Scale-Description

The Social Phobia (Scrutiny Fear) Scale (SPS) is a psychometric tool used to assess the fear and anxiety individuals experience in situations where they believe they are being observed or judged by others. This scale was developed to specifically measure levels of scrutiny fear, which is a core characteristic of social phobia.

The SPS consists of a series of statements that evaluate the level of fear in various social situations, such as:

Presenting in front of an audience.

Engaging in social interactions with unfamiliar individuals.

Participating in group activities where there is a possibility of being observed or judged by others.

Participants are asked to rate each statement on a Likert-type scale, indicating the degree of fear or anxiety they experience in each situation.

Data Analysis and Usage

Data collected from the SPS can be analyzed using various statistical methods to assess levels of social phobia. The main analyses include:

Reliability analysis to determine the internal consistency of the scale, typically calculated using Cronbach’s alpha.

Factor analysis to examine the underlying dimensions of scrutiny fear and confirm the structure of the scale.

Correlation analysis to explore the relationship between SPS scores and other variables, such as anxiety, depression, or quality of life.

The data from the SPS can be used in clinical settings for diagnosing social phobia, as well as in research settings to study the prevalence and risk factors associated with social phobia.

Purpose

The goal of the Social Phobia (Scrutiny Fear) Scale (SPS) is to accurately measure the level of scrutiny fear experienced by individuals in social situations. The SPS can be used to:

Diagnose and monitor social phobia in clinical settings.

Assess the severity of social phobia symptoms.

Study the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing scrutiny fear.

Calibration

The calibration of the SPS includes:

Reliability analysis to ensure the stability of responses across the different items of the scale.

Confirmatory factor analysis to validate the structure of the scale.

Cross-validation in various populations to ensure the generalizability of the results.

Bibliography

Mattick, R. P., & Clarke, J. C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(4), 455-470.

Heimberg, R. G., & Becker, R. E. (2002). Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social phobia: Basic mechanisms and clinical strategies. Guilford Press.

Brown, E. J., & Stopa, L. (2007). The scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety scales: Structure and interpretation. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 35(3), 347-355.