Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to define the psychometric properties of the Anxiety Rating for Children - Revised (ARC-R), a clinician rating scale for the assessment of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. The ARC-R is comprised of an Anxiety subscale and a Physiological subscale. In a clinical sample (N = 22), the test-retest reliability and interrater reliability were investigated. In a nonoverlapping clinic sample of school refusers (N = 199), the internal reliability and convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity were evaluated. Test-retest (r = .93) and interrater reliability (r = .95) were excellent. There was good internal reliability of items (Cronbach's alpha = .80). The Anxiety subscale of the ARC-R correlated somewhat higher with self-report anxiety instruments (r = .62) than with self-report depression instruments (r = .54-.56). The Anxiety subscale of the instrument discriminated between children with and without an anxiety disorder. This new instrument was shown to be a reliable measure of clinician-rated anxiety. The validity of the ARC-R Anxiety subscale was demonstrated. The potential uses of this instrument for clinical and research purposes are highlighted.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 97-114 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Anxiety Disorders |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1996 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Abstract - The purpose of this investigation was to define the psychometric properties of the Anxiety Rating for Children - Revised (ARC-R), a clinician rating scale for the assessment of anxiety symptoms in chiidren and adolescents. The ARC-R is comprised of an Anxiety subscale and a Physiological subscale. In a clinical sample (N = 22). the test-retest reliability and interrater reliability were investigated. In a nonoverlapping clinic sample of school refusers (N = 199). the internal reliability and convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity were evahtated. Test-retest (r = .93) and interrater reliability (r = .95) were excellent. There was good internal reliability of items (Cronbach’s alpha = .80). The Anxiety subscale of the ARC-R correlated Dr. Bernstein’s effort on this manuscript was supported in part by Grant R29 MH46534 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors thank John Hopwood, M.A. and Suzy Peterson, B.A. for their assistance in administering the rating scales and Lois Laitinen, M.B.A., M.M. for manuscript preparation. Dr. Crosby is currently at NCS Assessments, Minnetonka, MN. Amy Perwien is currently a graduate student in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. Requests for reprints should be sent to Gail A. Bernstein, M.D., Director, Division of Child and Adolescent psychiatry, Box 95 UMHC, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. 97