Anxiety Rating for Children — Revised: Reliability and validity

• Published in: Journal of anxiety disorders 1996-03, Vol.10 (2), p.97-114
• Main Authors: Bernstein, Gail A., Crosby, Ross D., Perwien, Amy R., Borchardt, Carrie M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Medical sciences; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Techniques and methods
• ISSN: 0887-6185; 1873-7897
• DOI: 10.1016/0887-6185(95)00039-9

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.