2.2 Questionnaire measures
Prior to the MRI scan, youth were assisted by a trained member of the research staff in completing standardized self-report measures of anxiety and trait mindfulness.
Anxiety symptoms: Youth reported on their anxiety symptoms using the 41-item Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED)38 shows good reliability, as measured via internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The SCARED demonstrates good discriminate validity between anxiety and non-anxiety disorders.39,40 Total possible SCARED scores range from 0–82, with scores of ≥ 25 recommended for differentiating anxious from nonanxious youth. In the present sample, 25% of participants exceeded this threshold for detecting anxiety.
Trait mindfulness: Youth completed the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), a 10-item measure of trait mindfulness.41 Possible scores range from 0–40, with higher scores indicating higher mindfulness. The CAMM shows adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.81–0.88), reliability, and validity in youth samples.41,42