Validation of a clinically useful measure of children's state anxiety before medical procedures

Abstract

Purpose: Assessment of children's anxiety in busy clinic settings is an important step in developing tailored interventions. This article describes the construct validation of the Children's Anxiety Meter-State (CAM-S), a brief measure of state anxiety. Design and Methods: Existing data were used to investigate the associations between child self-reports of anxiety, parent reports of child anxiety, and observed child distress during an intravenous procedure. Results: Children's (n = 421) CAM-S scores were significantly associated with all parent measures and observed distress ratings. Practice Implications: Findings support the use of the CAM-S for assessment of child anxiety in clinical settings. © 2013, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.