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

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.