Psychometric properties of the child anxiety life interference scale - Preschool version

•The CALIS-PV assesses anxiety-related life interference among preschoolers.•Confirmatory factor analysis supports a three-factor structure: At Home, Outside Home, Parent Life.•Factors show good internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity.•Factor scores distinguish preschoolers with and without an anxiety diagnosis.•The CALIS-PV can augment assessments of treatment needs and outcomes for anxious preschoolers.

Despite growing recognition of childhood anxiety as a common and often debilitating clinical concern, we have limited knowledge of the particular ways in which anxiety interferes with daily life for young children who have not yet entered formal schooling. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale - Preschool Version (CALIS-PV). The CALIS-PV is a brief (18 item) parent-report measure of the impacts of a young child's anxiety on their own life and that of her or his parent. Participants were 784 parents of a child aged 3-7 years, who completed the CALIS-PV as a part of the follow-up assessment battery for two anxiety prevention trials targeted at preschool children with temperamental inhibition. Confirmatory factor analysis supported three CALIS-PV factors reflecting anxiety-related life interference at home, outside home and on parent life. The three factors showed good internal consistency and good convergent and divergent validity, and successfully differentiated children with and without an anxiety diagnosis. Findings provide initial support for the CALIS-PV as a reliable and valid measure of the daily life impacts of childhood anxiety for preschool-aged children and their parents.