Preliminary Properties of Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale (Parent Version)

The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale-ParentVersion (SAAS-P) (Hahn, Hajilian, Eisen, Winder, & Pincus, 2003) among 4-6 year old children. Three hundred and two preschool children selected by available sampling from sixteen kindergartens in district 1 of Tehran, Iran. The children’s mothers completed the SAAS-P and the Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) (Spence, Rapee, McDonald, & Ingram, 2001). The reliability of the scale was examined usingthe internal consistency estimation. All subscales of the SAAS-P displayed moderate to high internal consistency (0.62 to 0.74). In order to investigate the validity of the scale, factor analysis and concurrent validity were used. Concurrent validity of the scale was supported by high correlation with the Preschool Anxiety Scale. Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyse ssupported the four-factor model of the scale. The analyses of the psychometric properties suggested that the SAAS-P is a promising measure of separation anxiety that can be employed in clinical situations and to be used to screen children with separation anxiety.