Validation of the Children's Separation Anxiety Scale - Parent Version (CSAS-P)

Area of Science:

• Psychological Assessment
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Separation anxiety disorder is prevalent in pre-adolescence.
• Existing assessment tools may benefit from parent-reported measures.
• The Children's Separation Anxiety Scale-Parent (CSAS-P) was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the parent's version of the Children's Separation Anxiety Scale (CSAS-P).
• To assess separation anxiety symptoms in pre-adolescents (ages 8-11).
• To establish the psychometric properties of the CSAS-P.

Main Methods:

• Two studies involving a total of 4,890 parents and their children (ages 8-11).
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine the factorial structure.
• Internal consistency, temporal stability, and measurement invariance were assessed.

Main Results:

• Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: Worry, Opposition, Calm, and Distress.
• Confirmatory factor analysis validated the four-factor model.
• The CSAS-P demonstrated adequate internal consistency (α = 0.84) and temporal stability (r = 0.72).
• The scale showed invariance across age, gender, and parent-rater.
• Small age and gender differences were observed, with girls scoring higher on all factors.
• Parents reported lower scores than children across all factors.

Conclusions:

• The CSAS-P is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing separation anxiety in pre-adolescents.
• The CSAS-P complements the child's self-report, supporting multi-source assessment.
• Findings support the use of the CSAS-P in clinical and research settings.