Confirmatory factor analysis of the childhood anxiety sensitivity index: A gender comparison

Kristi D. Wright; Gordon J.G. Asmundson; Donald R. McCreary; Sherry H. Stewart; Elizabeth McLaughlin; M. Nancy Comeau; Trudi M. Walsh

doi:10.1080/16506073.2010.486840

Confirmatory factor analysis of the childhood anxiety sensitivity index: A gender comparison

Kristi D. Wright, Gordon J.G. Asmundson, Donald R. McCreary, Sherry H. Stewart, Elizabeth McLaughlin, M. Nancy Comeau, Trudi M. Walsh

Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) is an 18-item self-report tool designed to measure the construct of anxiety sensitivity (i.e. the belief that anxiety may have harmful consequences such as sickness, embarrassment, or loss of control) in children and adolescents. Previous factor analytic examinations of the CASI have produced varied results. Gender may play a role in this observed variability. In an effort to confirm the factor structure of the measure across gender, CASI items for 671 children and adolescents were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that for boys two-, three-, and four-factor structures provided a relatively good fit to the data, with the three-factor structure emerging as having the best fit overall. In contrast, for girls only the three-factor structure fitted the data well. Direct comparison of fit of the three-factor model across gender provided evidence to support the notion that childhood anxiety sensitivity is similar in structure across gender.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	225-235
Number of pages	11
Journal	Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Volume	39
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2010.486840
Publication status	Published - 2010

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This project was completed by Kristi D. Wright under the supervision of Gordon J. G. Asmundson, Donald R. McCreary, and Sherry H. Stewart, in partial completion of her comprehensive requirement for the PhD degree at Dalhousie University. This research was supported in part by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The second author is supported through a CIHR Investigator Award and the fourth author through a Killam Research Professorship from the Dalhousie University Faculty of Science. The authors wish to thank Susan Button, Brent Conrad, Pamela Loba, Grant MacLeod, Paula MacPherson, Meredith McLaughlin, Heather Lee Loughlin, Ellen Rhyno, Kathy Silver, and Jennifer Komar for their assistance with data collection and data entry. This study would not have been possible without the cooperation of the principals, teachers, parents, and students of the participating schools.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Clinical Psychology

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Comparative Study
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Validation Study

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10.1080/16506073.2010.486840

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abstract = "The Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) is an 18-item self-report tool designed to measure the construct of anxiety sensitivity (i.e. the belief that anxiety may have harmful consequences such as sickness, embarrassment, or loss of control) in children and adolescents. Previous factor analytic examinations of the CASI have produced varied results. Gender may play a role in this observed variability. In an effort to confirm the factor structure of the measure across gender, CASI items for 671 children and adolescents were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that for boys two-, three-, and four-factor structures provided a relatively good fit to the data, with the three-factor structure emerging as having the best fit overall. In contrast, for girls only the three-factor structure fitted the data well. Direct comparison of fit of the three-factor model across gender provided evidence to support the notion that childhood anxiety sensitivity is similar in structure across gender.",

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Confirmatory factor analysis of the childhood anxiety sensitivity index: A gender comparison

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

PubMed: MeSH publication types

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