The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC): Psychometric Properties and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a Sample of Portuguese Adolescents

A psychometric analysis of a Portuguese version of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) was undertaken in a school-based sample of 2041 Portuguese adolescents aged 12-18 years. A confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original four-factor structure (March, Parker, Sullivan, Stallings, & Conners, 1997). Therefore a confirmatory factor analysis with a 3rd order model was conducted (with subfactors, factors, and total score) revealing better adjustment indexes. The difference between models was also significant. After a multigroup analysis, this structure revealed to be invariant across gender, but only configural and metric invariance was found across age groups. The convergent and divergent validity of the MASC was confirmed using measures of anxiety, depression, and general well-being. A moderate to high temporal stability, in a three-week interval, was obtained. This study confirmed that the Portuguese edition of the MASC is a reliable and useful self-report instrument to assess anxiety in adolescents.