The visual analogue scale for anxiety - Revised: Psychometric properties

Since input from children is essential in the assessment of their internalizing symptoms such as anxiety, development of new self-report instruments is an important challenge. The Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety - Revised (VAA-R), designed for assessment of anxiety in children and adolescents with school refusal, offers the advantages of ease of administration, decreased need for verbal expression, and appropriateness for a wide range of developmental levels. Psychometric properties of the instrument in a clinic sample of school refusers (N = 86) and in a community sample (N = 918) are presented. Tests of internal consistency indicate good internal reliability of items. In the clinic sample, correlations with other anxiety instruments are adequate (r = .60 - .65), supporting the initial validation of the new instrument. Factor analysis identified three clinically meaningful factors: anticipatory/separation anxiety, performance anxiety, and affective response to anxiety.