Validation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale's obsessive compulsive subscale in a clinical and community sample

This study describes the validation of the obsessive compulsive subscale on the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS OCD) for use as a clinical assessment tool. Data from 196 anxious children (102 males, ages 7–18) and their parent collected during a diagnostic assessment were compared to data from 420 children (206 males, ages 8–13) from the community collected by mail. The validity of the SCAS OCD parent- and child-report forms were supported by correlations with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and continuous OCD symptom variables from the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule: Child Version. In addition, children with OCD were found to have higher scores on the SCAS OCD subscale than patients without OCD and children from the community without a reported anxiety diagnosis. The sensitivity of the SCAS OCD to treatment effects was also demonstrated in a subset of the clinical sample that received exposure and response prevention therapy. Finally, cut-scores were identified that examine the sensitivity and predictive utility of the scales.

► We examined the validity of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale's OCD subscale. ► The SCAS OCD correlated with interview-based measures of OCD. ► Scores were elevated in patients with OCD and decreased with treatment. ► Cut-scores were identified to maximize sensitivity and positive predictive power. ► The results support the use of evidence-based, multi-informant assessment.