Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults – SAQ-A30
A 30-item self-report questionnaire (plus 2 control items) designed to assess social anxiety across five distinct dimensions of social situations.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults – SAQ-A30 was developed by Vicente E. Caballo, Isabel C. Salazar, María Jesús Irurtia, Benito Arias, Stefan G. Hofmann (2012). It is designed to measure Social Anxiety. The scale is intended for use with Adults and adolescents (ages 16-68).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 32 items organized into 6 factors/subscales: Public speaking/authority figures, Interactions with the opposite sex, Assertive expression of negative emotions, Interactions with strangers, Criticism/embarrassment, Control items.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Public speaking/authority figures | 3,7,13,19,26,31 | 6 |
| Interactions with the opposite sex | 4,6,21,24,29,32 | 6 |
| Assertive expression of negative emotions | 2,5,9,12,15,28 | 6 |
| Interactions with strangers | 11,14,16,18,20,23 | 6 |
| Criticism/embarrassment | 1,8,17,22,25,30 | 6 |
| Control items | 10,27 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Not at all, 2 = Slight or Very Slight, 3 = Moderate, 4 = High, 5 = Very High or Extremely High.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 30 to 150. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Social Anxiety: 30 – 75
- Moderate Social Anxiety: 76 – 110
- High Social Anxiety: 111 – 150
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.93.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.