title: Development of the anxiety scale for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASC-ASD).
abstract: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high levels of anxiety. A widely used measure for typically developing children is the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). However, such anxiety measures may require adaptation to accommodate characteristics of those with ASD. An adapted version of the RCADS was created based on empirical evidence of anxiety phenomenology in ASD, which included additional items related to sensory anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and phobias. Content validity was refined during focus groups with parents. Polychoric factor analysis was undertaken on data from 170 children with ASD, aged 8-16, and their parents. This process resulted in the creation of a new 24 item scale (self and parent report) each with four subscales: Performance Anxiety, Uncertainty, Anxious Arousal, and Separation Anxiety, with evidence of good reliability and validity. The freely available Anxiety Scale for Children - ASD, Parent and Child versions (ASC-ASD) has promising psychometric properties including good internal consistency, validity, and 1 month test-retest reliability. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1205-1215. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Jacqui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wigham
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McConachie
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Newcastle University, UK.|Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freeston
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Newcastle University, UK.|Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Honey
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Parr
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: anxiety; child report; clinical psychology; measurement; parent report