Further Psychometric Evaluation of the Child Disgust Scale

• Published in: Child psychiatry and human development 2017-02, Vol.48 (1), p.32-39
• Main Authors: Nadeau, Joshua M., De Nadai, Alessandro S., Viar-Paxton, Megan, Olatunji, Bunmi O., Jacobi, David M., Eken, Stephanie C., Kay, Brian, Riemann, Bradley C., Storch, Eric A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Anxiety; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - etiology; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety Disorders - therapy; Avoidance behavior; Behavior Observation Techniques - methods; Behavior Rating Scale; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child; Child and School Psychology; Children; Compulsive Behavior - diagnosis; Confirmatory factor analysis; Defense mechanisms; Departments; Disgust; Displays; Emotions; Factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Factor Structure; Fear; Female; Humans; Individual Differences; Male; Obsessive Behavior - diagnosis; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - etiology; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - therapy; Original Article; Participant Characteristics; Personality Traits; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Psychiatry; Psychological Characteristics; Psychology; Psychometrics; Psychometrics - methods; Psychopathology; Quantitative psychology; Reproducibility of Results; Residential treatment; Residential Treatment - methods; Resistance (Psychology); Stimuli; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Validity; Youth
• ISSN: 0009-398X; 1573-3327
• DOI: 10.1007/s10578-016-0650-7

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Child Disgust Scale (CDS) among 457 youth (ages 8–17, M = 14.77 ± 1.98 years) initiating residential treatment for obsessive–compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a bifactor model with two distinct factors of Disgust Avoidance and Disgust Affect, in addition to an overall General Disgust factor. Strong internal consistency was observed for the CDS total and factor scores. In addition, CDS scores demonstrated generally modest and positive correlations with child-reported obsessive–compulsive and anxiety symptoms, weaker correlations with parent-reported anxiety and child-rated impairment, and non-significant correlations with parent-rated impairment. Findings suggest that the CDS displays strong psychometric properties and is developmentally appropriate for use in pediatric clinical populations with obsessive–compulsive and anxiety disorders.