The Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-HI): Ethnocultural Variations in Children’s Fearfulness

A revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children was used to examine the structure and developmental pattern of fearfulness in an ethnoculturally diverse sample of 385 Hawaii schoolchildren aged 7 to 16 years. The instrument’s psychometric properties compared favorably with previous versions of the FSSC, and a 7-factor solution provided the best conceptual fit for the data. Six factors were similar to those described in previous versions of the FSSC, whereas the seventh was unique, reflecting children’s social conformity fears. Between-group comparisons revealed significantly less fearfulness in children of Caucasian than of Asian, Filipino, and Hawaiian ethnocultural backgrounds. Gender and age differences were similar to previous reports in finding greater fearfulness in girls than boys, and in younger than older children on most factors. Results corroborate previous reports concerning gender and age trajectories of fearfulness and indicate that culture may mediate the expression of fears in culturally diverse populations.