Purpose

The clinical aim of the questionnaire is to contribute to the diagnosis of phobic disorders and to categorize the situations that trigger phobic reactions (in children aged 7 to 12), within the context of systematic desensitization therapy, in vivo desensitization, and other therapist-guided gradual exposure interventions. For research purposes related to fear-related phenomena and as an independent variable in experimental studies, the FSSC-GR is a widely used international measure of children’s fear-related anxiety.

Summary Description

This is a self-report questionnaire designed to detect and record reactions to 81 fear statements provided by the child, aiming to measure—on a Likert-type scale—the level of fear each event or situation causes (0 = not at all, 1 = a little, 2 = a lot). Factor analysis of the original questionnaire revealed seven factors: fears related to the risk of death, fears of the unknown, fears associated with animals, fears related to situations and natural disasters, fears related to physical threat or physical assault, and social fears.

Sample

The sample consisted of children aged 7 to 12 years (1,546 girls and 1,654 boys) who were students in 28 elementary schools in urban and rural areas of Greece.

Scoring Method

This is a self-report questionnaire. Scoring is done using a three-point Likert scale (1 = not at all, 2 = a little, 3 = a lot).

Reliability

The assessments of internal consistency and temporal stability of self-reports in the FSSC-GR were comparable to those in the English, Chinese, Dutch, and other versions of the questionnaire. Test-retest reliability (conducted over a 2-week period) was r = 0.88 for the total score, ranging from r = 0.89 to r = 0.69 for the subscales (modal value r = 0.75). Internal consistency reliability was α = 0.95 for the total score, ranging from α = 0.89 to α = 0.64 for the subscales (modal value α = 0.82).

Main Bibliographic Source

Mellon, R., Koliadis, E., & Paraskevopoulos, T. (2004). Normative development of fears in Greece: Self-reports on the Hellenic Fear Survey Schedule for Children. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 18, 233–254.