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Psychometric evaluation of social phobia and anxiety inventory for children (SPAI-C) and social anxiety scale for children-revised (SASC-R)

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An Erratum to this article was published on 24 March 2010

Abstract

The study evaluated the psychometric properties of Finnish versions of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) and the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R). 352 students (M = 12.2 years) participated in the study and completed the SPAI-C and SASC-R. In addition, 68 participants (M = 12.2 years) and their parents were interviewed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (K-SADS-PL). The SPAI-C was more sensitive for identifying youth meeting criteria for social phobia (SP), whereas the SASC-R demonstrated greater specificity. The youth in this sample had lower mean total scores on the self-report questionnaires than did those in the original validitation studies of the SPAI-C and SASC-R conducted in America. These findings question whether cross-cultural differences in the expression of SP influence the clinical cut-off scores used in translated versions of social anxiety questionnaires.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by The Alma and K. A. Snellman Foundation, Oulu, Finland; Child Psychiatric Research Foundation, Finland; and Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Finland. We want to thank the participants of the study and Ms. Katja Larinen for her assistance in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Child Psychiatry, Child Psychiatric Clinic, University and University Hospital of Oulu, P.O.B. 26, 90029, OYS, Finland

    Kuusikko Sanna MPsych, Ebeling Hanna PhD, Hurtig Tuula PhD, Joskitt Leena Msc, Mattila Marja-Leena MD, Jussila Katja MPsych & Moilanen Irma PhD

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Pollock-Wurman Rachel PhD

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  1. Kuusikko Sanna MPsych
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Correspondence to Kuusikko Sanna MPsych.

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An erratum to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00787-010-0100-1

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Sanna, K., Rachel, PW., Hanna, E. et al. Psychometric evaluation of social phobia and anxiety inventory for children (SPAI-C) and social anxiety scale for children-revised (SASC-R). Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 18, 116–124 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0712-x

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