The psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the preschool anxiety scale-revised (PAS-R)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the Preschool Anxiety Scale-Revised (PAS-R). The PAS-R is a parent-based questionnaire designed to assess anxiety symptoms in preschool aged children and consists of four subscales: general anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety and specific fears. Participants were four to six-year-old children from Icelandic preschools (N = 255) and children in a primary health care sample (N = 29). Participants from the preschool sample had significantly lower scores than Australian participants in the original study on the PAS-R. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a decent fit for a four-factor model. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a rather poor fit of the four-factor model. Cronbach’s alpha for the total PAS-R scale was high (.908) and acceptable for all subscales (GAD = .828, SOC = .853, SEP = .743, SPC = .725) indicating good internal consistency. The PAS-R was correlated to subscales on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and results showed decent convergent (ranging from .5 to .7) and discriminative validity (ranging from −.1 to .3). Scores on the PAS-R in the preschool sample were compared to the primary health care sample. Results indicate that the PAS-R can differentiate between children in a community sample and children showing first signs of anxiety problems. Taken together, results suggest decent psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the PAS-R in a sample of four to six-year-old children. Although, factor structure is rather unclear and needs to be further assessed.