(PS9-D78) The Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric and Parent-proxy Short Forms for Anxiety: Psychometric Properties in the Kids FACE FEARS Sample

Background: Anxiety disorders constitute one of the most common classes of psychological disorders affecting youth, with early onset predicting worse outcomes. Early and accurate assessment of youth anxiety is therefore critical. Despite progress in the development of valid and reliable assessments of youth anxiety, the majority of such supported assessments were not created with the constraints of typical care settings in mind. There is tremendous need for brief, non-commercial youth- and caregiver-report questionnaires of youth anxiety for use in clinical practice. The pediatric and parent proxy short forms of the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement System (PROMIS) Anxiety scale (8a v2.0) is a pair of free, brief, and publicly accessible measures of youth- and caregiver-reported anxiety in children and adolescents. Research to date has shown strong psychometric properties when the measure is used in medical and community samples. However, no study has examined psychometric properties of the pediatric and parent proxy short forms of the PROMIS Anxiety scale in a concentrated sample of youth with anxiety. We offer the first psychometric evaluation of the pediatric and parent proxy short forms of the PROMIS Anxiety scale in a sample of treatment-seeking youth with anxiety.

Methods: The present study leveraged data from the Kids FACE FEARS Trial – a multisite trial comparing the effectiveness of therapist-led vs. self-administered treatment for anxiety among youth presenting at pediatric health care settings. Families were recruited from four U.S. regions: Miami, Boston, Seattle, and Baltimore. Analyses were conducted on a subset of the first 265 families (mean age=11.14 years; 59.9% female) assessed at baseline.  

Results: On average, youth in the present sample scored roughly 1-1.5 SD above the general population PROMIS mean for youth anxiety. Factor structure: CFA of youth self-reports supported an adjusted one-factor model that accounted for associations between items 2 & 4 and items 3 & 6, and CFA in parent-reports supported an adjusted one-factor model that accounted for associations between items 1 & 3, items 2 & 6, and items 1 & 2. Global fit indices across both informants revealed good model fits, with CFI, RMSEA, and SRMR falling in the “good” ranges. Internal consistency: Pediatric and parent proxy short forms indicated good internal consistency, with no indication of redundancy across items or need to shorten the scale (pediatric α = 0.89; parent proxy α = 0.88). Convergent validity: Both pediatric and parent proxy short forms of the PROMIS Anxiety scale evidenced medium-to-large associations with the supported measures of youth anxiety-related impairment. Cross-informant reliability: Pediatric and parent proxy short forms showed a medium-sized correlation with one another (partial r = 0.48, p < .001).

Conclusion: Results showcase the first psychometric evaluation of the pediatric and parent proxy short form PROMIS Anxiety Scale among treatment-seeking youth with anxiety and highlight the measure’s supported utility within typical care settings for youth anxiety.