A French Translation of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI): Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity of This Scale in a Nonclinical Sample of Children

C Stassart; A M Etienne

doi:10.5334/pb.an

Figures & Tables

Table 1

Overview of Factor Analyses of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI).

Authors	Sample	Instrument:	Factor Label and Items
		Number of Items and Language	I	II	III	IV
North American studies
Chorpita & Daleiden (2000)	Nonclinical N = 228 (7–17 years)	18 English	Autonomic Scale 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18	Non-Autonomic Scale 1, 2, 5, 12, 13, 17
Walsh, Stewart, McLaughlin, & Comeau (2004)	Nonclinical N = 1698 (mean age = 14.3 (2.8))	18 English	Physical Concerns 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18	Psychological Concerns 2, 12, 15	Social/Control Concerns 1, 5, 17
Wright et al. (2010)	Nonclinical N= 677 (7–17 years)	18 English	Physical Concerns 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18	Psychological Concerns 2, 12, 15	Social Concerns 1, 5, 17
Silverman, Ginsburg, & Goedhart (1999)	Nonclinical N = 249 (7–12 years)	18 English	Physical Concerns 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18	Mental Incapacity Concerns 2, 12, 13, 15	Concerns about Publicly Observable Symptoms 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17
			Physical Concerns 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18	Mental Incapacity Concerns 2, 12, 13, 15	Social Concerns 1, 17	Control 4, 5, 7, 8, 10
Lambert, Cooley, Campbell, Benoit, & Stansbury (2004)	Nonclinical N = 144 (8–11 years)	18 English	Physical Concerns 4, 6, 9, 10, 14	Mental Incapacity Concerns 2, 7, 13, 15, 18	4 uninterpretable factors 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 16, 17
Silverman, Goedhart, Barrett, & Turner (2003)	2 nonclinical N = 767 (7–15 years) N = 249 (7–12 years) Clinical N = 258 (7–16 years)	13 English	Disease Concerns 3, 6, 9, 11	Mental Illness Concerns 2, 12, 15	Social Concerns 1, 5, 17	Unsteady Concerns 4, 8, 10
Laurent, Schmidt, Catanzaro, Joiner, & Kelley (1998)	3 nonclinical N = 95 (9–15 years) N = 112 (9–14 years) N = 144 (11–15 years)	12 English	Fear of Physiological Arousal 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16	Fear of Mental Catastrophe 8, 10, 11
Deacon, Valentiner, Gutierrez, & Blacker (2002)	Nonclinical N = 308 (12–18 years)	12 English	Physical Concerns 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14	Mental Concerns 2, 12, 15, 16
European studies
Sandín, Chorot, Santed, & Valiente (2002)	Nonclinical N = 151 (9–11 years)	18 Spanish	Somatic Concerns 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18	Mental Concerns 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17
			Somatic Concerns 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18	Mental Concerns 2, 12, 13, 15, 16	Social/Control Concerns 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 17
Van Widenfelt, Siebelink, Goedhart, & Treffers (2002)	Nonclinical N = 544 (8–16 years)	18 Dutch	Physical Concerns 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18	Mental Concerns 2, 12, 13, 15	Publicly Observable Concerns 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17
Essau, Sasagawa, & Ollendick (2010)	Nonclinical N = 1292 (12–17 years)	18 German	Physical Concerns 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 18	Mental Concerns 2, 11, 12, 15, 16	Social/Control Concerns 1, 5, 17
Jokić-Begić, Jurin, & Lauri Korajlija (2012)	Nonclinical N = 1679 (10–17 years)	18 Croatian	Physical Concerns 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18	Psychological Concerns 2, 12, 15	Social Concerns 1, 5, 17
Muris, Schmidt, Merckelbach, & Schouten (2001)	Nonclinical N = 819 (13–16 years)	18 (two items not classified)	Fear of Physiological Arousal 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14	Fear of Mental Incapacity 2, 3, 12, 15, 16	Fear of Losing Control and Social Evaluation 1, 5, 7, 13
		Dutch	Fear of Physiological Arousal 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14	Fear of Mental Incapacity 2, 12, 15, 16	Fear of Social Evaluation 7, 13	Fear of Losing Control 1, 5
Fullana, Servera, Weems, Tortella-Feliu, & Caseras (2003)	Nonclinical N = 291 (mean age = 13.7 (1.6))	18 Catalan	Physical Concerns 3, 7, 8, 10, 11	Cognitive Symptoms 2, 12, 16	Social Concerns 1, 5, 17	2 uninterpretable factors 4, 13, 15, 6, 9, 14, 18
Adornetto et al. (2008)	4 nonclinical N = 1244, N = 225, N = 230, N = 143 (8–16 years)	13 German	Disease Concerns 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18	Mental Incapacity Concerns 2, 12, 13, 15	Social Concerns 1, 17	Unsteady Concerns 4, 5, 7, 8, 10

Table 2

Three-and-Four-Factor EFA of the French CASI.

	Three-Factor Model			Four-Factor Model
Items	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Factor 4
1. I don’t want other people to know when I feel afraid			.74			.71
2. When I cannot keep my mind on my schoolwork, I worry that I might be going crazy		.50			.47
3. It scares me when I feel “shaky”	.59			.50
4. It scares me when I feel like I am going to faint	.46						.62
5. It is important for me to stay in control of my feelings			.43			.44
6. It scares me when my heart beats fast	.65			.67
7. It embarrasses me when my stomach growls	.29			.28
8. It scares me when I feel like I am going to throw up		.55					.67
9. When I notice that my heart is beating fast, I worry that there might be something wrong with me	.64			.65
10. It scares me when I have trouble getting my breath	.54			.54
11. When my stomach hurts, I worry that there might be something wrong with me		.38					.65
12. It scares me when I can’t keep my mind on my schoolwork		.66			.72
13. Other kids can usually tell when I feel shaky		.22					.45
14. Unusual feelings in my body scare me	.74			.75
15. When I am afraid, I worry that I might be crazy.		.41			.52
16. It scares me when I feel nervous		.62			.61
17. I don’t like to let my feelings show			.81			.81
18. Funny feelings in my body scare me	.71			.65
Eigenvalue % Explained Variance	4.18 (23.20%)	1.61 (8.93%)	1.25 (6.97%)	4.18 (23.20%)	1.61 (8.93%)	1.25 (6.97%)	1.15 (6.41%)

[i] Note. n = 153. EFA = Exploratory Factor Analysis; CASI = Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index.

Table 3

Goodness-of-Fit Indices for the Five Models Tested.

Model	χ²	df	χ²/df	RMSEA	NFI	NNFI	CFI	ECVI	AIC
Model resulting from our EFA analysis with 18-item CASI
Three factors, one higher-order factor	636.82	132	4.82	.05	.93	.97	.98	1.39	276.24
Four factors, one higher-order factor	614.64	131	4.69	.04	.94	.98	.98	1.35	268.00
Silverman et al.’s (1999) model with 18-item CASI
Three factors, one higher-order factor	696.43	132	5.28	.06	.92	.96	.96	1.47	292.75
Four factors, one higher-order factor	653.59	131	4.99	.05	.93	.97	.97	.138	273.99
Silverman et al.’s (2003) model with 13-item CASI
Three factors, one higher-order factor	321.26	62	5.18	.06	.92	.95	.96	0.79	157.39
Four factors, one higher-order factor	319.32	61	5.23	.06	.92	.95	.96	0.80	158.88

[i] Note. n = 200. EFA = Exploratory Factor Analysis; RMSEA = Root Mean Square Error of Approximation; NFI = Normed Fit Index; NNFI = Non-Normed Fit Index; CFI = Comparative Fit Index; ECVI = Expected Cross Validation Index; AIC = Akaike Information Criterion; CASI = Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index.

figures/Fig01_web.png — Structural Model of French Version of Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (with Completely Standardized Loadings).

Table 4

Completely Standardized Factor Loadings of French CASI Items.

Items	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Factor 4
1			.74
2		.52
3	.51
4				.57
5			.63
6	.70
7	.31
8				.61
9	.61
10	.58
11				.59
12		.61
13				.20
14	.91
15		.74
16		.53
17			.85
18	.93
Loadings of factors on higher-order factor	.96	.72	.42	.78

[i] Note. n = 200. All factor loadings are significant at p < .05. CASI = Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index.

Table 5

Cronbach’s Alpha (α) and Means (Standard Deviations).

		Means (SD)
	α	Total (n = 200)		Boys (n = 95)		Girls (n = 105)
CASI
Total Score	.82	29.5	(5.7)	27.9	(5.2)	31.0	(5.7)
Physical Concerns	.77	10.9	(2.9)	10.1	(2.5)	11.7	(2.9)
Mental Incapacity Concerns	.54	5.7	(1.5)	5.4	(1.4)	5.9	(1.6)
Social Concerns	.69	6.0	(1.7)	5.9	(1.6)	6.2	(1.7)
Losing Control Concerns	.46	6.9	(1.7)	6.6	(1.7)	7.2	(1.6)

[i] Note. CASI= Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index.

Table 6

Mean (M), Standard Deviation (SD), and Item–Total Correlation (r_it) of the 18 Items.

Items				Item Difficulty	Frequency Distribution^*
	M	SD	r_it	p-value	1	2	3
1. I don’t want other people to know when I feel afraid	1.90	0.66	0.30	1.90	54	112	34
2. When I cannot keep my mind on my schoolwork, I worry that I might be going crazy	1.35	0.62	0.28	1.35	145	40	15
3. It scares me when I feel “shaky”	1.39	0.54	0.40	1.39	128	67	5
4. It scares me when I feel like I am going to faint	1.76	0.67	0.42	1.76	75	98	27
5. It is important for me to stay in control of my feelings	2.19	0.73	0.44	2.19	37	88	75
6. It scares me when my heart beats fast	1.31	0.51	0.52	1.31	144	51	5
7. It embarrasses me when my stomach growls	1.61	0.69	0.29	1.61	103	73	24
8. It scares me when I feel like I am going to throw up	1.99	0.72	0.39	1.99	52	98	50
9. When I notice that my heart is beating fast, I worry that there might be something wrong with me	1.46	0.62	0.46	1.46	122	64	14
10. It scares me when I have trouble getting my breath	1.82	0.72	0.47	1.82	74	89	37
11. When my stomach hurts, I worry that there might be something wrong with me	1.62	0.63	0.31	1.62	92	92	16
12. It scares me when I can’t keep my mind on my schoolwork	1.68	0.70	0.39	1.68	92	81	27
13. Other kids can usually tell when I feel shaky	1.58	0.67	0.20	1.58	105	75	20
14. Unusual feelings in my body scare me	1.71	0.65	0.64	1.71	80	98	22
15. When I am afraid, I worry that I might be crazy.	1.20	0.46	0.34	1.20	166	29	5
16. It scares me when I feel nervous	1.44	0.55	0.38	1.44	119	75	6
17. I don’t like to let my feelings show	1.94	0.72	0.35	1.94	58	96	46
18. Funny feelings in my body scare me	1.64	0.64	0.66	1.64	91	91	18

[i] Note. Italics indicate values of r_it of less than 0.30 and of item difficulty index above 1.96.

Table 7

Pearson Correlations and Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting Trait STAIC Score.

Predictor variables	R	R²	B	SE B	β	∆R²
Step 1		.02				.02
Age	–.02		–.13	.34	–.03
Sex	.15		1.78	.83	.15^*
Step 2		.17^***				.15^***
Age			–.28	.31	–.06
Sex			2.40	.77	.20^**
State STAIC	.36^**		.59	.10	.39^**
Step 3		.39^***				.22^***
Age			–.03	.27	–.01
Sex			.53	.70	.05
State STAIC			.38	.09	.26^***
CASI	.57^**		.52	.06	.50^***
Step 4		.40^***				.01
Age			.01	.28	–.001
Sex			.68	.71	.06
State STAIC			.38	.09	.26^***
CASI			.52	.06	.50^***
CASI^*sex			–.03	.13	–.02
CASI^*age			.07	.05	.08

[i] Note. N = 200. State STAIC = State Anxiety Inventory for Children, CASI = Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index.

^*p < .05. ^**p<.01. ^***p < .001.

01. Je ne veux pas que les autres sachent quand j’ai peur de quelque chose.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
02. Quand je ne suis pas capable de me concentrer sur mes devoirs, j’ai peur d’être en train de devenir fou.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
03. Ça me fait peur quand je sens que je tremble.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
04. Ça me fait peur quand j’ai l’impression que je vais m’évanouir.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
05. C’est important pour moi de contrôler mes émotions (ex. la peur, la colère, la joie, la tristesse).	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
06. Ça me fait peur quand mon cœur bat vite.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
07. Ça me dérange quand mon ventre se met à faire du bruit.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
08. Ça me fait peur quand j’ai l’impression que je vais vomir.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
09. Quand je remarque que mon cœur bat vite, j’ai peur que quelque chose n’aille pas bien à l’intérieur de moi.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
10. Ça me fait peur quand j’ai difficile à reprendre mon souffle.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
11. Quand j’ai mal au ventre, j’ai peur d’être vraiment malade.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
12. Ça me fait peur quand je ne suis pas capable de me concentrer sur mes devoirs.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
13. Les autres enfants peuvent remarquer quand je tremble.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
14. Les sensations inhabituelles dans mon corps me font peur (ex. quand tu as peur, tu peux avoir le cœur qui bat plus vite, ou mal au ventre, …).	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
15. Quand je suis effrayé, j’ai peur d’être en train de devenir fou.	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
16. Ça me fait peur quand je me sens nerveux (se).	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
17. Je n’aime pas montrer mes émotions (ex. la peur, la colère, la joie, la tristesse).	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___
18. Les drôles de sensations dans mon corps me font peur (ex. quand tu as peur, tu peux avoir le cœur qui bat plus vite, ou mal au ventre, …).	pas du tout ___	un peu ___	beaucoup ___