Psychometric properties of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) in Mainland Chinese children and adolescents.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) in a Mainland Chinese community sample. The 38-item Chinese version of SCAS was administered to 1878 children and adolescents. Multiple group confirmatory factor analyses supported a common 6-factor model of SCAS for children and adolescents, and for boys and girls. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of SCAS were satisfactory. Convergent and divergent validity of SCAS were supported by significant correlations with a measure of anxiety to a greater extent than with a measure of depression. Adolescents reported higher anxiety levels than children, and girls reported higher anxiety levels than boys. Compared to other studies, anxiety symptoms of Chinese children were found at a moderate level, but anxiety symptoms of Chinese adolescents were found at a high level. Our findings suggest that the SCAS is suitable for assessing anxiety symptoms in Mainland Chinese children and adolescents.