title: A systematic review of the factor structure and reliability of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a widely used instrument for assessing symptoms of anxiety disorders among children and adolescents. Previous studies have demonstrated its good reliability for children and adolescents from different backgrounds. However, remarkable variability in the reliability of the SCAS across studies and inconsistent results regarding its factor structure has been found.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study aims to examine the SCAS factor structure by means of a systematic review with narrative synthesis, the mean reliability of the SCAS by means of a meta-analysis, and the influence of the moderators on the SCAS reliability. Databases employed to collect the studies included Scholar Google, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus since 1997.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine and 32 studies, which examined the factor structure and the internal consistency of the SCAS, respectively, were included. The SCAS was found to have strong internal consistency, influenced by different moderators. The systematic review demonstrated that the original six-factor model was supported by most studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Factorial invariance studies (across age, gender, country) and test-retest reliability of the SCAS were not examined in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is concluded that the SCAS is a reliable instrument for cross-cultural use, and it is suggested that the original six-factor model is appropriate for cross-cultural application.
authors.affiliation: Miguel Hernández University, Spain. Electronic address: morgiles@umh.es.
authors.forename: Mireia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orgilés
authors.affiliation: Miguel Hernández University, Spain.
authors.forename: Iván
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fernández-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Miguel Hernández University, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guillén-Riquelme
authors.affiliation: Miguel Hernández University, Spain.
authors.forename: José P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Espada
authors.affiliation: University of Roethampton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Cecilia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Essau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Adolescents; Children; Cross-cultural; Reliability generalization meta-analysis; Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale; Systematic review