Test-retest reliability of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale

Test-retest reliabilities of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale over 1- and 5-wk. intervals were examined for two samples of students, 73 boys and 88 girls in regular sixth, seventh and eighth grade classrooms (11 yr. to 14 yr.). For raw scores the test-retest Pearson r was .88 (1-wk.) and .77 (5-wk.), indicating good reliability. For both samples there was a small difference between test (12.2 for 1-wk. sample; 11.4 for 5-wk. sample) and retest (11.2 for 1-wk. sample; 9.8 for 5-wk. sample) mean raw scores. Implications for test use are discussed.     

Reliability and validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale in a French-Canadian sample

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a French version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). A sample of 2,666 school-age French-Canadian children completed the questionnaire. With regard to factor structure, the 5-factor model found in U.S. normative samples was confirmed. The internal consistency of the 5 scales and of the 2 global scales was good to excellent. Test-retest reliabilities after a 6-month period were also similar to those of the original version. Finally, the concurrent validity, assessed by a correlation with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, was also found to be good. Results of the present study show that the French version of the RCMAS is a good instrument to assess anxiety in children.     

Factor structure of a Bulgarian translation of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale

The study examined the dimensionality of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale with a sample of 486 10- and 11-yr.-old Bulgarian children. Findings supported the established factor structure of this scale. Certain departures from the American version of the scale were also observed. Bulgarian girls scored significantly higher on the Anxiety scale than Bulgarian boys, and 10-yr.-old Bulgarian boys scored significantly lower than their American peers. Bulgarian children tended to score higher than the American children on the Lie scale. At present this Bulgarian version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale could be employed as a rough screening test for anxiety.     

Factor Structure of a Spanish Version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale in Uruguay

The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) was translated into Spanish and administered to 1,423 pupils in Grades 1 thru 12 in Uruguay. An orthogonal varimax rotation was performed, which revealed three factors of anxiety. These factors are quite similar to those found through factor analyses in the RCMAS for American children. A discussion of the factor structure and possible use of this instrument in Latin American countries is presented.     

Factor structure of a Spanish version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale in Uruguay

The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) was translated into Spanish and administered to 1,423 pupils in Grades 1 thru 12 in Uruguay. An orthogonal varimax rotation was performed, which revealed three factors of anxiety. These factors are quite similar to those found through factor analyses in the RCMAS for American children. A discussion of the factor structure and possible use of this instrument in Latin American countries is presented.     

Joint factor analysis of the Children's Depression Inventory and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale.

Used a joint factor analysis with the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1980/81, 1992) and Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS; C. R. Reynolds & Richmond, 1978, 1985) to identify items that uniquely measured depression and anxiety. Data from 750 youngsters in Grades 4 through 7 were analyzed using principal-axis factoring with an oblique rotation. Salient factors were identified using guidelines provide by Gorsuch (1997). Item overlap and the large negative affectivity component across instruments were evident. Items that overlapped or had nonsalient loadings were eliminated. The sample was randomly split into 2 groups of 375 and analyses were repeated. Results indicated that a unique 9-item depression factor composed largely of items representing a negative view of oneself existed. In addition, a unique 7-item anxiety factor emerged that consisted of items reflecting worry. The validity of these abbreviated scales was explored using a separate sample of 131 students in Grades 4 through 9. The abbreviated scales were correlated with scales of positive and negative affect consistent with predictions. Findings suggest exploring alternative scoring strategies for the CDI and RCMAS to eliminate problems associated with overlapping items.     

What I Think and Feel: A Revised Measure of Children's Manifest Anxiety

The 1956 adaptation for children of Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale, the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, was revised to meet current psychometric standards. A 73-item revision draft was administered to 329 school children from grades 1 to 12. Based on item-analysis criteria for r _bis .4 and .30 p .70, 28 anxiety items were retained along with 9 of the original 11 Lie scale items. A cross-validation sample of 167 children from grades 2, 5, 9, 10, and 11 produced a KR₂₀ reliability estimate of .85. Anxiety scores did not differ across grade or race. Females scored significantly higher than males. For the Lie scale, significant differences appeared by grade and race. No sex differences were obtained on the Lie scale. The resulting scale appears useful for children in grades 1 to 12 and may aid in future studies of anxiety as well as assisting the clinician in the understanding of individual children.     

少数民族初中学生压力源调查

本调查采用中学生应激源量表,对广西某地区的363名少数民族初中学生进行压力源调查。结果表明少数民族初中学生的主要压力源是学习、家庭环境和社会文化等方面的问题,其中,家庭经济困难和令人讨厌的社会文化风俗与少数民族中学生的焦虑抑郁情绪密切相关。在心理健康教育中,我们应关注少数民族中学生的学习压力,还要设法减轻他们的家庭环境和社会文化压力。     

Social Anxiety Disorder and Social Support Behavior in Friendships

Relationship quality is a strong predictor of health outcomes, and individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) report increased interpersonal impairment. However, there are few studies testing the effect of SAD on friendships and it is thus unclear whether there are behavioral differences that distinguish friendships in which a target individual has SAD from friendships in which the target individual does not have SAD. We tested for differences in the provision and receipt of support behaviors as a function of having a SAD diagnosis and accounting for comorbid depressive symptoms. Participants with SAD (n = 90) and their friends engaged in support conversations that were coded using the Social Support Interaction Coding System. Structural equation modeling revealed some differences between participants and friends when accounting for depression. Specifically, friends of participants with SAD and comorbid depression engaged in fewer positive helper behaviors than the friends of participants who did not have SAD or comorbid depression. Additionally, dyads in which the primary participant had SAD engaged in more off-task behaviors. Results suggest that SAD does not result in global interpersonal impairment, but that receipt of positive support behaviors from friends may differ as a function of SAD and comorbid depression. Interpersonal interventions aimed at increasing adaptive friendships and aspects of CBT that target subtle avoidance (e.g., safety behaviors) may be useful in facilitating more satisfactory relationships for these individuals.     

儿童面对不同对象的欺骗表现及其相关的社会性特点

为进一步探讨儿童欺骗行为的表现及其影响因素,在研究一中,分别引入陌生的成年女性、成年男性、同龄女孩、同龄男孩等四种游戏对手,探讨159名幼儿园大班的儿童在面对不同对象的情况下外显欺骗行为是否发生变化？结果表明,被试性别、对手年龄和对手性别三因素之间交互作用显著,儿童更倾向于欺骗成年女性以及和自己性别不同的同伴。研究二采用儿童社会化量表进一步考察儿童欺骗行为和其它社会性特点的关联。结果表明隐蔽的动作欺骗和意志维度显著相关,外显的动作欺骗和好胜心维度显著相关,说谎和自我概念维度显著相关     

Serial Fluctuations in Exercise Behavior as a Function of Social Support and Efficacy Cognitions1

The present study investigated the role of social support provisions and efficacy cognitions in adherence to a prescribed exercise regimen. A generalized estimating equations approach was employed to estimate regression coefficients via an iterative weighted least squares algorithm. Findings indicated that when employed as time-varying covariates, the social provisions of reassurance of worth, attachment, and, to a lesser extent, guidance were significantly associated with intraindividual fluctuations in program adherence. Specifically, individuals with a greater sense of self-worth were more likely to adhere throughout the program, whereas the effects of subject's perceptions of greater attachment, although generally related to sustained adherence, fluctuated over time. Findings also suggest that individuals perceiving higher levels of guidance were less likely to adhere during the early and concluding stages of the exercise program. Although synchronous covariation existed between efficacy cognitions and attendance, self-efficacy was not predictive of intraindividual change in attendance over time. Results are discussed in regard to the importance of self-referent processes and social provisions in exercise adherence, and the utility of the proposed generalized estimating equations approach to the analysis of longitudinal data.     

Science Anxiety as a Function of Gender and Experience

This study examined the influence of gender and various background factors on science anxiety. Students (50 women, 37 men) took the Science Anxiety Scale (Mallow, 1994), provided information about high school and college academic accomplishments, described gender-role stereotyping in the home, and evaluated their science teachers and science experiences. Most participants were Caucasian and from an upper-middle class background. Women were not uniformly more science anxious and had a relatively similar science background to men, although they had higher science grades in high school and did report less stringent sex-role socialization in the home. However, students with high science anxiety took fewer science courses in college, had lower SAT-Q scores, and reported that their high school science teachers were not helpful. The findings regarding gender- and anxiety-linked differences are discussed in terms of women's and men's differential interpretations of their abilities, the influence of parental gender typing on pursuit of science, and the gender-appropriateness of studying science.     

Discrepant Achievement in College as a Function of Anxiety and Repression

An entering freshman class was divided into 9 subgroups based on conjoint anxiety and repression scores (high, medium, and low) after being dichotomized by sex. Predictions of first-semester achievement (GPA) were based on SAT verbal and mathematical scores. A discrepancy score was calculated for each student by relating predicted to actual achievement. Repression (Welsh R) was found to be significantly and positively related to achievement for males. A moderate level of anxiety (Welsh A) was observed to be related to achievement for female students.     

Disruption in Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer as a Function of Depression and Anxiety

The Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm examines probabilistic and reinforcement learning. Disruptions in mechanisms that mediate PIT (i.e., cues not triggering adaptive behaviors) are thought to be contributors to psychopathology, making the study of probabilistic and reinforcement learning clinically relevant. The current study evaluated an appetitive PIT effect and its relationship with symptom dimensions spanning depression and anxiety, with a particular focus on anhedonia. Forty young adults ranging in scores across dimensions of depression and anxiety symptoms completed the PIT paradigm and self-report symptom measures. The PIT paradigm consisted of three phases. The instrumental phase consisted of a contingent association in which participants squeezed a handgrip for monetary reward. The Pavlovian phase established a purely predictive association between three visual stimuli (CS?+?, CS-, baseline) and presence or absence of monetary reward. In the transfer phase, participants’ responses allowed for examination of whether motivational characteristics of Pavlovian predictors influenced the vigor of their handgrip squeezes (instrumental action), which were formerly independent of Pavlovian associations. Analyses revealed a baseline-reward PIT effect, whereby a reward-associated Pavlovian cue enhanced instrumental responding in the transfer phase. However, there were no significant differences between CS?+?and CS- or CS- and baseline cues, suggesting a disrupted interaction of Pavlovian and instrumental learning. Further, the appetitive PIT effect captured in this paradigm was not associated with anhedonia, fears, or general distress. Future work should investigate the influence of mood states using more specific appetitive PIT paradigms to further understanding of the implications of disrupted reflexive and instrumental responding.

     

焦虑对社会决策行为的影响

焦虑是在人类日常生活中常见的一种负性情绪。探讨焦虑情绪在个人生活和工作中扮演的角色, 是生理学界和心理学界的一项重要课题。过往研究显示焦虑水平的提高会对社会能力和社交技巧造成显著的影响。在社会决策领域中, 这种影响的具体表现是高焦虑者比低焦虑者更倾向于采取回避风险的策略。但是, 过往研究主要关心包含经济因素的社会决策, 而对其他类型的社会行为的探索存在不足。以下问题值得未来研究者们关注：在个体层面上, 高焦虑者是否会更容易受到外界信息的影响, 表现出更强的从众行为和权威依从倾向, 与他人进行社会比较或社会竞争的动机是否会被削弱？在群体层面上, 高焦虑者是否更容易表现出人际信任, 以及是否会表现出更强的服从集体倾向？考察这些问题将会为针对焦虑情绪的认知研究和临床研究起到促进作用。     

Marital Quality, Family Patterns, and Children's Fears and Social Anxiety

This study examined relationships among marital quality, family patterns, and children's fears, and social anxiety. Two types of family patterns were studied, adaptability and cohesion. Mothers of children aged 5–6, drawn from kindergartens in northern Israel, completed Hebrew versions of the ENRICH scale (abridged, for marital quality), FACES-III (adaptability and cohesion), the FSSC-R (fears), and the SASC-R (social anxiety). Family cohesion was negatively correlated with marital quality and positively correlated with children's social anxiety. Marital quality and family adaptability were inversely related to specific children's fears. Children's social anxiety was highly correlated with specific fears. These findings suggest that children from rigid, fused families or low quality marriages may be at risk for high levels of fears and social anxiety.     

Factor structure and construct validity of "what I think and feel": The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale.

Responses to the Revised-CMAS of 329 children from grades 1 through 12 were factor analyzed. Consistent with current multidimensional theories of anxiety, three primary anxiety factors emerged, supporting the construct validity of the new scale. Implications for interpretation of the revised scale are discussed.     

数学焦虑影响儿童的数量表征:认知抑制的调节作用

为了考察数学焦虑对儿童数量表征表现的可能影响及认知抑制的潜在调节作用,选取70名小学三年级儿童（高焦虑组36人,低焦虑组34人）为被试,在对抑制条件进行操控的情况下,要求其完成符号、非符号数量表征任务。结果发现,被试在两种数量表征任务中均出现距离效应,与符号数量比较任务相比,高焦虑组在非符号数量比较任务中的正确率显著低于低焦虑组,且高焦虑组表现出了更强的距离效应。鉴于非符号数量比较任务更能反映出个体近似数量系统（ANS）的敏锐性,上述结果意味着高数学焦虑儿童的数量表征更不精确,其在相对复杂问题上较差的表现或许源于基本数量能力缺陷。本研究还发现认知抑制能够调节数学焦虑对个体非符号数量表征的影响,抑制条件下高低焦虑组儿童在正确率指标上的差异大于非抑制条件,抑制条件的设置提高了个体对工作记忆资源的需求,此时焦虑情绪对认知资源的消耗会造成任务所需资源的不足,进而削弱高焦虑个体的认知效用。