Development of the Social Anxiety Scale for Children: Reliability and Concurrent Validity

TLDR

Social anxiety in children is understudied despite its importance for peer relationships. This study develops the 10‑item Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC). The SASC was administered to 287 second‑through‑sixth graders along with a trait anxiety measure, and its factors were examined for internal consistency and test‑retest reliability. Factor analysis identified fear of negative evaluation and social avoidance/distress factors, with girls and younger children scoring higher, significant correlations with trait anxiety, and distinct patterns across peer status groups, supporting the SASC’s reliability and validity.

Abstract

Abstract Although potentially important for understanding children's peer relationships, the construct of social anxiety in children has received very limited attention. The present study reports on the development of the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC), a 10-item self-report measure. A total of 287 second through sixth graders completed the SASC and a self-report measure of trait anxiety (Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale) and were assessed on their peer status using peer nomination and peer rating sociometric measures. Factor analysis yielded two factors for the SASC: fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and social avoidance and distress (SAD). These factors were evaluated with respect to internal and test-retest reliability. Girls reported greater FNE than boys, and children in the lower grades reported more SAD than those, in the upper elementary school grades. Significant correlations between trait anxiety and the FNE and SAD factors were obtained. In addition, the peer status groups (neglected, rejected, average, popular, and controversial differed in their reports of social anxiety, as anticipated. In particular, neglected children were found to report the greatest social anxiety, controversial children the least. These findings provide preliminary Support for the reliability and validity of the SASC.