Psychometric Validation of the ASC-ASD Anxiety Scale inChildren with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Elsa M. Castañeda Mikrukova (PGDip)
Autonomous University of Barcelona.
PhD. Manuel Ojea Rúa
University of Vigo.
Summary:
The knowledge, diagnosis and treatment of clinical anxiety in people considered within the autism spectrum is a challenge since most of the instruments are designed based on research variables for people outside the autism spectrum. A total of 91 parents of children between 6 and 18 years of age, diagnosed with ASD in Metropolitan Lima participated in this study. In this sense, the general objective of this study is the validation of the anxiety scale: ANXIETY SCALE FOR CHILDREN WITH ASD (ASC ASD-P) in relation to anxious behaviors in people with ASD. The results show a significant validity of the Scale content; however, there are discrepancies in the allocation of reagents to the corresponding dimensions. The Exploratory Factor Analysis and the Alpha Values of Anxiety present the following data: 1) Anxiety due to Uncertainty (McDonald’s: .86 and Cronbach's Alpha: .85); 2) Performance Anxiety (McDonald’s: .81 and Cronbach's Alpha: .81); 3) Anxious Arousal (0.86 McDonald’s: .86 and Cronbach's Alpha: .8). Separation anxiety is excluded from the analysis due to its low factor value. These data allow us to affirm that the scale to evaluate the presence of ASC-ASD clinical anxiety, parent version, has adequate psychometric properties for the predictive measurement of anxiety in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Clinical Anxiety, Anxiety Scale Validation.
