Adolescent Life Interference Scale for Internalizing Symptoms (ALIS-I)

Description

The Adolescent Life Interference Scale for Internalizing Symptoms (ALIS-I; Schniering et al., 2023) is a 22-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess functional impairment linked to anxiety and depression in adolescents. The development of this instrument was driven by a recognized need for a specific measure of impairment tailored for adolescents with internalizing disorders. The initial item pool was generated by drawing on literature indicating that functional impairment generally pertains to key domains such as education, peer interactions, and parental relationships, in addition to insights from the authors’ clinical work with adolescents. Following an expert review and piloting phase, the preliminary 30-item version of the measure was administered to both clinical and non-clinical adolescent samples in the U.S. and Australia. An exploratory factor analysis subsequently refined the scale to 22 items, revealing a four-factor structure. Comprehensive psychometric evaluations, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity, have been reported for the ALIS-I.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ALIS-I is to evaluate the extent of life interference experienced by adolescents as a result of internalizing symptoms.

Validity

Discriminant Validity: The ALIS-I demonstrated good discriminant validity. Clinical participants consistently showed significantly higher mean scores on the total scale and all subscales compared to the control group, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large.

Convergent Validity: The ALIS-I exhibited strong positive correlations with established measures of related constructs, indicating high convergent validity. Specifically, strong correlations were observed with the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD; Radloff, 1977) (r = 0.81, p < 0.0005), the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS; Nauta et al., 2004; Spence, 1998) (r = 0.68, p < 0.0005), and the negative affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) (r = 0.80, p < 0.0005).

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The total scale demonstrated high internal consistency, with McDonald’s omega (ω) reported as 0.94. The internal consistency of the individual subscales ranged from moderate to high.

Test-Retest Reliability: Test-retest reliability, assessed over an 8-12 week period using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), was moderate for the total scale and three of the four subscales. The peer problems subscale showed lower test-retest reliability, attributed to relatively limited variability within this subscale.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis: Both four- and five-factor exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted. The four-factor structure was found to be more stable and yielded clinically meaningful factors. Items were retained within a subscale only if their factor loading was greater than 0.4 on at least one of the four factors. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis was re-run with the selected 22 items, confirming a 4-factor model.

Instrument

• Test Type: Original

• Format: Respondents rate the frequency of experiencing each life interference item over the past month using a 5-point frequency scale (0 = not at all, 1 = sometimes, 2 = fairly often, 3 = often, 4 = all the time). Higher scores indicate a greater degree of impairment. The measure consists of 22 items.

• Language Available: English

• Population Group: Human (Male, Female)

• Age Group: Childhood (birth-12 yrs), School Age (6-12 yrs), Adolescence (13-17 yrs), Adulthood (18 yrs & older)

• Population Details: The study involved clinical and non-clinical adolescents aged 11-18 from Australia and the United States.

• Test Methodology: The development and validation of the ALIS-I involved various psychometric methodologies, including: Test Validity, Convergent Validity, Discriminant Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Test-Retest Reliability, Factor Analysis, and Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Adolescent Anxiety, Adolescent Depression, Internalizing Disorders, Peer Problems, Problems with Study/Work, Somatic Problems, Withdrawal/Avoidance, Functional Impairment, Adolescent Psychopathology, Anxiety Disorders, Avoidance, Functional Status, Life Experiences, Major Depression, Peer Relations, Withdrawal (Defense Mechanism), Somatization, Academic Stress, Internalizing Symptoms, Mental Health and Illness Assessment, Youth Mental Health.

Authors

• Schniering, Carolyn A.

  • Author OCRID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Centre for Emotional Health

  • Email addresses: [email protected]

• Forbes, Miriam K.

  • Author OCRID Identifier: orcid.org/0000-0002-6954-3818

  • Affiliation: Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Centre for Emotional Health

  • Email addresses: No data is Available

• Rapee, Ronald M.

  • Author OCRID Identifier: orcid.org/0000-0002-1724-1076

  • Affiliation: Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Centre for Emotional Health

  • Email addresses: [email protected]

• Wuthrich, Viviana M.

  • Author OCRID Identifier: orcid.org/0000-0001-7227-229X

  • Affiliation: Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Centre for Emotional Health

  • Email addresses: No data is Available

• Queen, Alexander H.

  • Author OCRID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: Tufts University, Department of Psychology

  • Email addresses: No data is Available

• Ehrenreich‑May, Jill

  • Author OCRID Identifier: No data is Available

  • Affiliation: University of Miami, Department of Psychology

  • Email addresses: No data is Available

Correspondence Address:

Schniering, Carolyn A.: Macquarie University, Department of Psychology, Centre for Emotional Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2109, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author

• Commercial: No

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

References

Schniering, C. A., Forbes, M. K., Rapee, R. M., Wuthrich, V. M., Queen, A. H., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2023). Assessing functional impairment in youth: Development of the Adolescent Life Interference Scale for Internalizing Symptoms (ALIS‑I). Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 54(2), 508–519. doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01241-3

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Files: No file is available

Items of the Adolescent Life Interference Scale for Internalizing Symptoms (ALIS-I)

No test items are available in the provided text.

Subscales:

The ALIS-I includes the following subscales:

• Withdrawal/avoidance

• Somatic Problems

• Problems With Study/work

• Peer Problems