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Background: Nighttime fears are highly prevalent in children, ranging from normative fears to triggering fear‐related anxiety disorders. The lack of available assessment instruments recently prompted the development of the Nighttime Fears Scale (NFS) for children aged 8–12 years. The present study aimed to adapt and psychometrically evaluate the parent‐reported version for children aged 3–8 years (NFS‐P) as a complement for younger children. Methods: Two hundred eighty‐four Spanish‐speaking parents (47% girls) completed the NFS‐P and anxiety measures. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported a four‐factor structure of the NFS‐P. Strong internal consistency and validity evidence were obtained. No significant differences were found in NFS‐P scores between sexes and age groups. Conclusions: The findings offer support for the use of the NFS‐P as a valuable instrument in clinical and research settings, supplementing the NFS for older children. Both scales provide an efficient means to comprehensively assess the presence and intensity of typical nighttime fears across preschool and school years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parent-report Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ-P) is one of the few well-established available measures specifically designed to assess childhood depression from the parent's perspective. However, to date, few studies have analyzed the factorial structure of the MFQ-P. The aim of this study was to examine for the first time the psychometric properties of the scores and factorial structure of the Spanish-adapted version of the MFQ-P in a community sample of Spanish-speaking children. Parents of 181 children (54.1% boys) aged 6–8 years participated in this study. The MFQ-P was translated into Spanish and administered along with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-parent version (SDQ-P) and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale-parent version (SCAS-P). The scale showed high internal consistency (α =.92) and acceptable test–retest reliability, and factor analysis confirmed the original single-factor structure after removing one item. Convergent and divergent validity was supported. The findings provide initial support for the use of a 33-item version of the MFQ-P in the Spanish population, adding further international evidence for this promising scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a widely used anxiety measure in many countries around the world, until now, research has barely focused on the usefulness of the parent version (SCAS-P) in young children. This study examines the psychometric properties and the factor structure of the SCAS-P in a Spanish community sample of 181 children aged 6–8 years (M = 6.87, SD = 0.78). Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the original six-factor model to the Spanish sample. The internal consistency and the test–retest reliability of the scale were high. Regarding the validity of this measure, higher and significant correlations between the SCAS-P and internalizing problems and lower correlations with externalizing problems were obtained, as found in the original version. Girls seemed to show more anxiety problems than boys, but no significant differences were found. The results suggest that the SCAS-P is an adequate measure to assess anxious symptomatology in young children. The availability of measures with good psychometric properties allows psychologists to assess and carry out a correct and early diagnosis of anxiety disorders in children, making possible an early clinical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the School Anxiety Scale-Teacher Report (SAS-TR) in a community sample of 315 Spanish children aged 5 to 12 years. Thirty-seven teachers from eleven schools completed the SAS-TR and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for each child. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original two-factor structure, but a better fit model was obtained after removing four items. The scale was found to have high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and satisfactory test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87) for the Spanish sample. Convergent validity was supported by positive significant correlations between the SAS-TR and the Emotional Symptoms subscale of the SDQ. Lower correlations between the SAS-TR and the SDQ Conduct Problems subscale supported the divergent validity. Overall, the findings suggest that the Spanish version of the SAS-TR is a reliable and valid instrument for teachers to assess anxiety in Spanish children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]