Spanish Validation of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale

Test Anxiety in Adolescent Students: Different Responses According to the Components of Anxiety as a Function of Sociodemographic and Academic Variables

Objective

Test anxiety (TA) is a construct that has scarcely been studied based on Lang’s three-dimensional model of anxiety. The objective of this article is to investigate the repercussion of sociodemographic and academic variables on different responses for each component of anxiety and for the type of test in adolescent students.

Method

A total of 1181 students from 12 to 18 years old (M = 14.7 and SD = 1.8) participated, of whom 569 were boys (48.2%) and 612 girls (51.8%). A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Cuestionario de Ansiedad ante los examenes-Adaptado (CAEX-A) [Test Anxiety Questionnaire-Adapted] an adaptation for Spanish secondary school levels (ESO) and Bachillerato were administered.

Results

Girls scored higher on the cognitive and physiological components of TA than boys, the intensity of the physiological response increasing with age. Bachillerato level students reported more physiological anxiety than those of ESO level. Students with better marks in the previous year presented more anxiety in the cognitive component, while those who obtained the lower mark presented higher anxiety values in the behavioral component. Participants reported that the types of tests that cause them more anxiety were oral tests in front of the class, oral presentation in front of a panel, and mathematics tests.

Conclusion

Adolescents show a differential response of TA based on the physiological, cognitive and motor components, mediated by the variables of gender, age, grade, academic performance and type of exam. These results serve to design specific intervention programs to manage anxiety in situations of academic assessment.

Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale-Parent Version: Spanish Validation (SAAS-P: Spanish Validation)

The objective of this research is to validate the Spanish adaptation of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale-Parent Version (SAAS-P). We conducted two studies with parents of schoolchildren aged 8-11 years: (1) exploratory factor analysis: 910 parents completed the Spanish version of the SAAS-P; (2) confirmatory factor analysis, reliability, and discriminant validity: 4127 parents completed the SAAS-P and 392 children were interviewed using the ADIS-IV. We identified four factors which explained 51.56% of the variance and these were confirmed by factor analysis. The internal consistency (α = 0.84) and the temporal stability (r = .75) of the four key symptom dimensions were good. The sensitivity of the scale was 90%, and its specificity, 82%. The additional subscales correlated closely with the four key symptom dimensions (r > .70), and predicted 81% and 57% of the cases with high symptom levels of separation anxiety. The results support the validity, reliability and clinical utility of the Spanish adaptation of the SAAS-P.