RCMAS-2: Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale – Second Edition
Ages: 6 through 19 years
Testing Time: 10 to 15 minutes; less than 5 minutes for Short Form
Administration: Individual or Group
Widely used by school psychologists, clinicians, and researchers, the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale is now available in an updated Second Edition. The new RCMAS-2 retains all the features that made previous versions of the test so popular—brevity, a simple yes/no response format, an elementary reading level, and content-based item clusters that help pinpoint children’s problems and focus intervention. At the same time, it adds a convenient Short Form, updated and ethnically diverse norms, and new items that reflect changes in the way children now experience anxiety.
Updated Focus on Performance and Social Anxiety
Like its predecessor, the RCMAS-2 is a brief self-report inventory measuring the level and nature of anxiety in 6- to 19-year-olds. The test is now composed of 49 items covering the following scales:
The Social Anxiety scale replaces the RCMAS Social Concerns/Concentration scale, and a new cluster of 10 items assesses performance anxiety. These changes address the increased pressure that today’s children feel to achieve, academically and socially. They allow teachers and school psychologists to monitor the stress that children may feel and help them cope with it.
The Defensiveness scale replaces and improves upon the RCMAS Lie scale, while the Inconsistent Responding index is a new addition.New Short Form, Audio Administration Option, and Norms Test administration remains quick and easy. The RCMAS-2 can be completed in just 10 to 15 minutes, and a new Short Form, composed of the first 10 items, requires less than 5 minutes. Items are written at a second-grade reading level. An Audio CD is provided for younger children and those with reading or attention problems.
The test generates a Total Anxiety score plus scale scores. Norms are based on an ethnically diverse sample of more than 2,300 individuals between the ages of 6 and 19, with almost equal numbers of males and females. Norms are presented separately for three age groups: 6 to 8 years, 9 to 14 years, and 15 to 19 years.
Because RCMAS-2 scales correlate highly with RCMAS scales, scores from the former may be considered equivalent to corresponding scores from the latter. Consequently, research using the RCMAS extends to the RCMAS-2.
An Essential Part of Any Psychological Evaluation
RCMAS-2 scores often lead to the discovery of more basic problems. The scale is useful in evaluating children for academic stress, test anxiety, peer and family conflicts, and drug problems. Teachers and school psychologists will find that the RCMAS-2 is an excellent way to assess anxiety levels in the classroom. And parents will find RCMAS-2 results useful in helping their children adapt to anxiety-producing situations, both academic and social. With updated structure and content, the RCMAS-2 not only identifies the problem but also points toward the solution.
Complete RCMAS-2 Kit includes: Manual and 25 Autoscore™ forms. (©2008)