Initial development and validation of the School Anxiety Inventory–College Version (SAI‐CV)

To develop the School Anxiety Inventory–College Version (SAI‐CV)—a measure of school anxiety specifically tailored for college students—and provide initial reliability and validity evidence. College undergraduates (N = 1004) from a large Midwestern University. Participants completed the SAI‐CV as well as measures of test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and college self‐efficacy. SAI‐CV total and subscale scores indicated excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = .94–.97). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three‐factor model for each domain: school situations (academic failure, social evaluation, peer aggression) and anxiety symptoms (cognitive, behavioral, physiological). The SAI‐CV also exhibited strong evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Findings support strong initial psychometric evidence of the SAI‐CV. Given that school anxiety is a prevalent and debilitating health concern among college students, future efforts should establish the clinical utility of the SAI‐CV and development of targeted interventions. Practitioner points 1. The School Anxiety Inventory–College Version (SAI‐CV) demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability. 2. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a three‐factor model for each domain. 3. The SAI‐CV exhibited strong evidence of convergent and discriminant validity.