Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents and School Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties in French adolescents

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2019 Feb;50(1):13-26. doi: 10.1007/s10578-018-0818-4.

Abstract

School and social anxiety are common problems and have a significant impact on youths' development. Nevertheless, the questionnaires to assess these anxious symptoms in French adolescents have limitations. The aim of this study is to provide a French version of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) and the School Anxiety Inventory (SAI), analysing their psychometric properties by the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity. The SAS-A and the SAI were collectively administered in a sample of 1011 French adolescents (48.5% boys) ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the previously identified correlated three-factor structure of the SAS-A and the correlated four-factor structure of the SAI. Acceptable internal consistency indexes were found for SAS-A and SAI scores. Correlations supported the convergent validity of the questionnaires' subscales. Overall, results supported the internal consistency and validity of the French versions of the SAS-A and SAI.

Keywords: Adolescence; France; School anxiety; Self-report; Social anxiety.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anxiety / etiology
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Anxiety Disorders* / diagnosis
  • Anxiety Disorders* / psychology
  • Child
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • France
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Phobia, Social* / diagnosis
  • Phobia, Social* / psychology
  • Phobic Disorders* / diagnosis
  • Phobic Disorders* / psychology
  • Psychometrics / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Test Anxiety Scale
  • Translations