title: Development and validation of a short form of the Chinese version of the State Anxiety Scale for Children.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Esther Lee Building, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong. williamli@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Ho Cheung William
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Violeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lopez
mesh_terms: 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