Abstract
Worries are common in surgical patients, especially in children. The present study analyzed the factor structure and the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Child Surgery Worries Questionnaire (CSWQ-P) in a Portuguese sample of 490 children. Exploratory factor analysis, conducted via principal axis factoring with oblimin rotation, provided evidence for a four-factor structure of the 21 item questionnaire. A confirmatory factor analysis was also conducted, showing the good fit of this solution. The CSWQ-P proved to have one more subscale than the original Spanish version CSWQ. Correlations with the children's trait anxiety provided evidence of convergent validity for the CSWQ-P. Females also scored higher on worries than males on all subscales. Psychometric properties of this revised version of the CSWQ provided support for use with young children, and indicate the CSWQ-P has value for use in healthcare practice and in clinical research.
Highlights
Worries are common phenomena during childhood (Muris, 2007); school-aged children tend to worry about health, safety and injuries (Silverman, Greca, & Wasserstein, 1995)
We examined gender differences in children’s preoperative worries, and we hypothesized that females would report more worries than males about surgery
The total sample consisted of 490 children (53.1% females), aged 7–12 years (M = 9.22; SD = 1.52), who were enrolled in 2nd to 7th grades
Summary
Worries are common phenomena during childhood (Muris, 2007); school-aged children tend to worry about health, safety and injuries (Silverman, Greca, & Wasserstein, 1995). Hospitalization and surgery represent a source of stress that can lead to significant levels of anxiety and worry (Kain, Mayes, Weisman, & Hofstadter, 2000). The worry process represents an attempt to engage in mental problemsolving on an issue whose outcome is unknown, but contains the possibility of one or more negative outcomes” Children’s worries about surgery tend to be related to death, pain, disability, and negative surgical outcomes (Quiles, Ortigosa, Méndez, & Pedroche, 1999; Sebastián, Carrillo, & Quiles, 2001). Children tend to worry about all aspects of a surgical procedure, e.g., efficacy, effects, and duration, but irrational beliefs and distorted perception about anesthesia are often prominent themes in their worries (Rassin, Gutman, & Silner, 2004; Sebastián et al, 2001)
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