yatagai

  5. Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan

    Kohei Kishida

  6. Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, QLD, 4121, Australia

    Susan H. Spence

Authors
  1. Shin-ichi Ishikawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yayoi Takeno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yoko Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kohei Kishida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yuto Yatagai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Susan H. Spence
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shin-ichi Ishikawa.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (Doshisha University # 17002) and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ishikawa, Si., Takeno, Y., Sato, Y. et al. Psychometric Properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale with Adolescents in Japanese High Schools. School Mental Health 10, 275–286 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9242-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9242-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation