Cross-ethnic measurement equivalence of the SCARED in an outpatient sample of African American and non-Hispanic White youths and parents

Abstract

The present study evaluated the measurement equivalence of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in a clinical sample of non-Hispanic White (NHW) and African American (AA) youths and parents. In addition, we explored the concurrent criterion validity of parent report on the SCARED to a parent diagnostic interview. Cross-ethnic measurement equivalence was examined in both youth self-report (ages 11-18; N = 374) and parent report (youth ages 5-18; N = 808) using multiple group analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the SCARED parent report were also examined. The original five-factor structure of the SCARED was replicated using confirmatory factor analysis for both groups using parent and youth report, although factor loadings were not equivalent across groups. Sensitivity and specificity of the SCARED-P clinical cutoff score (Total ≥25) to anxiety diagnoses were acceptable in both ethnic groups. Although evidence for the cross-ethnic equivalence of SCARED was limited, results suggest a similar structure of anxiety symptoms across NHW and AA youths while demonstrating sensitivity in symptom-level differences in anxiety expression. Overall, results provide preliminary evidence for the SCARED as an acceptable screening tool for anxiety symptoms in NHW and AA youths.