Clinical Assessment of Child and Adolescent Personality and ...

430 chapter 18 Assessment of Depression and anxiety2. Ease of administration and scoring3. A larger and more geographicallydiverse norming sample than is typicalfor single-construct measures4. A reliable Total Anxiety score5. The presence of an L scaleWeaknesses of the RCMAS include:1. A lack of information about relevant ethnicand SES representation of the normingsample2. Subscales with questionable externalevidence of validityAdditional Self-ReportMeasuresIn addition to the RCMAS, there is a vastarray of rating scales for child anxiety. Silverman& Ollendick (2005) provide a usefulreview of many such measures.Three self-report measures that haveenjoyed wide use and extensive researchare the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSCR; Ollendick, 1978), theMultidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children(MASC; March et al., 1997), and theState-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children(STAIC; Spielberger, 1973). The STAIChas a companion parent report version.Some of the assessment domains offered bythese measures are provided in Table 18.2.Two relatively new self-report ratings ofanxiety focus on aspects of the individual’scognitions as they contribute to, or be a signof, marked anxiety. The Anxiety ControlQuestionnaire for Children (Weems, Silverman,Rapee, and Pina, 2003) contains 30items that assess the child’s perceived controlover threatening events or stimuli. TheChildren’s Automatic Thoughts (Schniering& Rapee, 2002) assesses whether ornot the respondent has experienced particularnegative thoughts about anxietyprovokingsituations. Initial research onTable 18.2 Domains Assessed by SeveralRating Scales Assessing AnxietyFSSC-R DomainsTotal fear scoreFailure/criticismFear of unknownInjury/small animalsFear of danger/deathMedical FearsMASC DomainsPhysical symptomsSocial anxietyHarm avoidanceSeparation/panicSTAIC DomainsTotal State AnxietyState-cognitiveState-somaticTotal trait anxietyTrait-cognitiveTrait-somaticthe psychometrics of both of these scaleshas had promising results (see Silverman &Ollendick, 2005), and the unique focus ofthese scales also appears to translate wellto cognitive-behavioral interventions forchildhood anxiety.Interviews and Clinician RatingsThe typical way for anxiety to be assessedin children is through interviews (includingsome of the diagnostic interviewsreviewed in Chap. 11) or subscales withinbroad-band ratings (usually completed byparents, teachers, or youths themselves).The Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedulefor Children (Albano &Silverman, 1996)is a unique-structured interview in that itprovides an in-depth assessment of symptomsand impairment across anxiety disordercategories.