title: Validation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale's obsessive compulsive subscale in a clinical and community sample.
abstract: This study describes the validation of the obsessive compulsive subscale on the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS OCD) for use as a clinical assessment tool. Data from 196 anxious children (102 males, ages 7-18) and their parent collected during a diagnostic assessment were compared to data from 420 children (206 males, ages 8-13) from the community collected by mail. The validity of the SCAS OCD parent- and child-report forms were supported by correlations with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and continuous OCD symptom variables from the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule: Child Version. In addition, children with OCD were found to have higher scores on the SCAS OCD subscale than patients without OCD and children from the community without a reported anxiety diagnosis. The sensitivity of the SCAS OCD to treatment effects was also demonstrated in a subset of the clinical sample that received exposure and response prevention therapy. Finally, cut-scores were identified that examine the sensitivity and predictive utility of the scales.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, west 11, 200 First St., SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. whiteside.stephen@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Stephen P H
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Whiteside
authors.forename: Michelle R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gryczkowski
authors.forename: Bridget K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Biggs
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fagen
authors.forename: Desmond
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Owusu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors