The psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the preschool anxiety scale-revised

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the Preschool Anxiety Scale-Revised (PAS-R). The PAS-R is a parent-based questionnaire designed to assess anxiety symptoms in preschool aged children and consists of four subscales; general anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety and specific fears. Participants were four to six-year-old children from Icelandic preschools (N = 255) and children in a health clinic sample who are showing first signs of anxiety problems (N = 29). Participants from the preschool sample had significantly lower scores than Australian participants in the original study on the PAS-R. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a decent fit for a four-factor model. Not all items loaded on the proposed factors though. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a rather poor fit of the four-factor model for the data. Cronbach’s alpha for the total PAS-R scale was high (.908) and acceptable for all subscales (GAD = .828, SOC = .853, SEP = .743, SPC = .725) indicating good internal consistency. The PAS-R was correlated to subscales on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and results showed decent convergent and discriminative validity. Scores on the PAS-R in the preschool sample were compared to the health clinic sample. Results indicate that the PAS-R can differentiate between children in a community sample and children showing first signs of anxiety problems. Taken together, results suggest decent psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the PAS-R in a sample of four to six-year-old children. Although, factor structure is rather unclear and needs to be further assessed.Keywords: anxiety, children, preschool, questionnaires, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, psychometric properties