Reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale

To minimise preoperative stress and increase child cooperation during induction of anaesthesia is one of the most important perioperative objectives. The modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale was developed to evaluate anxiety. The aim of this study was to translate into Spanish, and validate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of this scale.

The Spanish translation of the scale was performed following the World Health Organisation guidelines. During induction of anaesthesia, 81 children aged 2 to 12 years were recorded. Two observers evaluated the recordings independently. Content validity index of modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale Spanish version was assessed. Weighted Kappa was calculated to measure interobserver agreement, and the Pearson correlation between the Induction Compliance Checklist and the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale was determined.

The Spanish version obtained high content validity (0.91 to 0.98). Reliability analysis using weighted Kappa statistics revealed that interobserver agreement ranged from 0.54 to 0.75. Concurrent validity was high (r=0.94; P<.001).

Validated assessment tools are needed to evaluate interventions to reduce child preoperative anxiety. The Spanish version of the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale evaluated in this study has shown good psychometric properties of reliability and validity.