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Psychometric Properties of Farsi Version of the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2016

Ehsan Abdekhodaie*
Affiliation:
University of Tehran (Iran)
Mohammad Arghabaei
Affiliation:
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Iran)
Hadi Bahrami Ehsan*
Affiliation:
University of Tehran (Iran)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ehsan Abdekhodaie. Faculty of Psychology and Education. University of Tehran. Jalal Al-e-Ahmad Ave. Tehran (Iran). P.O. Box 11455/6456. Phone: +98–9151191332. E-mail: abdekhodaie@ut.ac.ir

Abstract

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children (Ollendick, 1983), namely the FSSC-FA, in a sample of Iranian children and adolescents (N = 394, 206 girls) aged 9–11:11 years. The internal consistency coefficient was found to range from .79 to .96 for total and subscale scores. The authors used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to determine the factor structure of the FSSC-FA. The results showed that a 71-item, six-factor model provided a satisfactory fit for the structure of the FSSC-FA (RMSEA = .07, 90% CIs [.068, .072], CFI = .94, NNFI = .94, χ2/df = 2.94). With regard to gender and age differences in fears of the present sample, girls typically reported more fears than boys (Cohen’s d = .28, 95% CIs [.08, .48], p < .001), but differences between older and younger participants were modest. The study also reported most common fears in the sample which were very similar to those reported by other studies except one item being specific to the Iranian population. Bearing in mind the limitations discussed, the results generally show that the FSSC-FA scores are valid and reliable to assess fears in Iranian youth.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2016 

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