Empirical fear profiles among American youth.

Fears among children can range from relatively innocuous fears of simple objects to significant phobias that affect youths' everyday functioning in the home, school, or community environments. This study investigated empirically derived fear profiles among American youth ages 7-19 (N=556). Based upon youths' scores on the 5 factors of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II (FSSC-II; Burnham & Gullone (Behav Res Ther, 35, 1997)), multistage Euclidean grouping was applied and produced 5 replicable fear cluster profiles with unique contours. Logistic regression odds ratios revealed specific associations of profile group membership with demographic characteristics such as child age, sex, and ethnicity.

The Fear Survey Schedule for Children--II: a psychometric investigation with American data.

The Fear Survey Schedule for Children and Adolescents (FSSC-II) was introduced in 1992 as a revised and updated self-report fear scale by the Australian researchers Gullone and King. The present study examines the factor structure as well as age and gender differences using the FSSC-II with an American sample of youth. Two phases of data collection were completed. During phase I (the pilot study), an adapted American version of the FSCC-II was administered to 239 subjects. Following revisions of the adapted FSSC-II, phase II was completed. The second phase of the study involved a sample of 720 children and adolescents ranging from grades 2-12. Results were found to be very similar across the two countries. The FSSC-II factor structure with American youth was found to be almost identical to that reported for Australian youth. Eight of the 10 most common fears were the same across countries. Moreover, age and gender differences consistent with the Australian data were found with females and younger respondents reporting higher levels of fear.