Fears and Worries at Nighttime in Young Children: Development and Psychometric Validation of a New Parent-Report Measure (FAWN-YC)

Fears and Worries at Nighttime in Young Children: Development and Psychometric Validation of a New Parent-Report Measure (FAWN-YC) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Fears and Worries at Nighttime in Young Children: Development and Psychometric Validation of a New Parent-Report Measure (FAWN-YC) Amy Shiels, Laura Uhlmann, Lara J. Farrell, Erinn Munro-Lee, Caroline L. Donovan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4638924/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Child Psychiatry & Human Development → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper outlines the development and psychometric evaluation of the Fears and Worries at Nighttime - Young Children (FAWN-YC) scale; a parent-rated measure for children aged 3–5 years. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA; N = 436) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 383), resulted in a final 17 items that loaded onto 3 factors: Nighttime Fears (8 items, α = .92), Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference (5 items, α = .90), and Dark Fear (4 items, α = .88). Evidence of convergent validity was found through strong associations between the total score and subscales of the FAWN-YC with measures of child anxiety, fear, sleep, externalizing and conduct problems. Furthermore, there was support for divergent validity (through a very weak to no relationship with a measure of prosocial behaviours), and evidence for temporal stability was also established with 2-week test-retest reliability. Overall, the results provide strong preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the FAWN-YC total score and subscales. Preschoolers Nighttime Fears Dark Measure Child Introduction Nighttime fears are a heterogenous group of fears that include separation fears, personal safety fears, imagination-based fears, and darkness fears (Gordon et al., 2007 ; Mooney, 1985 ; Mooney et al., 1985 ; Muris et al., 2001 ). Nighttime fears are particularly prevalent in young children and are often considered developmentally normal, with almost 60% of 4- to 6-year-olds experiencing difficulties with fear at night (Muris et al., 2001 ). Although nighttime fears are transient for many children, approximately 10 to 30% experience fear at night that is severe, persistent, interferes substantially with sleep, and requires significant family accommodation (Kushida, 2023 ; Meltzer & Crabtree, 2015 ; Muris et al., 2001 ; Wolfson & Montgomery-Downs, 2013 ). Indeed, severe night-time fears are impairing, reaching diagnostic thresholds for an anxiety disorder (i.e., specific phobia and / or separation anxiety), and / or a sleep disorder (most commonly Behavioural Insomnia of Childhood; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2022, American Academy of Sleep Medicine [AASM], 2023). Anxiety and behavioural sleep disorders in the preschool developmental period can lead to numerous problematic consequences in both the short- and long-term. Anxiety in the preschool years frequently endures into later childhood and beyond, and predicts lower school engagement, poorer peer relations and functional impairment during the school-age years, as well as sleep difficulties and psychopathology into adulthood (Fehr et al., 2020 ; Fisak & Barrett, 2019 ; Muris et al., 2001 ). Similarly, behavioural sleep problems in the preschool period have been shown to persist into adolescence if untreated, with numerous deleterious social, emotional and educational consequences (Ding et al., 2023 ; Falch-Madsen et al., 2020 ; Guerlich et al., 2024 ; Liu et al., 2024 ; Petit et al., 2023 ; Williams et al., 2023 ; Williamson et al., 2020 ) Nighttime fears have recently gained renewed attention in the paediatric sleep literature as an important contributor to behavioural insomnia symptoms during the preschool developmental period (Fehr et al., 2020 ; Lewis et al., 2021 ). In a recently published 25-year review of nighttime fears in children, Lewis and colleagues ( 2021 ) analysed studies employing behavioural, and cognitive-behavioural interventions. It was concluded that treating nighttime fears resulted not only in significant reductions in nighttime fears and dark phobias, but also significantly improved sleep and reduced general fears, anxiety, internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems in children aged 3–12 years. Thus, for many young children, nighttime fears are at the root of difficulties with sleep and problems at bedtime. Given the high prevalence and deleterious consequences associated with nighttime fears, it is crucial that we comprehensively understand them and have a measure to screen for them early in life. Nighttime fears vary both in terms of their focus and the behavioural difficulties resulting from them. With respect to focus, some children experience one specific fear, while others experience multiple fears, with nighttime fears generally clustering into presentations of separation fears (being away from parents), darkness-related fears (sounds, shadows), personal safety fears (being harmed by an intruder) and fears of the imagination (e.g., ghosts; Gordon et al., 2007 ; Mooney, 1985 ; Mooney et al., 1985 ; Muris et al., 2001 ). With respect to behavioural difficulties manifesting as a result of nighttime fears, children may demonstrate resistance and refusal to participate in activities leading up to bedtime, they may cry and call out at bedtime or be unable to stay in a darkened bedroom or leave their room (Bruni & Angriman, 2017 ; Cortesi et al., 2008 ; El Rafihi-Ferreira et al., 2019 ; Honaker & Meltzer, 2014 ; Kushnir & Sadeh, 2012 ). In order to effectively treat night-time fears, clinicians must consider both the type of night-time fear and the behavioural outcomes they produce. For example, a child who cries and calls out because they are afraid of the dark and therefore cannot fall asleep in a darkened bedroom, will require a specific intervention. The treatment plan would include an exposure hierarchy which gradually exposes the child to being comfortable in the dark. This intervention would also include parenting strategies such as parent-mediated child relaxation skills, and effective praise. Alternatively, a young child who tantrums and refuses to take part in the bedtime routine because they are worried about being separated from their family at bedtime will require an alternative intervention. This treatment plan would likely begin with parenting strategies such as behaviour management skills (i.e., as a bedtime routine reward chart, effective praise, how to negotiate with a young child, etc) followed by an exposure hierarchy focused on gradually separating from their caregiver at night (Meltzer & Crabtree, 2015 ). A comprehensive measure of nighttime fears and the behavioural outcomes they lead to, may assist in the development of an individual case formulation and evidence-based treatment plan. However, to date, such a measure has not been developed. Existing Measures of Night-time Fears in Young Children Despite night-time fears being an important factor in the development and maintenance of sleep problems in young children, their assessment is notably absent from the vast majority of both paediatric anxiety and sleep measures developed to date. Within the paediatric anxiety literature, there are few measures assessing dark or night fears in any way with any age group. Of those that do exist, only the Short Form of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R-SF; Muris et al., 2014 ) and the Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II (FSSC– IIP; Bouldin & Pratt, 1998 ) have been developed for use with children under the age of 7 years, and neither are specific to night-time, bedtime or dark fears. Of measures designed specifically for night or dark fears, namely the Fear of the Dark Scale (FDS; Kopsco & Lang, 2017), the Children's Nighttime Fear Survey (CNFS; Mooney et al., 1985 ), and the Nightttime Fears Scale (NFS; Orgilés et al., 2021 ) the FDS is for use with adolescents and adult populations, and both the NFS and the CNFS are designed for children over 7 and 8 years of age respectively. Furthermore, the CNFS is simply a yes/no checklist and the NFS has only been validated in a Spanish speaking population. Therefore, despite the prevalence of night and dark fears in young children, a validated measure for this vulnerable, preschool aged developmental period (i.e., ages 3–5 years) is yet to be developed. Turning to the paediatric sleep literature, only two validated sleep measures that include aspects of nighttime fears are for use with preschool aged children: the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ; Owens et al., 2000 ) and the Manifestations and Vulnerabilities of Behavioural Insomnia in Childhood Scale (MAVBICS; Donovan et al., 2023 ). The CSHQ includes a 4-item subscale of “sleep anxiety”, of which only two items relate to fear (fear of the dark and fear of sleeping alone). The more recent MAVBICS includes a bedtime worries subscale (3-items) and a bedtime fears subscale (4-items). However, for clinical and research purposes, both the CSHQ and the MAVBICS provide insufficient detail on the type of nighttime fears and the particular behavioural manifestations that may result from them. To date, researchers examining the treatment of nighttime fears in young children have relied on adapted interviews (El Rafihi-Ferreira et al., 2018 ; Kushnir et al., 2014 ; Kushnir & Sadeh, 2012 ; Lewis et al., 2014 ), checklists (Mooney, 1985 ), modifications of other valid measures (such as general fear measures), or unvalidated measures (Kahn et al., 2016 ; Kushnir et al., 2015 ; McMenamy & Katz, 1989 ), making it difficult to compare results across studies. Given the clear gap in the literature, the aim of this series of three studies was to develop and psychometrically validate, a parent-rated measure of night-time fears in preschool aged children titled Fears And Worries at Nighttime – Young Children (FAWN-YC). Study 1 aimed to generate an item pool, pilot test the initial items and conduct an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to examine the factor structure. Study 2 aimed to confirm the factor structure using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and examine the psychometric properties (internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity) of the FAWN-YC. Finally, Study 3 aimed to examine the test-retest reliability of the FAWN-YC. Based on previous research (Gordon et al., 2007 ; Mooney, 1985 ; Muris et al., 2001 ) it was hypothesised (for Studies 1 and 2) that the FAWN-YC would best be explained by a 6-factor solution including four nighttime fear clusters (1) personal safety fears, 2) separation fears, 3) imaginal/fantasy fears, and 4) inherent characteristics of the dark fears), and two avoidance and interference clusters (5) at bedtime/sleep and 6) in the dark/at nighttime). It was also hypothesised that these factors would be correlated with each other and may represent a general factor structure of overall nighttime fears. In Study 2, it was further hypothesised that scores on the FAWN-YC would demonstrate strong internal consistency, strong convergent validity (i.e., positive correlations) with theoretically related constructs including measures of fear, anxiety, sleep problems, sleep anxiety, conduct problems and emotional problems, as well as divergent validity (i.e., low weak to no relationship) with the theoretically unrelated construct of prosocial behaviour. Finally, in Study 3, it was hypothesised that the test-retest reliability of the FAWN-YC would be strong over a 2-week period. General Method Procedure For each study, participants (i.e., parents of children aged 3–5 years) were recruited internally at the university through a staff and student call for research and the first-year psychology research pool, and externally through advertisement on social media and in private childcare centres, primary schools and early childhood groups and associations. Data for all studies were collected online using Lime Survey, hosted by the University’s research survey centre. Participants were first presented with an electronic copy of information and consent forms, and only those who provided digital consent went on to complete the online survey. Following survey completion, participants could choose to be directed to a separate survey to enter a prize draw for the chance to win $ AU20- $ 50 gift cards and to provide student details to gain course credit for participation (if applicable). Study 1: Item Generation, Pilot Trial and EFA The first aim of Study 1 was to generate an item pool capturing the six theoretically derived night-time fear domains. The domains included sub-types of night-time fear (including 1) personal safety fears, 2) separation fears, 3) imaginal/fantasy fears, and 4) inherent characteristics of the dark fears), as well as associated avoidance and interference behaviours, at 5) bedtime/sleep and 6) in the dark). The second aim was to conduct a pilot of the items, with the final aim of Study 1 to explore the underlying factor structure of the generated items. Item Generation The hypothesized factor structure served as a framework for item creation (Rust & Golombok, 2009 ) with items specifically generated to tap into each content area (i.e., factor). The factors and initial 62 item pool were generated based on a scientific literature review (Gordon et al., 2007 ; Mooney, 1985 ; Muris et al., 2001 ), as well as contribution from field professionals (three academics, two clinical psychologists, two PhD psychology candidates studying sleep and child anxiety, four provisional psychologists, two early primary school teachers, and a case manager from a large psychology clinic) and end users (two fathers and three mothers of pre-schoolers with night-time fears). It has been suggested that a minimum of 3 items, and preferably 5–6 items, are required to represent a factor (Watkins, 2018 ). As subsequent psychometric analyses were designed to reduce the final number of items, and as EFA performs better when factors are overdetermined, it was decided to be overinclusive (i.e., by a minimum of 50%) when generating items (Clark & Watson, 2019 ; Rust & Golombok, 2009 ; Watkins, 2018 ). Therefore, for a proposed 6-factor solution with 5–7 items per factor as the desired scale size, between 48 to 66 items (8–11 per factor) was determined to be ideal. The response format used a 6-point Likert scale requiring parents to rate how true each item is of their child (0 = not at all true, 1 = rarely true, 2 = sometimes true, 3 = often true, 4 = very often true and 5 = always true). A neutral midpoint option was not provided in order to avoid complacency and indecisiveness and a greater number of options (i.e., 6) were included in order to increase precision and variability in measurement, as well as to increase internal consistency and dependability (Lozano et al., 2008 ; Simms et al., 2019 ; Spruyt & Gozal, 2011 ). Items were written according to the basic principles described by Clark & Watson ( 2019 ) and Spruyt and Gozal ( 2011 ), which highlight the importance of avoiding dated phrases, double-barrelled questions, complex wording and colloquialisms. The scale was then sent for review to a panel from the USA and Australia (N = 7) with expertise in paediatric anxiety, sleep, and scale development. Experts were asked to provide feedback on clinical and research relevance, comprehensiveness, comprehensibility of individual items, the hypothesised factor structure, instructional blurb and rating scale. Following feedback, minor wording edits were made, and five items were removed. Pilot Test The resulting pool of 57 items were then pilot tested with 120 parents of children aged 3 to 5 years. The aim of the pilot was to gain anecdotal feedback on the wording of the instructions and items, and to psychometrically examine the items for purposes of item reduction and refinement. Spruyt and Gozal ( 2011 ) recommend that pilot trials are an important step before factor analysis to determine whether or not items, scale or layout need to be changed in any way (rather than simple deletion). The minimum N required to conduct a pilot test is generally the number of items on the scale plus one (Rust & Golombok, 2009 ), with more than 100 participants being considered ideal (Clark & Watson, 2019 ). Therefore the 120 participants for the pilot test was deemed sufficient. Pilot Study Participants Detailed demographic information for each sample used in this research is outlined in Supplementary Table 1. The participants for the pilot study were 120 parents aged between 22 and 55 years ( M = 36.10, SD = 5.47), who reported being either the mother (99.2%), or father (0.8%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old ( M = 3.91, SD = 0.78). Another 19 participants began the questionnaire but were excluded due to having children outside the selected age range. The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (88.3%), married (79.2%) had a household income over AUD $ 100, 001 (67.5%), and had completed a bachelor degree (34.2%). The majority of children were male (59.2%) and lived with both parents (91.7%). Pilot Test Data Analysis and Results Items were considered for removal if they met both of the following criteria: (1) item redundancy or low correlations with other items (i.e., inter-item correlations of r > .80 or < .30 respectively); (2) poor item statistics (i.e., if all response options were not utilized, or there were corrected item-total correlations of r < .40). Using these criteria, the item pool was reduced to 37 items. There were no changes made to the wording of items, instructions or general layout based on participant feedback. Exploratory Factor Analysis EFA Participants The participants for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were 436 parents aged between 19 and 56 years ( M = 33.88, SD = 6.65), who reported being either the mother (79.7%), father (14.5%), or primary caregiver (5.8%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old ( M = 3.99, SD = 0.85). The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (80.2%), married (64.1%) had a household income over AUD $ 100, 001 (45.8%), and had completed a bachelor degree (29.1%). The majority of children were female (50.2%) and lived with both parents (76.6%). Refer to Supplementary Table 1 for further demographic details. EFA Data Analysis Prior to conducting the EFA, items were removed if they met two or more of the following criteria: 1) item redundancy or insufficient correlations with other items (i.e., inter-item correlations of r > .80 or < .30 respectively), 2) poor item statistics (i.e., if all response options were not utilized), or if there were corrected item-total correlations of r .35) with the reported age of the child or parent (Clark & Watson, 1995; Rust & Golombok, 2009 ). Eight items were excluded based on these criteria, leaving 29 items for the EFA. The R package ‘psych’ (v. 4.3.0; Revelle, 2020) was used to conduct a series of EFAs, using polychoric correlations and specifying principal axis factoring with oblique rotation (i.e., direct oblimin). This rotation technique was selected as factors were likely to be correlated (Costello & Osborne, 2005 ). The number of factors retained was established using parallel analysis (Horn, 1965 ), examination of the scree plot (Cattell, 1966 ), the Kaiser-Guttman criterion (i.e., retention of factors with eigenvalues ≥ 1.0; Guttman, 1954 ; Kaiser, 1960 ), and inspection of the pattern matrix. During factor extraction, items were assessed for poor primary-factor loading (i.e., < .40) or small communalities (i.e., < .40), cross-loading (i.e., secondary factor loadings of ≥ .30), lack of conceptual/face validity (i.e., loading of an item on a factor that did not align with theory or hypothesized factor), and whether or not they formed part of a non-robust factor (i.e., a factor with less than three items). Decisions regarding item exclusion and retention were both data- and theoretically driven (Clark & Watson, 2019 ; Rust et al., 2009). EFA Results Barlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2 = 9711.95, df = 406, p < .001) and the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value was .96, indicating that the initial 29 items were appropriate for factor analysis. Additionally, all measures of sampling adequacy taken from the diagonal of the anti-image correlation table, were = > .80, and all assumptions were met. The scree plot, Kaiser-Guttman criterion, and parallel analysis converged on a four-factor solution, rather than the hypothesised 6-factor solution. Upon inspection of the pattern matrix, it was identified that the four types of nighttime fears (personal safety fears, separation fears, imaginal/fantasy fears, and inherent characteristics of the dark fears), collapsed onto a single factor, representing ‘Nighttime Fears’. The second factor contained items pertaining to the avoidance and interference behaviours at bedtime/sleep representing ‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’. The third factor pertained to both fear of the dark itself and avoidance and interference behaviours in the dark representing ‘Dark Fear’. The fourth factor consisted of three unrelated items that did not align with theory or the proposed factor structure, and were therefore consequently removed from the scale. Nine additional items were removed from the scale due to cross loading (5 items), misalignment with theory (one item), and redundancy (3 items). A final EFA was conducted with the 17 remaining items, revealing a three-factor solution that explained 70% of the total variance. The final 17 items and scale statistics are presented in Table 1 , with all items loading strongly onto their primary factor with no cross-loadings. The first factor (‘Nighttime Fears’) consisted of eight items pertaining to various fears at nighttime (including personal safety fears, separation fears, imaginal/fantasy fears), with loadings ranging between .52 and .93. The second factor (‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’) consisted of five items capturing bedtime/sleep avoidance behaviour and interference, with loadings between .63 and .96. The third factor (‘Dark Fear’) consisted of four items reflecting both fear of the dark and specific avoidance behaviour and interference of darkness, with loadings ranging between .75 and .87. The factors were moderately to strongly correlated with each other (r = .62 − .78), and the internal consistency of each factor (Cronbach’s α = .88 − .92) and for all 17 items (α = .95) was high. Study 2 CFA and Convergent and Divergent Validity Study 2 aimed to confirm the factor structure of the 17-item FAWN-YC, examine the possibility of a general factor structure and explore internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity of the scale scores. Table 1 Study 1 EFA and Study 2 CFA Factor Loadings for the FAWN-YC Items Study 1 Study 2 (N = 436) (N = 383) EFA Factor Loadings Standardized Factor Loadings Item NF BSAI DF h 2 NF BSAI DF 1. At nighttime my child has fears that someone is going to hurt them .93 .77 .66 2. At nighttime my child worries about ghosts / spirits .87 .73 .65 3. At nighttime my child is scared about their own safety, or the safety of loved ones .83 .75 .69 4. At nighttime my child worries about scary animals .81 .64 .64 5. At nighttime my child is afraid of having a nightmare / bad dream .70 .66 .69 6. At nighttime my child worries about family members .69 .60 .53 7. At nighttime my child worries about shadows in the room .57 .68 .76 8. At nighttime my child worries about banging or knocking noises .52 .60 .73 9. Because of fears at night, my child does not want to go to bed .96 .82 .87 10. Because of fears at night, my child cries at bedtime .89 .85 .84 11. Because of fears at night, my child tantrums or argues with parent(s) or others at bedtime .80 .69 .79 12. Because of fears at night, my child calls out after bedtime .74 .73 .80 13. My sleep/other family member’s sleep is disrupted due their night-time fears .63 .59 .76 14. My child must have a bright light on to walk into a room .87 .76 .77 15. My child is frightened of the dark .86 .83 .90 16. Because of fears at night, my child is unable to sleep in total darkness .77 .56 .63 17. My child is fearful of going into dark places .75 .71 .86 Item variance explained % 30 22 18 Cronbach’s α .92 .90 .88 .87 .90 .86 Mean 9.47 7.18 7.62 10.91 8.85 9.91 Standard Deviation 8.01 5.68 5.28 7.73 6.54 5.72 NF = Nighttime Fear, BSAI = Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference, DF = Dark Fear, h 2 = communalities Method Procedure and Participants The same recruitment methods were used as those outlined in Study 1 except that, at the end of the survey, participants were given the opportunity to provide their unique participant identification code and email address in order to be contacted to complete an additional later survey for the purpose of test-retest reliability (for Study 3). The participants were 383 parents and primary caregivers aged between 21 and 66 years ( M = 35.39, SD = 6.11), who reported being either the mother (96.3%), father (2.1%) or primary caregiver (0.5%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old ( M = 4.33, SD = 0.79). Fifteen participants began the questionnaire but were excluded due to having children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and another 5 were excluded due to having children outside the selected age range. The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (90%), married (65%) had a household income over AUD $ 100, 001 (57.2%), and had completed a bachelor degree (34.5). The majority of children were male (52.0%) and lived with both parents (79.4%). Refer to Supplementary Table 1 for further demographic details. Measures Nighttime Fears The 17-item Fears and Worries at Nighttime – Young Children (FAWN-YC) developed in Study 1 was used. Sleep Problems The total score and Sleep Anxiety subscale score of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ; Owens et al., 2000 ) were used to examine the convergent validity of the FAWN-YC. The CSHQ is a 33-item (e.g. " Child needs parent in the room to fall asleep ") parent-report instrument that contains items related to common sleep behaviours in children. Items are rated on a three-point Likert scale (1 = rarely [0–1 night per week] to 3 = usually [5–7 nights per week]), with each question asked in relation to the previous week. The total score, calculated by summing all items, may range from 33 to 99, with higher scores indicating more problematic child sleep behaviours, and total scores over 41 being indicative of a clinical level paediatric sleep problem (Owens et al., 2000 ). The 4-item Sleep Anxiety subscale is calculated by summing the 4 component items, and may range from 4 to 12, with higher scores indicative of greater sleep anxiety. The CSHQ has been used with parents of children from early childhood to early adolescence (Sen & Spruyt, 2020 ) and has shown acceptable total internal consistency with both community (α = .72; Tyler et al.., 2019 ) and clinical (α = .77; Donovan et al., 2023 ) samples of parents of young children aged 3 to 5 years. The CSHQ total score has also demonstrated adequate test-retest reliability (range between 0.62 to 0.79; Owens et al., 2000 ). The Sleep Anxiety subscale has demonstrated adequate internal consistency with both community (0.63) and clinical (0.68) samples. (Owens et al., 2000 ). In the present study, the internal consistency of the total CSHQ score (α = .86) and the sleep anxiety subscale (α = .65) were good and adequate respectively. Anxiety The Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS; Spence et al., 2001 ) measures child anxiety and was used to examine convergent validity. The PAS is a 28-item (e.g. " Is tense, restless or irritable due to worrying ”) parent-report instrument designed for children aged 3 to 5 years. The items are rated on a 5-point scale from 0 = not at all true to 4 = very often true . Items are summed to produce a total score that may range from 0 to 112, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety. The PAS has a strong evidence base, including evidence of convergent and divergent validity in clinical and community populations, and evidence of sensitivity to intervention effects and strong inter-assessor agreement (Fisak & Barrett, 2019 ). Internal consistency in previous studies of preschoolers using the total PAS has been very good (α = .92; Donovan 2023) as was this present study (α = .92). Mythical Creatures Fears and Vulnerability Fears The 13-item Mythical Creatures Fears (e.g. ghosts or spooky things) and 7-item Vulnerability Fears (e.g. being alone) subscales of The Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II (FSSC– IIP; Bouldin & Pratt, 1998 ) were used to examine convergent validity. The FSSC– IIP is a parent-report survey specifically designed for parents of children aged 3 to 9 years, with parents asked to rate their child’s level of fear of the subject of each item (e.g. imaginary creatures) on a 3-point scale from 1 = not scared (not applicable) to 3 = very scared . Items on the subscale are summed to produce a subscale score, with higher scores indicating greater fear of mythical (imaginary) creatures or the feeling of vulnerability (being alone, being in the dark). The factor structure of the FSSC– IIP has been supported in a large Australian sample (Bouldin & Pratt, 1998 ) and adequate internal consistency has been demonstrated (α = .70; Bouldin & Pratt, 2002 ). The internal consistencies of the Mythical Creatures Fears and Vulnerability Fears subscales of the FSSC– IIP in the present study were very good (α = .90 and α = .84 respectively). Conduct Problems, Emotional Symptoms and Prosocial Behaviours The Conduct Problems and Emotional Symptoms subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997 ) were used to examine the convergent validity, while the Prosocial Behaviours subscale was used to measure divergent validity. The SDQ is a 25-item parent-report instrument for use with parents of children aged 2–17 years. Items on the SDQ are rated on a three-point Likert scale (0 = not true to 2 = certainly true) with each question asked in relation to the previous 6-month period. Higher scores on the Conduct Problems and Emotional Symptoms subscales are indicative of greater problems, while higher scores on the prosocial behaviour subscale indicate more positive behaviours. The SDQ has shown satisfactory construct validity and acceptable internal consistency with large samples of parents of young children aged 3 to 5 years (Conduct Problems, Emotional Problems and Prosocial Behaviour subscale α ranges of mothers and fathers = .72 to .84; Dahlberg et al., 2019 ). The internal consistency of the Conduct Problems, Emotional Problems and Prosocial Behaviour subscales of the SDQ in the present study were adequate (α = .69, .75 and .77 respectively). CFA Data Analysis Prior to analysis, descriptive statistics were examined for outliers, and assumptions were all checked and met. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 29) analytic software and Amos Graphis (Version 29). Amos Graphics was used to conduct a CFA with a robust maximum likelihood estimation to confirm the factor structure identified in Study 1. To evaluate model fit, several commonly used indices were considered (χ2, χ2 relative to sample size, adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of association (RMSEA)). While a non-significant χ2 is indicative of “good” model fit, it is sensitive to large sample sizes, such as that used in the current study. For a large sample size, it is therefore recommended to divide χ2 by the degrees of freedom with ratios of 2–3 indicative of “good” model fit (Bollen, 1989). Adequate model fit can also be determined by an AGFI greater than .90 and a CFI greater than .95. A RMSEA less than .05 is also considered “good” model fit, values between .05 and .08 indicative of “fair” and “acceptable” fit, and values between .08 and .10 indicative of “mediocre fit” (Bentler, 1990; Hu & Bentler, 1999; Kaplan, 2007). The model was also compared to a general-factor model (i.e., whereby all 17 items were allowed to load onto a single latent factor) using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Lower AIC values indicate a model that is more parsimonious and better-fitting (Akaike, 1987). Cronbach’s α was used to assess internal consistency and bivariate correlations were used to assess convergent and divergent validity. Results Confirmatory Factor Analysis A CFA was performed with items constrained to load onto their respective factors, and factors allowed to covary as per the EFA results and a priori theory. According to model fit indices, the hypothesized measurement model had acceptable to good fit to the data in this sample, χ 2 (114, N = 383) = 275.51, p < .001, χ 2 / df = 2.42, AGFI = .90, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .06 (CI90 = 0.05, 0.07) and AIC = 353.51 and explained a total of 70% of the variance. The standardised confirmatory factor loadings for each item are presented in Table 1 . The Cronbach alphas for each subscale (α = .86 − .90) and the total score (α = .92) were high, with moderate to strong correlations between each subscale (r = .54 – .83). A general factor model was also examined, whereby all 17 items were allowed to load onto a single latent factor. This model had poor fit, χ2 (119, N = 383) = 1228.00, p < .001, χ2/df = 10.319, AGFI = .55, CFI = .70, RMSEA = .16 (CI90 = 0.15, 0.16) and AIC = 1296.00 While the AIC revealed that the general factor model had poorer fit compared to the measurement model, the standardized loadings for each item in the general factor model were moderate to strong (.55 to .75). There were also strong positive correlations found between the total score and the three subscales and furthermore, the total score demonstrated excellent internal consistency in both Study 1 and 2 (α = .95 and .92 respectively). Therefore, while model fit suggests the 3-factor model is a considerably better fit that the general factor model, the strength in the other psychometric properties provide preliminary evidence for use of a total FAWN-YC score. Convergent and Divergent Validity Table 2 presents the means, standard deviations, bivariate correlations and Cronbach’s alphas of all variables used in the study. Correlations between the FAWN-YC composite and subscale scores and measure of convergent validity were all significant and in the predicted directions ( r = .30 to .82, p < .01). With respect to divergent validity, correlations between the FAWN-YC composite score and subscales and the SDQ prosocial subscale were all non-significant, with the exception of a very weak negative correlation between the Dark Fear subscale and the prosocial subscale of the SDQ ( r = − .10, p < .05). Study 3: Test-Retest Reliability The aim of the Study 3 was to investigate the test-retest reliability of the FAWN-YC over a two-week period. Method Procedure and Participants Participants from Study 2 who consented to be contacted again were invited via email to again complete the FAWN-YC two weeks after the first administration. Responses recorded at Time 1 and Time 2 were matched using a unique participant identification code. Only participants who completed the second assessment within the two-week retest period were included. Of the 383 participants, 229 consented to be contacted and entered their unique code and email address. Of the 229, 120 were contactable and were emailed a link to complete the survey within the allocated time frame (i.e., 48hrs +/- 2 weeks post completion of study 2). In the email, participants were reminded of their unique code and given instructions to enter it at the beginning of the survey. Of the 120 participants contacted, 52 went on to complete the retest survey within the allocated time period. Table 2 Correlations Between the KIPS and Selected Measures of Convergent and Discriminant Validity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1. FAWN-YC Total 1 2. FAWN-YC NF .88** 1 3. FAWN-YC BSAI .83** .57** 1 4. FAWN-YC DF .81** .58** .54** 1 5. CSHQ Total .67** .53** .73** .44** 1 6. CSHQ SA .61** .43** .59** .55** .70** 1 7. PAS .73** .72** .56** .55** .54** .47** 1 8. FSSC-IIP MC .50** .58** .31** .34** .32** .23** .41** 1 9. FSSC-IIP VF .82** .67** .64** .79** .55** .59** .67** .46** 1 10. SDQ-C .41** .35** .39** .30** .39** .23** .29** .20** .35** 1 11. SDQ-E .62** .59** .51** .47** .48** .40** .76** .34** .61** .42** 1 12. SDQ-P − .11 − .07 − .10 − .10* − .17** − .08 − .13* − .08 − .02 − .40** − .19** 1 Cronbach’s Alpha .92 .87 .90 .86 .86 .65 .92 .90 .84 .69 .75 .77 Mean 29.57 10.91 8.85 9.81 48.17 7.27 28.91 16.20 11.85 2.36 2.59 7.29 (Standard Deviation) 16.87 7.73 6.54 5.72 9.56 2.30 18.09 4.23 3.41 1.87 2.28 2.17 Note. * = p < .05, **= p < .01. FAWN-YC Total = composite score, FAWN-YC NF = Nighttime Fear, FAWN-YC BSAI = Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference, FAWN-YC DF = Dark Fear, CSHQ Total = Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire, CSHQ SA = Sleep Anxiety, PAS = Preschool Anxiety Scale, FSSC– IIP MC = The Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II Mythical Creatures Fears, FSSC– IIP VF = Vulnerability Fears, SDQ-I Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Conduct Problems, SDQ-E = Emotional Symptoms, SDQ-P = Prosocial Behaviours The resulting 52 participants were aged between 21 and 47 years (M = 34.46, SD = 5.85) and reported being either the mother (98.1%) or father (1.9%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old (M = 4.92, SD = 1.19). The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (84.6%), married (63.5%) had a household income over AUD $ 100, 001 (50%), and had completed a bachelor degree (59.6%). The majority of children were male (57.7%) and living with both parents (80.8%). Test-Retest Data Analysis IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 29) analytic software was used to calculate the test-retest reliability for the FAWN-YC composite score and subscales. Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates, 95% confidence intervals based on a 2-way mixed-effects model with absolute-agreement were run using this program. Confidence interval values greater than 0.90 indicate excellent reliability, values between 0.75 and 0.9 suggest good reliability, values between 0.5 and 0.75 suggest moderate reliability and values less than 0.5 suggest poor test-retest reliability (Koo & Li, 2016). Results Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates suggested temporal stability over a two-week period for the FAWN-YC total score and subscales. The FAWN-YC composite score was considered excellent (ICC = .95, 95% CI [.90, .97]), as was the Dark Avoidance and Interference subscale (ICC = .95, 95% CI [.92, .97]). Both the Nighttime Fear subscale (ICC = .88, 95% CI [.79, .93]) and the Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference subscale (ICC = .93, 95% CI [.86, .96]) were considered to have good reliability. Discussion The purpose of this series of three studies was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Fears and Worries at Nighttime - Young Children (FAWN-YC); a parent-rated measure for children aged 3–5 years (freely available in the Supplementary materials). The aims of the three studies were to generate and reduce items (Study 1), establish a factor structure (Study 1), confirm the factor structure (Study 2), examine the psychometric properties (internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity; Study 2), and examine the test-retest reliability of the scale scores (Study 3). Although 6 subscales were originally proposed, the results of Studies 1 and 2 indicated a 3-factor structure best fit the data. The final 17 item scale consisted of three subscales measuring: Nighttime Fear (8 items), Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference (5 items) and Dark Fear including avoidance and interference of darkness (4 items). The internal consistency of the three subscales and total score was found to be high, and the convergent and divergent validity of the scale was supported. Finally, the FAWN-YC total score and subscales demonstrated test-retest reliability, indicating temporal stability over a two-week period. That the total score and subscales of the FAWN-YC demonstrated strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity and divergent validity suggests that the scale is a psychometrically sound and valid measure of nighttime fears in children that will provide a useful instrument for researchers and clinicians alike. Indeed, although our findings support the independent use of the three FAWN-YC subscales over the composite score, the total score demonstrated very strong psychometric properties, providing preliminary support for its use. With regards to convergent validity, study 2 demonstrated that the FAWN-YC total score and its three subscales were all significantly and positively correlated with theoretically and empirically linked variables related to nighttime fears in young children, with the strength of each of these correlations making theoretical sense. For instance, the ‘Nighttime Fear’ subscale correlated most strongly with a measure of child anxiety (PAS; Spence et al., 2001 ), the ‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’ subscale correlated most strongly with a measure of total child sleep problems (CSHQ; Owens et al., 2000 ), and the ‘Dark Fear’ subscale correlated most strongly with the Vulnerabilities subscale of the Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II (FSSC– IIP; Bouldin & Pratt, 1998 )., which has three (of seven) items related directly to fear of the dark. Overall, the findings suggest that higher levels of nighttime and darkness fears and their behavioural manifestations are related to higher levels of both internalising (e.g., anxiety), and externalising (e.g., conduct problems) behaviours, as well as sleep problems. The findings therefore are consistent with previous research reporting links between nighttime fears, internalising, externalising, and sleep problems in preschool aged children (El Rafihi-Ferreira et al., 2019 ) and thus support the overall content validity of the subscale and total scale scores. Although psychometrically strong, the factor structure of the FAWN-YC is different to what was predicted. Six factors were originally hypothesised, with four factors predicted to cluster around distinct fear categories (personal safety fears, separation fears, imaginal/fantasy fears, inherent characteristics of the dark fears) and two representing different types of interference (bedtime/sleep time and the dark/night). However, while the ‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’ factor emerged as distinct, the different types of nighttime fears and the dark avoidance and interference factors did not , and instead emerged as two factors. Most nighttime fear types clustered onto the one factor, which was characterised by worries and anxiety of things at nighttime (being alone, safety, imaginal) whereas fear of dark itself and avoidance and interference in the dark merged together to create a separate factor (i.e., ‘Dark Fear’). Given the way in which these factors have emerged, combined with evidence of correlation strengths and convergent validity, children who score high in the ‘Nighttime Fear’ factor may be more representative of children with anxiety (i.e., separation anxiety, generalised anxiety), whereas children scoring high in ‘Dark Fear’ may represent more fear-based symptomology (i.e., specific phobia of the dark). Future research could examine whether this measure could predict distinct comorbidity clusters using clinical samples. Although the predicted factor structure was based on a review of the literature (Gordon et al., 2007 , Mooney 1985 , Muris et al 2001 ), the literature reviewed was less than optimal in several ways. First, most studies examining nighttime fear types in children have focused on primary school aged children and young adolescents, rarely including preschool children. Given the specific developmental characteristics of preschool children, it may be that younger children experience fears at night differently to their older counterparts being more likely to experience a range of nighttime fears rather than specific ones. Second, only one study (that did not include children under 8.5 years of age, that used a relatively small sample from the Netherlands, and that was conducted almost 4 decades ago) examined the factor structure of the measure under review (Mooney at al., 1985). All other studies either clustered fears based on face validity or based their categories on the one study that did use factor analysis (Gordon et al., 2007 , Mooney 1985 , Muris et al 2001 ). Although this study requires replication, the findings regarding factor structure speak to the importance of developing a nighttime fear measure specifically for preschool children, and highlight the differences between young children and their older child and teenage counterparts. It is noteworthy, and indeed surprising, that items related to co-sleeping were ‘dropped’ from the ‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’ factor due to poor primary-factor loading, insufficient correlations with other items and poor item statistics. When examining the behavioural manifestations of nighttime fears, the authors chose to use the sentence starter “Because of fears at nighttime, my child…” with the intention to gather information pertaining to parental perception of the behaviours directly related to child nighttime fears. The fact that co-sleeping items were dropped from this subscale therefore suggests that reactive co-sleeping may not be the result of nighttime fears in preschool aged children. Interestingly, a recent systematic review and cross-cultural meta-analysis examining co-sleeping and sleep problems in childhood noted the inconsistency in the relationship between co-sleeping and sleep anxiety and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to suggest a causal relationship (Peng et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, most of the studies included in the review by Peng et al did not include children in the preschool developmental period, with most co-sleeping literature focussed either on infants or primary school aged children. It may well be that co-sleeping is better explained by other child and parent factors rather than nighttime fears such as child anxiety disorders and particularly separation anxiety (Chevalier et al., 2021 ; Palmer et al., 2018 ), child behavioural difficulties such as bedtime resistance (Peng et al., 2019 ) and even parental distress (Cortesi et al., 2008 ; Roberts et al., 2020 ). Clearly reactive co-sleeping in the preschool development period warrants further investigation in this regard. Limitations and Directions for Future Research This series of three studies allowed for the systematic development and psychometric testing of the FAWN-YC, using large sample sizes, and advanced statistical techniques. However, there were a number of limitations that should be noted. First, sensitivity and specificity were not tested, nor was this sample large enough to determine norms. Collecting a larger sample in the future, and including an accompanying clinical interview, would allow examination of the ability of the FAWN-YC to differentiate between children with and without problematic nighttime fears, and to determine norms. Second, the generalizability of the results of this study was limited by the proportion of male to female parents and caregivers completing the surveys. Although large sample studies indicate good inter-parent agreement in ratings of behavioural and emotional problems in preschool-aged children (Fält et al., 2018 ), future research would benefit from further attempts to recruit fathers in parent samples. Third, the sample was homogenous in terms of ethnicity, level of education, and wealth, thus limiting the generalizability of results to other populations. Future studies should strive to include samples that are more heterogenous in terms of these constructs. Finally, previous research suggests that parents can underestimate the frequency and intensity of their young child’s fears (Lahikainen et al., 2006 ). Although young children may lack the cognitive sophistication to respond to questionnaires and interviews, future research may include more objective measures (i.e., skin conductance, actigraphy or recordings/observations of child’s nighttime behaviours) to better measure nighttime fears, and further validate the FAWN-YC. Implications and Conclusions The findings of this series of studies indicate that the 17-item Fears and Worries at Nighttime - Young Children (FAWN-YC) is a psychometrically valid, parent-report scale of nighttime fears. By assessing not only the presence of specific common nighttime fears, but also the typical avoidance and impairment manifestations of those fears in both bedtime/sleep and dark contexts, the FAWN-YC provides researchers and clinicians with a valid and reliable tool to assess the specific nighttime fear the child may have, the variety of nighttime fears the child has, and importantly, parental perceptions regarding how nighttime fears are affecting their child’s nighttime behaviours. For researchers, The FAWN-YC provides a user-friendly, psychometrically valid measure of nighttime fears in children that may be used in a variety of studies including epidemiological studies, studies examining the antecedents and consequences of nighttime fears, and studies aiming to determine the efficacy of treatment programs designed to treat nighttime fears in this population. For clinicians, the FAWN-YC may assist in the conceptualisation and treatment of children with nighttime fears. For example, the FAWN-YC may assist in identifying the target of an exposure hierarchy and the requirement for combinations of child relaxation skills, co-regulation skills, parent upskilling in areas such as behaviour management, exposure games and psychoeducation. Thus, the FAWN-YC is likely to be of significant value in both research and clinical settings, informing our understanding and treatment of fear, anxiety and sleep difficulties in preschool aged children. Declarations Ethical Approval Ethics approval for all studies was sought and obtained from the BLINDED FOR REVIEW Human Ethics Committee (HREC:XXXX/XXX). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Author Contribution Study conception by L.F. and E.M-L. Study design by L.F., E.M-L., A.S. and C.D. Material preparation, data collection, data curation, project administration and analysis were performed by A.S. All drafts and final manuscript were written by A.S. 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Supplementary Files ShielsAmyFAWNYCSupplementary.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Sep, 2024 Read the published version in Child Psychiatry & Human Development → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 15 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 05 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 11 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Jun, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 30 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 26 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 25 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4638924","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":327064123,"identity":"43341808-9561-4b16-8131-8d9d7766d2ca","order_by":0,"name":"Amy Shiels","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Griffith University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amy","middleName":"","lastName":"Shiels","suffix":""},{"id":327064125,"identity":"78dc0fe1-1ffa-4fc8-80c1-256523faa770","order_by":1,"name":"Laura Uhlmann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Griffith University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"","lastName":"Uhlmann","suffix":""},{"id":327064127,"identity":"97432499-446c-46a6-a30c-6dcbc0bc98a3","order_by":2,"name":"Lara J. Farrell","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Griffith University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lara","middleName":"J.","lastName":"Farrell","suffix":""},{"id":327064128,"identity":"1b7c711f-bbb0-4289-acef-9782575bce56","order_by":3,"name":"Erinn Munro-Lee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Griffith University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Erinn","middleName":"","lastName":"Munro-Lee","suffix":""},{"id":327064129,"identity":"936be244-8f23-49e7-8625-257030d32c6d","order_by":4,"name":"Caroline L. Donovan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Griffith University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Caroline","middleName":"L.","lastName":"Donovan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-06-25 23:44:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4638924/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4638924/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01758-3","type":"published","date":"2024-09-16T15:57:56+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":65104090,"identity":"f2bde43b-7a9c-4e53-982d-f00143a3fd35","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-23 16:11:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":883251,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4638924/v1/4eaaaa57-a0e0-4861-a521-93e45d5e34d7.pdf"},{"id":60557325,"identity":"89ac8395-6633-4b5d-81e2-ec94da225e59","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-18 06:45:23","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":26369,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ShielsAmyFAWNYCSupplementary.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4638924/v1/d77a540ea54546356662648b.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Fears and Worries at Nighttime in Young Children: Development and Psychometric Validation of a New Parent-Report Measure (FAWN-YC)","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eNighttime fears are a heterogenous group of fears that include separation fears, personal safety fears, imagination-based fears, and darkness fears (Gordon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Mooney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Mooney et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). Nighttime fears are particularly prevalent in young children and are often considered developmentally normal, with almost 60% of 4- to 6-year-olds experiencing difficulties with fear at night (Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). Although nighttime fears are transient for many children, approximately 10 to 30% experience fear at night that is severe, persistent, interferes substantially with sleep, and requires significant family accommodation (Kushida, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Meltzer \u0026amp; Crabtree, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; Wolfson \u0026amp; Montgomery-Downs, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Indeed, severe night-time fears are impairing, reaching diagnostic thresholds for an anxiety disorder (i.e., specific phobia and / or separation anxiety), and / or a sleep disorder (most commonly Behavioural Insomnia of Childhood; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2022, American Academy of Sleep Medicine [AASM], 2023). Anxiety and behavioural sleep disorders in the preschool developmental period can lead to numerous problematic consequences in both the short- and long-term. Anxiety in the preschool years frequently endures into later childhood and beyond, and predicts lower school engagement, poorer peer relations and functional impairment during the school-age years, as well as sleep difficulties and psychopathology into adulthood (Fehr et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Fisak \u0026amp; Barrett, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, behavioural sleep problems in the preschool period have been shown to persist into adolescence if untreated, with numerous deleterious social, emotional and educational consequences (Ding et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Falch-Madsen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Guerlich et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Petit et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Williams et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Williamson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNighttime fears have recently gained renewed attention in the paediatric sleep literature as an important contributor to behavioural insomnia symptoms during the preschool developmental period (Fehr et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Lewis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). In a recently published 25-year review of nighttime fears in children, Lewis and colleagues (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) analysed studies employing behavioural, and cognitive-behavioural interventions. It was concluded that treating nighttime fears resulted not only in significant reductions in nighttime fears and dark phobias, but also significantly improved sleep and reduced general fears, anxiety, internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems in children aged 3–12 years. Thus, for many young children, nighttime fears are at the root of difficulties with sleep and problems at bedtime. Given the high prevalence and deleterious consequences associated with nighttime fears, it is crucial that we comprehensively understand them and have a measure to screen for them early in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNighttime fears vary both in terms of their focus and the behavioural difficulties resulting from them. With respect to focus, some children experience one specific fear, while others experience multiple fears, with nighttime fears generally clustering into presentations of separation fears (being away from parents), darkness-related fears (sounds, shadows), personal safety fears (being harmed by an intruder) and fears of the imagination (e.g., ghosts; Gordon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Mooney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Mooney et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). With respect to behavioural difficulties manifesting as a result of nighttime fears, children may demonstrate resistance and refusal to participate in activities leading up to bedtime, they may cry and call out at bedtime or be unable to stay in a darkened bedroom or leave their room (Bruni \u0026amp; Angriman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Cortesi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; El Rafihi-Ferreira et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Honaker \u0026amp; Meltzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Kushnir \u0026amp; Sadeh, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn order to effectively treat night-time fears, clinicians must consider both the \u003cem\u003etype\u003c/em\u003e of night-time fear and the \u003cem\u003ebehavioural outcomes\u003c/em\u003e they produce. For example, a child who cries and calls out because they are afraid of the dark and therefore cannot fall asleep in a darkened bedroom, will require a specific intervention. The treatment plan would include an exposure hierarchy which gradually exposes the child to being comfortable in the dark. This intervention would also include parenting strategies such as parent-mediated child relaxation skills, and effective praise. Alternatively, a young child who tantrums and refuses to take part in the bedtime routine because they are worried about being separated from their family at bedtime will require an alternative intervention. This treatment plan would likely begin with parenting strategies such as behaviour management skills (i.e., as a bedtime routine reward chart, effective praise, how to negotiate with a young child, etc) followed by an exposure hierarchy focused on gradually separating from their caregiver at night (Meltzer \u0026amp; Crabtree, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). A comprehensive measure of nighttime fears and the behavioural outcomes they lead to, may assist in the development of an individual case formulation and evidence-based treatment plan. However, to date, such a measure has not been developed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eExisting Measures of Night-time Fears in Young Children\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite night-time fears being an important factor in the development and maintenance of sleep problems in young children, their assessment is notably absent from the vast majority of both paediatric anxiety and sleep measures developed to date. Within the paediatric \u003cem\u003eanxiety\u003c/em\u003e literature, there are few measures assessing dark or night fears in any way with any age group. Of those that do exist, only the Short Form of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R-SF; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) and the Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II (FSSC– IIP; Bouldin \u0026amp; Pratt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) have been developed for use with children under the age of 7 years, and neither are specific to night-time, bedtime or dark fears. Of measures designed specifically for night or dark fears, namely the Fear of the Dark Scale (FDS; Kopsco \u0026amp; Lang, 2017), the Children's Nighttime Fear Survey (CNFS; Mooney et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e), and the Nightttime Fears Scale (NFS; Orgilés et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) the FDS is for use with adolescents and adult populations, and both the NFS and the CNFS are designed for children over 7 and 8 years of age respectively. Furthermore, the CNFS is simply a yes/no checklist and the NFS has only been validated in a Spanish speaking population. Therefore, despite the prevalence of night and dark fears in young children, a validated measure for this vulnerable, preschool aged developmental period (i.e., ages 3–5 years) is yet to be developed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTurning to the paediatric \u003cem\u003esleep\u003c/em\u003e literature, only two validated sleep measures that include aspects of nighttime fears are for use with preschool aged children: the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ; Owens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e) and the Manifestations and Vulnerabilities of Behavioural Insomnia in Childhood Scale (MAVBICS; Donovan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). The CSHQ includes a 4-item subscale of “sleep anxiety”, of which only two items relate to fear (fear of the dark and fear of sleeping alone). The more recent MAVBICS includes a bedtime worries subscale (3-items) and a bedtime fears subscale (4-items). However, for clinical and research purposes, both the CSHQ and the MAVBICS provide insufficient detail on the \u003cem\u003etype\u003c/em\u003e of nighttime fears and the particular \u003cem\u003ebehavioural manifestations\u003c/em\u003e that may result from them. To date, researchers examining the treatment of nighttime fears in young children have relied on adapted interviews (El Rafihi-Ferreira et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Kushnir et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Kushnir \u0026amp; Sadeh, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Lewis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e), checklists (Mooney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e), modifications of other valid measures (such as general fear measures), or unvalidated measures (Kahn et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Kushnir et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; McMenamy \u0026amp; Katz, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1989\u003c/span\u003e), making it difficult to compare results across studies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven the clear gap in the literature, the aim of this series of three studies was to develop and psychometrically validate, a parent-rated measure of night-time fears in preschool aged children titled Fears And Worries at Nighttime – Young Children (FAWN-YC). Study 1 aimed to generate an item pool, pilot test the initial items and conduct an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to examine the factor structure. Study 2 aimed to confirm the factor structure using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and examine the psychometric properties (internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity) of the FAWN-YC. Finally, Study 3 aimed to examine the test-retest reliability of the FAWN-YC. Based on previous research (Gordon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Mooney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e) it was hypothesised (for Studies 1 and 2) that the FAWN-YC would best be explained by a 6-factor solution including four nighttime fear clusters (1) personal safety fears, 2) separation fears, 3) imaginal/fantasy fears, and 4) inherent characteristics of the dark fears), and two avoidance and interference clusters (5) at bedtime/sleep and 6) in the dark/at nighttime). It was also hypothesised that these factors would be correlated with each other and may represent a general factor structure of overall nighttime fears. In Study 2, it was further hypothesised that scores on the FAWN-YC would demonstrate strong internal consistency, strong convergent validity (i.e., positive correlations) with theoretically related constructs including measures of fear, anxiety, sleep problems, sleep anxiety, conduct problems and emotional problems, as well as divergent validity (i.e., low weak to no relationship) with the theoretically unrelated construct of prosocial behaviour. Finally, in Study 3, it was hypothesised that the test-retest reliability of the FAWN-YC would be strong over a 2-week period.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec23\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"General Method","content":"\u003ch2\u003eProcedure\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e For each study, participants (i.e., parents of children aged 3–5 years) were recruited internally at the university through a staff and student call for research and the first-year psychology research pool, and externally through advertisement on social media and in private childcare centres, primary schools and early childhood groups and associations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eData for all studies were collected online using Lime Survey, hosted by the University’s research survey centre. Participants were first presented with an electronic copy of information and consent forms, and only those who provided digital consent went on to complete the online survey. Following survey completion, participants could choose to be directed to a separate survey to enter a prize draw for the chance to win \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003eAU20-\u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e50 gift cards and to provide student details to gain course credit for participation (if applicable).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStudy 1: Item Generation, Pilot Trial and EFA\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe first aim of Study 1 was to generate an item pool capturing the six theoretically derived night-time fear domains. The domains included sub-types of night-time fear (including 1) personal safety fears, 2) separation fears, 3) imaginal/fantasy fears, and 4) inherent characteristics of the dark fears), as well as associated avoidance and interference behaviours, at 5) bedtime/sleep and 6) in the dark). The second aim was to conduct a pilot of the items, with the final aim of Study 1 to explore the underlying factor structure of the generated items.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eItem Generation\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe hypothesized factor structure served as a framework for item creation (Rust \u0026amp; Golombok, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) with items specifically generated to tap into each content area (i.e., factor). The factors and initial 62 item pool were generated based on a scientific literature review (Gordon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Mooney, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e; Muris et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e), as well as contribution from field professionals (three academics, two clinical psychologists, two PhD psychology candidates studying sleep and child anxiety, four provisional psychologists, two early primary school teachers, and a case manager from a large psychology clinic) and end users (two fathers and three mothers of pre-schoolers with night-time fears).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt has been suggested that a minimum of 3 items, and preferably 5–6 items, are required to represent a factor (Watkins, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). As subsequent psychometric analyses were designed to reduce the final number of items, and as EFA performs better when factors are overdetermined, it was decided to be overinclusive (i.e., by a minimum of 50%) when generating items (Clark \u0026amp; Watson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Rust \u0026amp; Golombok, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Watkins, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, for a proposed 6-factor solution with 5–7 items per factor as the desired scale size, between 48 to 66 items (8–11 per factor) was determined to be ideal. The response format used a 6-point Likert scale requiring parents to rate how true each item is of their child (0 = not at all true, 1 = rarely true, 2 = sometimes true, 3 = often true, 4 = very often true and 5 = always true). A neutral midpoint option was not provided in order to avoid complacency and indecisiveness and a greater number of options (i.e., 6) were included in order to increase precision and variability in measurement, as well as to increase internal consistency and dependability (Lozano et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Simms et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Spruyt \u0026amp; Gozal, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). Items were written according to the basic principles described by Clark \u0026amp; Watson (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and Spruyt and Gozal (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), which highlight the importance of avoiding dated phrases, double-barrelled questions, complex wording and colloquialisms. The scale was then sent for review to a panel from the USA and Australia (N = 7) with expertise in paediatric anxiety, sleep, and scale development. Experts were asked to provide feedback on clinical and research relevance, comprehensiveness, comprehensibility of individual items, the hypothesised factor structure, instructional blurb and rating scale. Following feedback, minor wording edits were made, and five items were removed.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePilot Test\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe resulting pool of 57 items were then pilot tested with 120 parents of children aged 3 to 5 years. The aim of the pilot was to gain anecdotal feedback on the wording of the instructions and items, and to psychometrically examine the items for purposes of item reduction and refinement. Spruyt and Gozal (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) recommend that pilot trials are an important step before factor analysis to determine whether or not items, scale or layout need to be changed in any way (rather than simple deletion). The minimum N required to conduct a pilot test is generally the number of items on the scale plus one (Rust \u0026amp; Golombok, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e), with more than 100 participants being considered ideal (Clark \u0026amp; Watson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore the 120 participants for the pilot test was deemed sufficient.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePilot Study Participants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDetailed demographic information for each sample used in this research is outlined in Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;1. The participants for the pilot study were 120 parents aged between 22 and 55 years (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e = 36.10, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 5.47), who reported being either the mother (99.2%), or father (0.8%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e = 3.91, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 0.78). Another 19 participants began the questionnaire but were excluded due to having children outside the selected age range. The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (88.3%), married (79.2%) had a household income over AUD\u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e100, 001 (67.5%), and had completed a bachelor degree (34.2%). The majority of children were male (59.2%) and lived with both parents (91.7%).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePilot Test Data Analysis and Results\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eItems were considered for removal if they met both of the following criteria: (1) item redundancy or low correlations with other items (i.e., inter-item correlations of r \u0026gt; .80 or \u0026lt; .30 respectively); (2) poor item statistics (i.e., if all response options were not utilized, or there were corrected item-total correlations of r \u0026lt; .40). Using these criteria, the item pool was reduced to 37 items. There were no changes made to the wording of items, instructions or general layout based on participant feedback.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eExploratory Factor Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEFA Participants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe participants for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were 436 parents aged between 19 and 56 years (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e = 33.88, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 6.65), who reported being either the mother (79.7%), father (14.5%), or primary caregiver (5.8%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e = 3.99, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 0.85). The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (80.2%), married (64.1%) had a household income over AUD\u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e100, 001 (45.8%), and had completed a bachelor degree (29.1%). The majority of children were female (50.2%) and lived with both parents (76.6%). Refer to Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;1 for further demographic details.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEFA Data Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrior to conducting the EFA, items were removed if they met two or more of the following criteria: 1) item redundancy or insufficient correlations with other items (i.e., inter-item correlations of r \u0026gt; .80 or \u0026lt; .30 respectively), 2) poor item statistics (i.e., if all response options were not utilized), or if there were corrected item-total correlations of r \u0026lt; .40, and/or 3) age bias (i.e., if a singular item correlated (r \u0026gt; .35) with the reported age of the child or parent (Clark \u0026amp; Watson, 1995; Rust \u0026amp; Golombok, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Eight items were excluded based on these criteria, leaving 29 items for the EFA.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe R package ‘psych’ (v. 4.3.0; Revelle, 2020) was used to conduct a series of EFAs, using polychoric correlations and specifying principal axis factoring with oblique rotation (i.e., direct oblimin). This rotation technique was selected as factors were likely to be correlated (Costello \u0026amp; Osborne, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). The number of factors retained was established using parallel analysis (Horn, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1965\u003c/span\u003e), examination of the scree plot (Cattell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1966\u003c/span\u003e), the Kaiser-Guttman criterion (i.e., retention of factors with eigenvalues ≥ 1.0; Guttman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1954\u003c/span\u003e; Kaiser, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1960\u003c/span\u003e), and inspection of the pattern matrix. During factor extraction, items were assessed for poor primary-factor loading (i.e., \u0026lt; .40) or small communalities (i.e., \u0026lt; .40), cross-loading (i.e., secondary factor loadings of ≥ .30), lack of conceptual/face validity (i.e., loading of an item on a factor that did not align with theory or hypothesized factor), and whether or not they formed part of a non-robust factor (i.e., a factor with less than three items). Decisions regarding item exclusion and retention were both data- and theoretically driven (Clark \u0026amp; Watson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Rust et al., 2009).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEFA Results\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBarlett’s test of sphericity was significant (χ2 = 9711.95, df = 406, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001) and the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value was .96, indicating that the initial 29 items were appropriate for factor analysis. Additionally, all measures of sampling adequacy taken from the diagonal of the anti-image correlation table, were = \u0026gt; .80, and all assumptions were met. The scree plot, Kaiser-Guttman criterion, and parallel analysis converged on a four-factor solution, rather than the hypothesised 6-factor solution. Upon inspection of the pattern matrix, it was identified that the four types of nighttime fears (personal safety fears, separation fears, imaginal/fantasy fears, and inherent characteristics of the dark fears), collapsed onto a single factor, representing ‘Nighttime Fears’. The second factor contained items pertaining to the avoidance and interference behaviours at bedtime/sleep representing ‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’. The third factor pertained to both fear of the dark itself and avoidance and interference behaviours in the dark representing ‘Dark Fear’. The fourth factor consisted of three unrelated items that did not align with theory or the proposed factor structure, and were therefore consequently removed from the scale. Nine additional items were removed from the scale due to cross loading (5 items), misalignment with theory (one item), and redundancy (3 items).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA final EFA was conducted with the 17 remaining items, revealing a three-factor solution that explained 70% of the total variance. The final 17 items and scale statistics are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, with all items loading strongly onto their primary factor with no cross-loadings. The first factor (‘Nighttime Fears’) consisted of eight items pertaining to various fears at nighttime (including personal safety fears, separation fears, imaginal/fantasy fears), with loadings ranging between .52 and .93. The second factor (‘Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference’) consisted of five items capturing bedtime/sleep avoidance behaviour and interference, with loadings between .63 and .96. The third factor (‘Dark Fear’) consisted of four items reflecting both fear of the dark and specific avoidance behaviour and interference of darkness, with loadings ranging between .75 and .87. The factors were moderately to strongly correlated with each other (r = .62 − .78), and the internal consistency of each factor (Cronbach’s α = .88 − .92) and for all 17 items (α = .95) was high.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eStudy 2 CFA and Convergent and Divergent Validity\u003c/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eStudy 2 aimed to confirm the factor structure of the 17-item FAWN-YC, examine the possibility of a general factor structure and explore internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity of the scale scores.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudy 1 EFA and Study 2 CFA Factor Loadings for the FAWN-YC Items\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudy 1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudy 2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(N = 436)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(N = 383)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEFA Factor Loadings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStandardized Factor Loadings\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItem\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBSAI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eh\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBSAI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child has fears that someone is going to hurt them\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child worries about ghosts / spirits\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child is scared about their own safety, or the safety of loved ones\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child worries about scary animals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child is afraid of having a nightmare / bad dream\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child worries about family members\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child worries about shadows in the room\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt nighttime my child worries about banging or knocking noises\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause of fears at night, my child does not want to go to bed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause of fears at night, my child cries at bedtime\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause of fears at night, my child tantrums or argues with parent(s) or others at bedtime\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause of fears at night, my child calls out after bedtime\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy sleep/other family member’s sleep is disrupted due their night-time fears\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy child must have a bright light on to walk into a room\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy child is frightened of the dark\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause of fears at night, my child is unable to sleep in total darkness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy child is fearful of going into dark places\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItem variance explained %\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCronbach’s α\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStandard Deviation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003eNF = Nighttime Fear, BSAI = Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference, DF = Dark Fear, h\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e = communalities\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethod\u003c/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003eProcedure and Participants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe same recruitment methods were used as those outlined in Study 1 except that, at the end of the survey, participants were given the opportunity to provide their unique participant identification code and email address in order to be contacted to complete an additional later survey for the purpose of test-retest reliability (for Study 3).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe participants were 383 parents and primary caregivers aged between 21 and 66 years (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e = 35.39, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 6.11), who reported being either the mother (96.3%), father (2.1%) or primary caregiver (0.5%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old (\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e = 4.33, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 0.79). Fifteen participants began the questionnaire but were excluded due to having children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and another 5 were excluded due to having children outside the selected age range. The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (90%), married (65%) had a household income over AUD\u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e100, 001 (57.2%), and had completed a bachelor degree (34.5). The majority of children were male (52.0%) and lived with both parents (79.4%). Refer to Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;1 for further demographic details.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMeasures\u003c/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNighttime Fears\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 17-item Fears and Worries at Nighttime – Young Children (FAWN-YC) developed in Study 1 was used.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSleep Problems\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe total score and Sleep Anxiety subscale score of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ; Owens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e) were used to examine the convergent validity of the FAWN-YC. The CSHQ is a 33-item (e.g. \"\u003cem\u003eChild needs parent in the room to fall asleep\u003c/em\u003e\") parent-report instrument that contains items related to common sleep behaviours in children. Items are rated on a three-point Likert scale (1 = rarely [0–1 night per week] to 3 = usually [5–7 nights per week]), with each question asked in relation to the previous week. The total score, calculated by summing all items, may range from 33 to 99, with higher scores indicating more problematic child sleep behaviours, and total scores over 41 being indicative of a clinical level paediatric sleep problem (Owens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). The 4-item Sleep Anxiety subscale is calculated by summing the 4 component items, and may range from 4 to 12, with higher scores indicative of greater sleep anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe CSHQ has been used with parents of children from early childhood to early adolescence (Sen \u0026amp; Spruyt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) and has shown acceptable total internal consistency with both community (α = .72; Tyler et al.., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and clinical (α = .77; Donovan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) samples of parents of young children aged 3 to 5 years. The CSHQ total score has also demonstrated adequate test-retest reliability (range between 0.62 to 0.79; Owens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). The Sleep Anxiety subscale has demonstrated adequate internal consistency with both community (0.63) and clinical (0.68) samples. (Owens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). In the present study, the internal consistency of the total CSHQ score (α = .86) and the sleep anxiety subscale (α = .65) were good and adequate respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAnxiety\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS; Spence et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e) measures child anxiety and was used to examine convergent validity. The PAS is a 28-item (e.g. \" \u003cem\u003eIs tense, restless or irritable due to worrying\u003c/em\u003e”) parent-report instrument designed for children aged 3 to 5 years. The items are rated on a 5-point scale from 0 = \u003cem\u003enot at all true\u003c/em\u003e to 4 = \u003cem\u003every often true\u003c/em\u003e. Items are summed to produce a total score that may range from 0 to 112, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety. The PAS has a strong evidence base, including evidence of convergent and divergent validity in clinical and community populations, and evidence of sensitivity to intervention effects and strong inter-assessor agreement (Fisak \u0026amp; Barrett, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Internal consistency in previous studies of preschoolers using the total PAS has been very good (α = .92; Donovan 2023) as was this present study (α = .92).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMythical Creatures Fears and Vulnerability Fears\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 13-item Mythical Creatures Fears (e.g. ghosts or spooky things) and 7-item Vulnerability Fears (e.g. being alone) subscales of The Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II (FSSC– IIP; Bouldin \u0026amp; Pratt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) were used to examine convergent validity. The FSSC– IIP is a parent-report survey specifically designed for parents of children aged 3 to 9 years, with parents asked to rate their child’s level of fear of the subject of each item (e.g. imaginary creatures) on a 3-point scale from 1 = \u003cem\u003enot scared (not applicable)\u003c/em\u003e to 3 = \u003cem\u003every scared\u003c/em\u003e. Items on the subscale are summed to produce a subscale score, with higher scores indicating greater fear of mythical (imaginary) creatures or the feeling of vulnerability (being alone, being in the dark). The factor structure of the FSSC– IIP has been supported in a large Australian sample (Bouldin \u0026amp; Pratt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) and adequate internal consistency has been demonstrated (α = .70; Bouldin \u0026amp; Pratt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). The internal consistencies of the Mythical Creatures Fears and Vulnerability Fears subscales of the FSSC– IIP in the present study were very good (α = .90 and α = .84 respectively).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConduct Problems, Emotional Symptoms and Prosocial Behaviours\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Conduct Problems and Emotional Symptoms subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e) were used to examine the convergent validity, while the Prosocial Behaviours subscale was used to measure divergent validity. The SDQ is a 25-item parent-report instrument for use with parents of children aged 2–17 years. Items on the SDQ are rated on a three-point Likert scale (0 = not true to 2 = certainly true) with each question asked in relation to the previous 6-month period. Higher scores on the Conduct Problems and Emotional Symptoms subscales are indicative of greater problems, while higher scores on the prosocial behaviour subscale indicate more positive behaviours. The SDQ has shown satisfactory construct validity and acceptable internal consistency with large samples of parents of young children aged 3 to 5 years (Conduct Problems, Emotional Problems and Prosocial Behaviour subscale α ranges of mothers and fathers = .72 to .84; Dahlberg et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). The internal consistency of the Conduct Problems, Emotional Problems and Prosocial Behaviour subscales of the SDQ in the present study were adequate (α = .69, .75 and .77 respectively).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCFA Data Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrior to analysis, descriptive statistics were examined for outliers, and assumptions were all checked and met. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 29) analytic software and Amos Graphis (Version 29). Amos Graphics was used to conduct a CFA with a robust maximum likelihood estimation to confirm the factor structure identified in Study 1. To evaluate model fit, several commonly used indices were considered (χ2, χ2 relative to sample size, adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of association (RMSEA)). While a non-significant χ2 is indicative of “good” model fit, it is sensitive to large sample sizes, such as that used in the current study. For a large sample size, it is therefore recommended to divide χ2 by the degrees of freedom with ratios of 2–3 indicative of “good” model fit (Bollen, 1989). Adequate model fit can also be determined by an AGFI greater than .90 and a CFI greater than .95. A RMSEA less than .05 is also considered “good” model fit, values between .05 and .08 indicative of “fair” and “acceptable” fit, and values between .08 and .10 indicative of “mediocre fit” (Bentler, 1990; Hu \u0026amp; Bentler, 1999; Kaplan, 2007). The model was also compared to a general-factor model (i.e., whereby all 17 items were allowed to load onto a single latent factor) using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Lower AIC values indicate a model that is more parsimonious and better-fitting (Akaike, 1987). Cronbach’s α was used to assess internal consistency and bivariate correlations were used to assess convergent and divergent validity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec25\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec26\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec27\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec28\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec29\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\n"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003ch2\u003eConfirmatory Factor Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA CFA was performed with items constrained to load onto their respective factors, and factors allowed to covary as per the EFA results and a priori theory. According to model fit indices, the hypothesized measurement model had acceptable to good fit to the data in this sample, \u003cem\u003eχ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e (114, \u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e = 383) = 275.51, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001, \u003cem\u003eχ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e/\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e = 2.42, AGFI = .90, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .06 (CI90 = 0.05, 0.07) and AIC = 353.51 and explained a total of 70% of the variance. The standardised confirmatory factor loadings for each item are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The Cronbach alphas for each subscale (α = .86 − .90) and the total score (α = .92) were high, with moderate to strong correlations between each subscale (r = .54 – .83).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA general factor model was also examined, whereby all 17 items were allowed to load onto a single latent factor. This model had poor fit, χ2 (119, N = 383) = 1228.00, p \u0026lt; .001, χ2/df = 10.319, AGFI = .55, CFI = .70, RMSEA = .16 (CI90 = 0.15, 0.16) and AIC = 1296.00 While the AIC revealed that the general factor model had poorer fit compared to the measurement model, the standardized loadings for each item in the general factor model were moderate to strong (.55 to .75). There were also strong positive correlations found between the total score and the three subscales and furthermore, the total score demonstrated excellent internal consistency in both Study 1 and 2 (α = .95 and .92 respectively). Therefore, while model fit suggests the 3-factor model is a considerably better fit that the general factor model, the strength in the other psychometric properties provide preliminary evidence for use of a total FAWN-YC score.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConvergent and Divergent Validity\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the means, standard deviations, bivariate correlations and Cronbach’s alphas of all variables used in the study. Correlations between the FAWN-YC composite and subscale scores and measure of convergent validity were all significant and in the predicted directions (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = .30 to .82, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .01). With respect to divergent validity, correlations between the FAWN-YC composite score and subscales and the SDQ prosocial subscale were all non-significant, with the exception of a very weak negative correlation between the Dark Fear subscale and the prosocial subscale of the SDQ (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e = − .10, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .05).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStudy 3: Test-Retest Reliability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe aim of the Study 3 was to investigate the test-retest reliability of the FAWN-YC over a two-week period.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethod\u003c/h2\u003e\u003ch2\u003eProcedure and Participants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e Participants from Study 2 who consented to be contacted again were invited via email to again complete the FAWN-YC two weeks after the first administration. Responses recorded at Time 1 and Time 2 were matched using a unique participant identification code. Only participants who completed the second assessment within the two-week retest period were included. Of the 383 participants, 229 consented to be contacted and entered their unique code and email address. Of the 229, 120 were contactable and were emailed a link to complete the survey within the allocated time frame (i.e., 48hrs +/- 2 weeks post completion\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof study 2). In the email, participants were reminded of their unique code and given instructions to enter it at the beginning of the survey. Of the 120 participants contacted, 52 went on to complete the retest survey within the allocated time period.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c13\" colnum=\"13\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c14\" colnum=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelations Between the KIPS and Selected Measures of Convergent and Discriminant Validity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"14\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFAWN-YC Total\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFAWN-YC NF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.88**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFAWN-YC BSAI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.83**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.57**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFAWN-YC DF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.81**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.58**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e 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\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.53**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.73**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.44**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCSHQ SA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.61**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.43**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.59**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.55**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.70**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePAS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.73**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.72**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.56**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.55**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.54**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.47**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFSSC-IIP MC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.50**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.58**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.31**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.34**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.32**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.23**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.41**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFSSC-IIP VF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.82**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.67**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.64**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.79**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.55**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.59**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.67**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.46**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ-C\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.41**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.35**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.39**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.30**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.39**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.23**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.29**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.20**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.35**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ-E\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.62**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.59**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.51**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.47**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.48**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.40**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.76**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.34**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.61**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.42**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ-P\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .10*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .17**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .13*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .40**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e− .19**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCronbach’s Alpha\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Standard Deviation)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c13\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c14\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"14\"\u003eNote. * = \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .05, **= \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .01. FAWN-YC Total = composite score, FAWN-YC NF = Nighttime Fear, FAWN-YC BSAI = Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference, FAWN-YC DF = Dark Fear, CSHQ Total = Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire, CSHQ SA = Sleep Anxiety, PAS = Preschool Anxiety Scale, FSSC– IIP MC = The Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children–II Mythical Creatures Fears, FSSC– IIP VF = Vulnerability Fears, SDQ-I Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Conduct Problems, SDQ-E = Emotional Symptoms, SDQ-P = Prosocial Behaviours\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe resulting 52 participants were aged between 21 and 47 years (M = 34.46, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 5.85) and reported being either the mother (98.1%) or father (1.9%) of a child aged between 3 and 5 years old (M = 4.92, \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e = 1.19). The majority of adult respondents were Caucasian (84.6%), married (63.5%) had a household income over AUD\u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e100, 001 (50%), and had completed a bachelor degree (59.6%). The majority of children were male (57.7%) and living with both parents (80.8%).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eTest-Retest Data Analysis\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIBM SPSS Statistics (Version 29) analytic software was used to calculate the test-retest reliability for the FAWN-YC composite score and subscales. Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates, 95% confidence intervals based on a 2-way mixed-effects model with absolute-agreement were run using this program. Confidence interval values greater than 0.90 indicate excellent reliability, values between 0.75 and 0.9 suggest good reliability, values between 0.5 and 0.75 suggest moderate reliability and values less than 0.5 suggest poor test-retest reliability (Koo \u0026amp; Li, 2016).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eResults\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntraclass correlation coefficient estimates suggested temporal stability over a two-week period for the FAWN-YC total score and subscales. The FAWN-YC composite score was considered excellent (ICC = .95, 95% CI [.90, .97]), as was the Dark Avoidance and Interference subscale (ICC = .95, 95% CI [.92, .97]). Both the Nighttime Fear subscale (ICC = .88, 95% CI [.79, .93]) and the Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference subscale (ICC = .93, 95% CI [.86, .96]) were considered to have good reliability.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe purpose of this series of three studies was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Fears and Worries at Nighttime - Young Children (FAWN-YC); a parent-rated measure for children aged 3\u0026ndash;5 years (freely available in the Supplementary materials). The aims of the three studies were to generate and reduce items (Study 1), establish a factor structure (Study 1), confirm the factor structure (Study 2), examine the psychometric properties (internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity; Study 2), and examine the test-retest reliability of the scale scores (Study 3). Although 6 subscales were originally proposed, the results of Studies 1 and 2 indicated a 3-factor structure best fit the data. The final 17 item scale consisted of three subscales measuring: Nighttime Fear (8 items), Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference (5 items) and Dark Fear including avoidance and interference of darkness (4 items). The internal consistency of the three subscales and total score was found to be high, and the convergent and divergent validity of the scale was supported. Finally, the FAWN-YC total score and subscales demonstrated test-retest reliability, indicating temporal stability over a two-week period.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThat the total score and subscales of the FAWN-YC demonstrated strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity and divergent validity suggests that the scale is a psychometrically sound and valid measure of nighttime fears in children that will provide a useful instrument for researchers and clinicians alike. Indeed, although our findings support the independent use of the three FAWN-YC subscales over the composite score, the total score demonstrated very strong psychometric properties, providing preliminary support for its use.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith regards to convergent validity, study 2 demonstrated that the FAWN-YC total score and its three subscales were all significantly and positively correlated with theoretically and empirically linked variables related to nighttime fears in young children, with the strength of each of these correlations making theoretical sense. For instance, the \u0026lsquo;Nighttime Fear\u0026rsquo; subscale correlated most strongly with a measure of child anxiety (PAS; Spence et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e), the \u0026lsquo;Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference\u0026rsquo; subscale correlated most strongly with a measure of total child sleep problems (CSHQ; Owens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e), and the \u0026lsquo;Dark Fear\u0026rsquo; subscale correlated most strongly with the Vulnerabilities subscale of the Modified Fear Survey Schedule for Children\u0026ndash;II (FSSC\u0026ndash; IIP; Bouldin \u0026amp; Pratt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e)., which has three (of seven) items related directly to fear of the dark. Overall, the findings suggest that higher levels of nighttime and darkness fears and their behavioural manifestations are related to higher levels of both internalising (e.g., anxiety), and externalising (e.g., conduct problems) behaviours, as well as sleep problems. The findings therefore are consistent with previous research reporting links between nighttime fears, internalising, externalising, and sleep problems in preschool aged children (El Rafihi-Ferreira et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and thus support the overall content validity of the subscale and total scale scores.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough psychometrically strong, the factor structure of the FAWN-YC is different to what was predicted. Six factors were originally hypothesised, with four factors predicted to cluster around distinct fear categories (personal safety fears, separation fears, imaginal/fantasy fears, inherent characteristics of the dark fears) and two representing different types of interference (bedtime/sleep time and the dark/night). However, while the \u0026lsquo;Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference\u0026rsquo; factor emerged as distinct, the different types of nighttime fears and the dark avoidance and interference factors did \u003cem\u003enot\u003c/em\u003e, and instead emerged as two factors. Most nighttime fear types clustered onto the \u003cem\u003eone\u003c/em\u003e factor, which was characterised by worries and anxiety of things at nighttime (being alone, safety, imaginal) whereas fear of dark itself \u003cem\u003eand\u003c/em\u003e avoidance and interference in the dark merged together to create a separate factor (i.e., \u0026lsquo;Dark Fear\u0026rsquo;). Given the way in which these factors have emerged, combined with evidence of correlation strengths and convergent validity, children who score high in the \u0026lsquo;Nighttime Fear\u0026rsquo; factor may be more representative of children with anxiety (i.e., separation anxiety, generalised anxiety), whereas children scoring high in \u0026lsquo;Dark Fear\u0026rsquo; may represent more fear-based symptomology (i.e., specific phobia of the dark). Future research could examine whether this measure could predict distinct comorbidity clusters using clinical samples.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough the predicted factor structure was based on a review of the literature (Gordon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e, Mooney \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e, Muris et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e), the literature reviewed was less than optimal in several ways. First, most studies examining nighttime fear types in children have focused on primary school aged children and young adolescents, rarely including preschool children. Given the specific developmental characteristics of preschool children, it may be that younger children experience fears at night differently to their older counterparts being more likely to experience a range of nighttime fears rather than specific ones. Second, only one study (that did not include children under 8.5 years of age, that used a relatively small sample from the Netherlands, and that was conducted almost 4 decades ago) examined the factor structure of the measure under review (Mooney at al., 1985). All other studies either clustered fears based on face validity or based their categories on the one study that did use factor analysis (Gordon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e, Mooney \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e, Muris et al \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). Although this study requires replication, the findings regarding factor structure speak to the importance of developing a nighttime fear measure specifically for preschool children, and highlight the differences between young children and their older child and teenage counterparts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is noteworthy, and indeed surprising, that items related to co-sleeping were \u0026lsquo;dropped\u0026rsquo; from the \u0026lsquo;Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference\u0026rsquo; factor due to poor primary-factor loading, insufficient correlations with other items and poor item statistics. When examining the behavioural manifestations of nighttime fears, the authors chose to use the sentence starter \u0026ldquo;Because of fears at nighttime, my child\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; with the intention to gather information pertaining to parental perception of the behaviours directly related to child nighttime fears. The fact that co-sleeping items were dropped from this subscale therefore suggests that reactive co-sleeping may \u003cem\u003enot\u003c/em\u003e be the result of nighttime fears in preschool aged children. Interestingly, a recent systematic review and cross-cultural meta-analysis examining co-sleeping and sleep problems in childhood noted the inconsistency in the relationship between co-sleeping and sleep anxiety and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to suggest a causal relationship (Peng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, most of the studies included in the review by Peng et al did not include children in the preschool developmental period, with most co-sleeping literature focussed either on infants or primary school aged children. It may well be that co-sleeping is better explained by other child and parent factors rather than nighttime fears such as child anxiety disorders and particularly separation anxiety (Chevalier et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Palmer et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), child behavioural difficulties such as bedtime resistance (Peng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and even parental distress (Cortesi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Roberts et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Clearly reactive co-sleeping in the preschool development period warrants further investigation in this regard.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec33\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLimitations and Directions for Future Research\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis series of three studies allowed for the systematic development and psychometric testing of the FAWN-YC, using large sample sizes, and advanced statistical techniques. However, there were a number of limitations that should be noted. First, sensitivity and specificity were not tested, nor was this sample large enough to determine norms. Collecting a larger sample in the future, and including an accompanying clinical interview, would allow examination of the ability of the FAWN-YC to differentiate between children with and without problematic nighttime fears, and to determine norms. Second, the generalizability of the results of this study was limited by the proportion of male to female parents and caregivers completing the surveys. Although large sample studies indicate good inter-parent agreement in ratings of behavioural and emotional problems in preschool-aged children (F\u0026auml;lt et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), future research would benefit from further attempts to recruit fathers in parent samples. Third, the sample was homogenous in terms of ethnicity, level of education, and wealth, thus limiting the generalizability of results to other populations. Future studies should strive to include samples that are more heterogenous in terms of these constructs. Finally, previous research suggests that parents can underestimate the frequency and intensity of their young child\u0026rsquo;s fears (Lahikainen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). Although young children may lack the cognitive sophistication to respond to questionnaires and interviews, future research may include more objective measures (i.e., skin conductance, actigraphy or recordings/observations of child\u0026rsquo;s nighttime behaviours) to better measure nighttime fears, and further validate the FAWN-YC.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec34\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eImplications and Conclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings of this series of studies indicate that the 17-item Fears and Worries at Nighttime - Young Children (FAWN-YC) is a psychometrically valid, parent-report scale of nighttime fears. By assessing not only the presence of specific common nighttime fears, but also the typical avoidance and impairment manifestations of those fears in both bedtime/sleep and dark contexts, the FAWN-YC provides researchers and clinicians with a valid and reliable tool to assess the specific nighttime fear the child may have, the variety of nighttime fears the child has, and importantly, parental perceptions regarding how nighttime fears are affecting their child\u0026rsquo;s nighttime behaviours.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor researchers, The FAWN-YC provides a user-friendly, psychometrically valid measure of nighttime fears in children that may be used in a variety of studies including epidemiological studies, studies examining the antecedents and consequences of nighttime fears, and studies aiming to determine the efficacy of treatment programs designed to treat nighttime fears in this population. For clinicians, the FAWN-YC may assist in the conceptualisation and treatment of children with nighttime fears. For example, the FAWN-YC may assist in identifying the target of an exposure hierarchy and the requirement for combinations of child relaxation skills, co-regulation skills, parent upskilling in areas such as behaviour management, exposure games and psychoeducation. Thus, the FAWN-YC is likely to be of significant value in both research and clinical settings, informing our understanding and treatment of fear, anxiety and sleep difficulties in preschool aged children.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eEthical Approval\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e Ethics approval for all studies was sought and obtained from the BLINDED FOR REVIEW Human Ethics Committee (HREC:XXXX/XXX). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eStudy conception by L.F. and E.M-L. Study design by L.F., E.M-L., A.S. and C.D. Material preparation, data collection, data curation, project administration and analysis were performed by A.S. All drafts and final manuscript were written by A.S. Previous versions of the manuscript were reviewed by L.U and C.D. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease contact the corresponding authors of this paper to request access to data.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAchenbach TM (1999) The Child Behavior Checklist and related instruments. In: Maruish ME (ed) The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcomes assessment, 2nd edn. 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Oxford University Press\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"child-psychiatry-and-human-development","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"chud","sideBox":"Learn more about [Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development](http://link.springer.com/journal/10578)","snPcode":"10578","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10578/3","title":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Preschoolers, Nighttime Fears, Dark, Measure, Child","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4638924/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4638924/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper outlines the development and psychometric evaluation of the Fears and Worries at Nighttime - Young Children (FAWN-YC) scale; a parent-rated measure for children aged 3\u0026ndash;5 years. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA; N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;436) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;383), resulted in a final 17 items that loaded onto 3 factors: Nighttime Fears (8 items, α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.92), Bedtime/Sleep Avoidance and Interference (5 items, α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.90), and Dark Fear (4 items, α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.88). Evidence of convergent validity was found through strong associations between the total score and subscales of the FAWN-YC with measures of child anxiety, fear, sleep, externalizing and conduct problems. Furthermore, there was support for divergent validity (through a very weak to no relationship with a measure of prosocial behaviours), and evidence for temporal stability was also established with 2-week test-retest reliability. Overall, the results provide strong preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the FAWN-YC total score and subscales.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Fears and Worries at Nighttime in Young Children: Development and Psychometric Validation of a New Parent-Report Measure (FAWN-YC)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-18 06:45:18","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4638924/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-08-15T14:59:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-08-05T08:39:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-07-11T10:04:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"214884966259690915384757907839185073298","date":"2024-07-08T05:28:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"105434202795849423174229874473338049580","date":"2024-07-01T19:32:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"104393900135986521634410685320003376125","date":"2024-07-01T10:29:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-06-30T10:35:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-06-30T10:33:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-06-26T10:47:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development","date":"2024-06-25T23:42:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"child-psychiatry-and-human-development","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"chud","sideBox":"Learn more about [Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development](http://link.springer.com/journal/10578)","snPcode":"10578","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10578/3","title":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"34bb020c-d5fa-4726-88e6-29f57963ecc7","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 18th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-09-23T16:04:54+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4638924","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01758-3","journal":{"identity":"child-psychiatry-and-human-development","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development"},"publishedOn":"2024-09-16 15:57:56","publishedOnDateReadable":"September 16th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-18 06:45:18","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10578-024-01758-3","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01758-3","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4638924","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4638924","identity":"rs-4638924","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}