National Normative and Reliability Data for the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale

Abstract

To develop normative data for the revision of the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), the scale was administered to 4,972 children from 13 states and more than 80 school districts representing all geographic regions of the United States. The children ranged in age from 6 years to 19 years. Norms are reported for white males, white females, black males, and black females separately at each age level for the total Anxiety Scale, three subscales of anxiety, and a Lie Scale. A multivariate analysis of variance demonstrated performance on the RCMAS to be a complex function of these factors. Coefficient alpha reliability estimates were also determined for each group at each age level and compared across groups. Reliability was satisfactory for all groups except black females below age 12 years. Caution was recommended in the use of the scale with this age group and potential uses of the scale discussed.