Abstract
The purposes of this study were to develop the Children's Self-Statement Scale (CSSS) and to investigate the relationship between self-statements and anxiety symptoms in children. In study I, the items of the CSSS were developed by using open-ended questions. As a result of factor analysis of data obtained from 693 elementary school students, it was revealed that the CSSS has 40 items with two factors: "positive self-statements" and "negative self-statements." Reliabilities of the scale using the test-retest method and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were high. The concurrent validity of the CSSS was also demonstrated. In study II, 546 elementary school students were asked to complete the CSSS and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS). As results of regression analysis, all factors of the SCAS correlated positively with the "negative self-statement" subscale. Results of MANOVAs suggested that the "positive monologue group," defined by using the State of Mind (SOM) ratio, had significantly lower SCAS scores than those of other groups. Therefore, the results of this study suggested that interventions on self-statements would be necessary for children with anxiety disorders.
