The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale in Italian Children aged 8-10

The aim of this pilot study was to contribute to the validation of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS; Spence, 1997) on an Italian sample of elementary school children. The SCAS is a child self-report measure designed to evaluate symptoms relating to separation anxiety, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic/agoraphobia, generalized anxiety and fears of physical injury. The scale was administered to a community sample of 1397 Italian children aged 8-10 years. The internal consistency of the total score and subscales was high. Normative data according to gender and age were reported. Results were compared with previous normative data from other western countries (Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany). Italian children generally showed the highest scores on SCAS total and on most of the subscales. Gender differences were found, consistent with previous research. Girls showed higher levels of anxieties than boys. No age differences were found.