Turkish Adaptation and Validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C): Factor Structure,...

Worry is a common psychological experience among most people; however, when it becomes excessive and difficult to control, it can lead to psychological distress. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C) was developed to objectively measure worry and consists of 14 items that assess excessive, generalized, and uncontrollable worry in children. This study translated the PSWQ-C into Turkish and examined its psychometric properties in a Turkish sample of 171 children aged 8 to 18 (M = 12.05, SD = 3.37). The Turkish version of PSWQ-C showed high reliability by test-retest and also excellent internal consistency results. To examine the validity of the PSWQ-C, we calculated its correlation with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale Child Form and Metacognition Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents. Based on the adult version of the PSWQ, two factor models were evaluated: (a) a single-factor model (M1) and (b) a bifactor model (M2) consisting of one general trait factor and method factor for reverse-scored items. The results suggest that the questionnaire measures a single latent construct, worry, although the bifactor model showed the best fit to the data. The methos factor appear to reflect method effect associated with reverse-scored items. Overall, the PSWQ-C demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity and appears to be a useful tool for objectively assessing worry in Turkish children.