Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS)

Abstract

The Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), developed by Susan H. Spence in 1998, is a distinguished self-report measure utilized for assessing the prevalence and severity of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. Its design is notable for moving beyond generalized anxiety screening tools by directly mapping its items to the specific diagnostic criteria for major anxiety disorders detailed in the DSM-IV.

The scale consists of 44 items distributed across six clinically defined subscales: separation anxiety, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic/agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and fears of physical injury. The SCAS is widely adopted in both clinical practice and research for purposes such as screening, outcome monitoring, and comprehensive psychological assessment. However, the developers emphasize that results from the SCAS must be supplemented by a structured clinical interview to achieve a formal psychiatric diagnosis.

Keywords

Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, SCAS, Childhood Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Self-Report, Psychological Assessment, DSM-IV.

Authors

Susan H. Spence, Ronald Rapee, Caroline McDonald, Michelle Ingram, Paula M. Barrett, Catherine M. Turner, Nauta et al.

Purpose

The primary objective of the SCAS is to provide a psychometrically robust, child-report instrument capable of accurately distinguishing between specific anxiety syndromes in pediatric populations. Historically, many measures for child anxiety were either too narrow in scope or were simply adapted versions of adult scales, failing to capture the unique, developmental manifestations of anxiety specific to childhood. The SCAS was intentionally constructed to fill this gap by ensuring high item congruence with established diagnostic criteria.

The scale possesses high clinical utility, enabling the early identification of children who may be at risk for developing significant anxiety problems. It is also an effective tool for establishing a baseline measure of symptom severity and for subsequently monitoring the effectiveness of various therapeutic interventions over time. While the SCAS yields scores (such as a T-score of 60 or above) that indicate elevated or sub-clinical levels of anxiety, these results are intended to guide and justify further, more detailed clinical investigation rather than serving as a definitive, standalone diagnostic instrument.

Construct

The SCAS is designed to measure the construct of dimensional anxiety symptoms, which are organized according to the six primary anxiety disorder classifications relevant to children, as detailed in the DSM-IV. The full instrument includes 38 core anxiety-specific items alongside 6 positive filler items, which are included to minimize potential negative response bias during completion.

The six subscale domains represent distinct psychological constructs assessed by the instrument: Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia (measuring somatic symptoms and fears related to public spaces); Separation Anxiety (assessing distress experienced upon separation from primary attachment figures); Social Phobia (evaluating fear of social scrutiny and performance situations); Generalized Anxiety Disorder (measuring excessive and pervasive worry); Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (assessing the presence of intrusive thoughts, compulsive checking, and rituals); and Fears of Physical Injury (covering specific phobias related to injury, medical procedures, or certain animals).

Validity

The validity of the SCAS is strongly supported across multiple psychometric indicators. The scale demonstrates excellent content validity, primarily because its items are directly aligned with the official diagnostic criteria for specific anxiety disorders. This critical feature ensures that the instrument comprehensively and accurately samples the domain of childhood anxiety as defined by clinical consensus.

Furthermore, robust evidence for convergent validity has been established through its high correlation with other widely accepted measures of childhood anxiety. The SCAS total score correlates significantly (r = .71) with the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), confirming that both instruments effectively measure the core construct of anxiety symptoms. The application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) also provides crucial evidence for the scale’s structural validity, demonstrating that the individual items reliably load onto the six hypothesized factors.

Reliability

The SCAS demonstrates high levels of internal consistency, which is a key indicator of its reliability. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total scale score is extremely high (.92), confirming that the items cohesively measure the overarching construct of anxiety.

Internal consistency for the individual subscales is generally acceptable, although slightly lower than the total score: Panic-Agoraphobia (.82); Separation Anxiety (.70); Social Phobia (.70); Generalized Anxiety (.73); Obsessive-Compulsive (.73); and Physical Injury Fears (.60). Test-retest reliability was assessed over a six-month period in a sample of 344 children, yielding a coefficient of .60 for the total score. While this suggests reasonable stability for the overall measure across time, the lower coefficients observed for the specific subscales suggest that children’s reports of particular symptom types may be more temporally sensitive or subject to natural fluctuation.

Factor Analysis

The theoretical structure underpinning the SCAS was rigorously validated through the use of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). This sophisticated statistical method confirmed the six-factor model proposed by the developers, providing strong evidence that the items consistently and reliably load onto the intended anxiety factors.

This robust finding is vital for the scale’s clinical utility, as it supports the SCAS’s capacity to differentiate between distinct clinical presentations of anxiety, such as separating general worry from acute panic symptoms. The confirmed, refined factor structure establishes the SCAS as a superior instrument for disorder-specific measurement compared to older, more global measures of childhood anxiety.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, with established parallel versions for parents, preschoolers, and adolescents.

Format: 44 items rated on a 4-point frequency scale, where 0=Never, 1=Sometimes, 2=Often, and 3=Always.

Language Available: Multiple translations are available globally, reflecting its extensive international validation and usage.

Population Group: Children, adolescents, and parents reporting on their children.

Age Group: The original scale targeted 8–12 years; extensions have been developed to cover preschool ages and young adolescents.

Population Details: Normative data were established using a large sample of 2,052 children (aged 8–12 years) recruited from primary schools in Brisbane, Australia. Scoring involves computing subscale scores and a total score. A T-score of 60 or higher is generally considered indicative of elevated or sub-clinical levels of anxiety symptoms, prompting the need for further assessment.

Test Methodology: The scale is quick and efficient to administer, typically requiring only 10 minutes for completion.

Keywords

Psychometrics, Internal Consistency, Test-Retest Reliability, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, T-Score, RCMAS, Child Assessment, Clinical Interview, Anxiety Symptoms, Susan H. Spence.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The SCAS is freely available for use in both clinical and research settings. The original child version was first developed in 1998 (Spence, 1998).

The instrument can be accessed online at: http://www.scaswebsite.com/1_1_.html and https://db.arabpsychology.com/

Reference’s

• Spence. S.H. (1997). Structure of Anxiety Symptoms Among Children: A Confirmatory Factor-Analytic Study. J Abnorm Psych 106(2): 280-297.
• Spence. S.H. (1998). A Measure of Anxiety Symptoms Among Children. Behav Res Ther 545-566.
• Spence, S.H., Rapee, R., McDonald, C., & Ingram, M. (2001). The structure of anxiety symptoms among preschoolers. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 1293 – 1316.
• Spence. S.H, Barrett. P.M, Turner. C.M. (2003). Psychometric Properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale with Young Adolescents. J Anxiety Disord 17(6): 605-625.
• Nauta et al. (2004). (Reference for Parent Version – specific title not provided in source).
• Mousavi, R., Moradi, A.R., Farzad, V., Mahdavi, E., Spence, S., (2007), Psychometric Properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale with an Iranian Sample, International psychology journal, 1(1), 1-16.

Items of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I worry about things.
2. I am scared of the dark.
3. When I have a problem, I get a funny feeling in my stomach.
4. I feel afraid.
5. I would feel afraid of being on my own at home.
6. I feel scared when I have to take a test.
7. I feel afraid if I have to use public toilets or bathrooms.
8. I worry about being away from my parents.
9. I feel afraid that I will make a fool of myself in front of people.
10. I worry that I will do badly at my school work.
11. I am popular amongst other kids my own age.
12. I worry that something awful will happen to someone in my family.
13. I suddenly feel as if I can’t breathe when there is no reason for this.
14. I have to keep checking that I have done things right (like the switch is off, or the door is locked).
15. I feel scared if I have to sleep on my own.
16. I have trouble going to school in the mornings because I feel nervous or afraid.
17. I am good at sports.
18. I am scared of dogs.
19. I can’t seem to get bad or silly thoughts out of my head.
20. When I have a problem, my heart beats really fast.
21. I suddenly start to tremble or shake when there is no reason for this
22. I worry that something bad will happen to me.
23. I am scared of going to the doctors or dentists.
24. When I have a problem, I feel shaky.
25. I am scared of being in high places or elevators (lifts).
26. I am a good person.
27. I have to think of special thoughts to stop bad things from happening (like numbers or words).
28. I feel scared if I have to travel in the car, or on a Bus or a train.
29. I worry what other people think of me.
30. I am afraid of being in crowded places (like shopping centers, the movies, buses, busy playgrounds.
31. I feel happy.
32. All of a sudden I feel really scared for no reason at all.
33. I am scared of insects or spiders.
34. I suddenly become dizzy or faint when there is no reason for this.
35. I feel afraid if I have to talk in front of my class.
36. My heart suddenly starts to beat too quickly for no reason.
37. I worry that I will suddenly get a scared feeling when there is nothing to be afraid of.
38. I like myself.
39. I am afraid of being in small closed places, like tunnels or small rooms.
40. I have to do some things over and over again (like washing my hands, cleaning or putting things in a certain order).
41. I get bothered by bad or silly thoughts or pictures in my mind.
42. I have to do some things in just the right way to stop bad things happening.
43. I am proud of my school work.
44. I would feel scared if I had to stay away from home overnight.
45. Is there something else that you are really afraid of? Yes, No. If so, how often are you afraid of this thing?