Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users – Chinese Version

Description

Social anxiety is a common negative psychological experience in social interaction situations, characterized by irrational fear of scrutiny or evaluation by others in social contexts. While social media is favored by individuals experiencing real-life social anxiety, its darker aspects have drawn researchers’ attention, as it may become a new source of stress, leading to various anxiety-related negative emotions. With the boundaries between online and offline interactions becoming increasingly blurred, social media contexts can similarly provoke social anxiety, even giving rise to new forms of anxiety. In the United States, 17% of college students report feeling social anxiety when using Facebook, indicating that social media is not a true refuge for those with social anxiety.

Authors and Contact Email

Jia Guizhi, Dai Hongliang, Chu Yuying, Wang Xue, Hao Yuanyuan, Wang Suyan

Purpose

The purpose of this scale is to measure specific online social anxiety, which has increasingly become relevant as individuals navigate social media.

Test Year

2020

Administration Method and Scoring

The Chinese version of the Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users (SAS-SMU) includes 21 items across three dimensions:
– 社会识别焦虑 (Social Recognition Anxiety)
– 互动焦虑 (Interaction Anxiety)
– 隐私关注焦虑 (Privacy Concern Anxiety)

Responses are provided using a Likert scale:
1-never
2-rarely
3-sometimes
4-often
5-always

Reliability and Validity

The overall Cronbach’s α coefficient for the scale and its three dimensions are as follows:
– Total: 0.96
– 社会识别焦虑 (Social Recognition Anxiety): 0.93
– 互动焦虑 (Interaction Anxiety): 0.94
– 隐私关注焦虑 (Privacy Concern Anxiety): 0.91

Factors and Subscales

The scale comprises three main dimensions, each assessing specific aspects of online social anxiety:
1. 社会识别焦虑 (Social Recognition Anxiety)
2. 互动焦虑 (Interaction Anxiety)
3. 隐私关注焦虑 (Privacy Concern Anxiety)

Keywords

Social Anxiety, Social Media, Measurement, College Students, Psychometrics

Items in Chinese

1. 我担心别人会觉得我的行为很尴尬。
2. 我担心自己分享的内容会被别人嘲笑。
3. 我担心我分享的内容别人不喜欢。
4. 我担心我的好朋友不支持我的行为。
5. 当我的朋友公开表示不喜欢我分享的内容时，我会感到不舒服。
6. 我担心别人不赞成我的行为。
7. 我担心朋友在别人面前评判我分享的内容。
8. 我的私密信息可能被别人获取让我感到焦虑。
9. 我的私密信息可能被公开分享让我感到焦虑。
10. 当朋友与我不认识的人分享我的个人信息时，我会感到不安。
11. 当别人未经允许进入我的私人空间时，我会感到不安。
12. 我对社交媒体公司如何处理关于我私生活的隐私政策感到焦虑。
13. 和刚认识的人交谈时，我会感到焦虑。
14. 和不太了解的人交谈时，我会紧张。
15. 结交新朋友时，我会感到不安。
16. 和别人初次见面时，我会紧张。
17. 我害怕和别人交往。
18. 当我不得不和别人谈论自己时，我感到紧张。
19. 我担心我会给别人留下负面印象。
20. 我担心别人看不起我。
21. 我对无法满足他人的期待而感到焦虑。

Items in English

1. I feel anxious about the fact that others might find my actions awkward.
2. I am concerned about being ridiculed by others for the content I have shared.
3. I am concerned about the fact that the content I share will not be liked by others.
4. I am afraid that my close friends will not approve of my behavior.
5. I would feel uncomfortable when my friends publicly express their dislike about content I have shared.
6. I am concerned about disapproval of my behaviors by others.
7. I am concerned about being judged about my shared content by my friends in the presence of others.
8. The possibility of having my private information acquired by others makes me feel anxious.
9. The possibility of having my private information shared publicly makes me anxious.
10. I feel uneasy when my friends share my private information with people I do not know.
11. I would be concerned if my personal space is accessed without my consent.
12. I feel anxious about how social media companies handle privacy policy regarding my private life.
13. I feel anxious when talking with people I have just met.
14. I feel nervous when I talk with people I do not know very well.
15. I feel uneasy while making new friends.
16. I feel tense when I meet someone for the first time.
17. I am afraid of interacting with others.
18. I feel nervous when I have to talk with others about myself.
19. I feel anxious about making a negative impression on people.
20. I am concerned about people thinking poorly of me.
21. I feel anxious about not being able to meet people’s expectations.

References

陈必忠,张瑞敏,张绮琳,郑雪.社交媒体用户社交焦虑量表在中国大学生中的初步应用[J].中国临床心理学杂志,2020,28(06):1190-1193+1198.DOI:10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2020.06.023.
Jia Guizhi,Dai Hongliang,Chu Yuying,Wang Xue,Hao Yuanyuan,Wang Suyan. Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of social anxiety scale for social media users and cross-sectional investigation into this disorder among college students.[J]. Comprehensive psychiatry,2022,116.
Yunus Alkis, Zafer Kadirhan, Mustafa Sat,Development and Validation of Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users,Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 72, 2017, Pages 296-303,ISSN 0747-5632,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.011.