Development and validation of a short form of the Chinese version of the State Anxiety Scale for Children.
BACKGROUND
There is a lack of a simplified instrument for use in busy clinical settings to measure and differentiate anxiety levels of children.


OBJECTIVE
To develop a short form of the Chinese version of the State Anxiety Scale for Children (CSAS-C) and test psychometric properties of the new form.


METHODS
The study was divided into two phases with phase one aimed at developing a short form of the CSAS-C, while phase two aimed at testing psychometric properties of the new form. A test-retest, within-subjects design was employed. Children (7-12 years of age) admitted for surgery in a day surgery unit during two consecutive years' summer holiday were invited to participate in the study. In phase one, selected participants (N=112) were asked to respond to the CSAS-C. In phase two, selected participants (N=82) were asked to respond to the short form of the CSAS-C.


RESULTS
Using exploratory factor analysis, a subset of 10 items, which was highly correlated with scores obtained from the full form (r=0.92) and, which had acceptable internal consistency (r=0.83) was developed. The psychometric properties of this short form have been empirically tested, showing adequate internal consistency reliability, good concurrent validity, and excellent construct validity.


CONCLUSIONS
This study addresses a gap in the literature by developing a 10-item short form of the CSAS-C. Results indicate that this short form is an appropriate and objective assessment tool for measuring anxiety levels of Chinese children in a busy clinical setting where time constraints make unfeasible the use of the full form.
Li
Ho Cheung William
HC
The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Esther Lee Building, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong. williamli@cuhk.edu.hk
Lopez
Violeta
V
D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015982:Bias; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000523:psychology; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014175:Translating