Validation of a clinically useful measure of children's state anxiety before medical procedures
Anne L Ersig, Charmaine Kleiber, Ann Marie McCarthy, Kirsten Hanrahan, Anne L Ersig, Charmaine Kleiber, Ann Marie McCarthy, Kirsten Hanrahan
Abstract
Purpose: Assessment of children's anxiety in busy clinic settings is an important step in developing tailored interventions. This article describes the construct validation of the Children's Anxiety Meter-State (CAM-S), a brief measure of state anxiety.
Design and methods: Existing data were used to investigate the associations between child self-reports of anxiety, parent reports of child anxiety, and observed child distress during an intravenous procedure.
Results: Children's (n = 421) CAM-S scores were significantly associated with all parent measures and observed distress ratings.
Practice implications: Findings support the use of the CAM-S for assessment of child anxiety in clinical settings.
Keywords: Anxiety; children; measurement; validation.
Conflict of interest statement
Disclosure: The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest.
© 2013, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Source: PubMed