A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children
Abstract Objective The Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) is a newly developed scale to assess anxiety in children and teenagers. The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the MABS, as well as the measurement invariance across different age gr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01463-1 |
| _version_ | 1797413629040001024 |
|---|---|
| author | Wei Chen Xingrong Zhou Xingyu Yin Shouying Zhao |
| author_facet | Wei Chen Xingrong Zhou Xingyu Yin Shouying Zhao |
| author_sort | Wei Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective The Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) is a newly developed scale to assess anxiety in children and teenagers. The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the MABS, as well as the measurement invariance across different age groups in a preschool-aged sample. Methods A total of 1007 parents with children aged 3–6 years participated in the study. Internal consistency was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega and average inter-item correlation values. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the five-factor model. Multi-group CFA was conducted to test the measurement equivalence across different age groups (3- and 4-year-olds and 5- and 6-year-olds). Convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity were assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients. Results Internal consistency for the MABS total score was good and that of the subscales was acceptable. The CFA results showed that the five-factor structure of the MABS was supported in preschoolers (e.g., CFI = 0.929, TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.050). In addition, scalar invariance of the MABS was supported across different age groups (e.g., ΔCFI = − 0.003, ΔTLI = 0, ΔRMSEA = 0). Furthermore, the MABS showed good convergent and divergent validity as well as criterion-related validity. Conclusion The Chinese version of the MABS demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and appeared to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring anxiety in preschool children. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:21:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe831019f988407bbf9122f6273a4037 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:21:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe831019f988407bbf9122f6273a40372023-12-03T12:40:47ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832023-11-0111111110.1186/s40359-023-01463-1A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool childrenWei Chen0Xingrong Zhou1Xingyu Yin2Shouying Zhao3School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology, Guizhou Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology, Guizhou Normal UniversityKali UniversityAbstract Objective The Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) is a newly developed scale to assess anxiety in children and teenagers. The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the MABS, as well as the measurement invariance across different age groups in a preschool-aged sample. Methods A total of 1007 parents with children aged 3–6 years participated in the study. Internal consistency was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega and average inter-item correlation values. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the five-factor model. Multi-group CFA was conducted to test the measurement equivalence across different age groups (3- and 4-year-olds and 5- and 6-year-olds). Convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity were assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients. Results Internal consistency for the MABS total score was good and that of the subscales was acceptable. The CFA results showed that the five-factor structure of the MABS was supported in preschoolers (e.g., CFI = 0.929, TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.050). In addition, scalar invariance of the MABS was supported across different age groups (e.g., ΔCFI = − 0.003, ΔTLI = 0, ΔRMSEA = 0). Furthermore, the MABS showed good convergent and divergent validity as well as criterion-related validity. Conclusion The Chinese version of the MABS demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and appeared to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring anxiety in preschool children.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01463-1Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS)Anxiety disorderAnxiety behaviourPreschool childrenMeasurement invariance |
| spellingShingle | Wei Chen Xingrong Zhou Xingyu Yin Shouying Zhao A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children BMC Psychology Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) Anxiety disorder Anxiety behaviour Preschool children Measurement invariance |
| title | A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children |
| title_full | A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children |
| title_fullStr | A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children |
| title_full_unstemmed | A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children |
| title_short | A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children |
| title_sort | parent report measure of children s anxiety psychometric properties of the macquarie anxiety behavioural scale mabs in a chinese sample of preschool children |
| topic | Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) Anxiety disorder Anxiety behaviour Preschool children Measurement invariance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01463-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weichen aparentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT xingrongzhou aparentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT xingyuyin aparentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT shouyingzhao aparentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT weichen parentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT xingrongzhou parentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT xingyuyin parentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren AT shouyingzhao parentreportmeasureofchildrensanxietypsychometricpropertiesofthemacquarieanxietybehaviouralscalemabsinachinesesampleofpreschoolchildren |