The factorial structure of the SCARED-R in a Portuguese community sample

AimTo evaluate the three-, four-, five- and nine-factor structures of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders - revised version (SCARED-R) in a Portuguese sample. We further aimed at assessing the gender and age patterns of anxiety symptoms.MethodThe Portuguese version of the SCARED-R was administered to a community sample of 1,314 children, aged 10-13 years. Confirmatory factorial analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were employed.ResultsThe five-, four- and three-factor models presented an acceptable fit to the data. An unacceptable fit to the data was obtained for the one-factor model. The refined nine-factor model presented good fit to the data after the removal of items with low factorial weights. Based on theoretical considerations, this nine-factor model was considered the best model for assessing children’s anxiety symptoms. A hierarchical structure with a second-order factor called "General Anxiety" was proposed. Adequate internal consistency and criterion related validity were demonstrated. Effects of gender and age on the anxiety scores were found.ConclusionThe SCARED-R is a reliable tool for screening anxiety symptoms, and can be initially administered to identify children at high risk for specific DSM-IV defined anxiety disorders