Social Appearance Anxiety Scale – SAAS
Assesses fear of situations in which one's appearance will be evaluated.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Social Appearance Anxiety Scale – SAAS was developed by Hart, S. L., Wearing, S. L., & Newlove, T. (1999). It is designed to measure Social appearance anxiety. The scale is intended for use with Adults, adolescents, and individuals with eating disorders.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 16 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Not at all, 2 = Slightly, 3 = Moderately, 4 = Very, 5 = Extremely.
The scale includes 1 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 16 to 80. Interpretation guidelines:
- Total Score Range (Higher scores indicate greater social appearance anxiety): 16 – 80
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of High internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.