Versión en español de la Escala de Ansiedad para Niños de Spence (SCAS)

Five hundred and fifty four school children, 8 to 12 years of age, completed the Spanish version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), the ITA-UNAM, which measures anxiety in children, and the CES-D measuring depression. The study investigated the structural model of the SCAS found by Spence. Two models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis: one 38-item and a second 32-item model, both involving 6 related first-order factors loading in a higher-order factor. The 38-item model provided a reasonably good ft, confirming the one reported by Spence. However, the second model provided the best ft of the data. Both models coincide with the most common anxiety disorders classified by the DSM-IV-TR. Further psychometric analyses reinforced construct validity of the SCAS and showed acceptable internal consistency.