Extending the psychometric properties of the Arabic RCMAS in Jordanian children aged 7–16: Considering gender and age invariances

Abstract

Background

There are diverse gender and age-based differences in levels of anxiety between boys and girls. Establishing the validity of such assessments entails inquiry on the construct validity and measurement invariance of tools. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) to assess its suitability for measuring child anxiety and its equivalence across genders and ages. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed to examine the generalizability of the measure's structure. The study was conducted between November 2021 and January 2022. A sample of 178 children (86 boys and 92 girls), aged 7–16 years, completed the Arabic version of the RCMAS. The children were recruited from six primary and middle-secondary schools in Amman, Jordan. The response rate was 98%, with 2% missing data, which were handled using listwise deletion method. Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) were utilized to assess the measure's reliability. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were evaluated using Average Variance Extracted (AVE). To assess measurement invariance across groups, a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted. Results: The approximate measurement invariance was achieved between boys (48%) and girls (51.7%) and between younger (53.4%) and older children (46.6%). The confirmatory factor analysis provided acceptable fit indices for a 4-factor structure (physical, worry, concentration, and lie factors), yet the reliability of the RCMAS was marginal, and the discriminant validity was partially supported for the full scale and its sub-scales. Conclusions: Results represent a first step for extending and confirming the reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the scale for use among children and adolescents in Jordan. More studies are needed to replicate our findings on larger sample and to provide additional evidence of the factor structure of the RCMAS.