Table of Contents
Instructions:
For each item, please tap the box to indicate the degree to which you feel the statement is characteristic or true for you.
| 1 | I get nervous if I have to speak with someone in authority (teacher, boss, etc.). | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | I have difficulty making eye contact with others. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | I become tense if I have to talk about myself or my feelings. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | I find it difficult to mix comfortably with the people I work with. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 5 | I find it easy to make friends my own age. | |
| 4 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 0 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 6 | I tense up if I meet an acquaintance in the street. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 7 | When mixing socially, I am uncomfortable. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 8 | I feel tense if I am alone with just one other person. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 9 | I am at ease meeting people at parties, etc. | |
| 4 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 0 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 10 | I have difficulty talking with other people. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 11 | I find it easy to think of things to talk about. | |
| 4 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 0 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 12 | I worry about expressing myself in case I appear awkward. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 13 | I find it difficult to disagree with another’s point of view. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 14 | I have difficulty talking to attractive persons of the opposite sex. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 15 | I find myself worrying that I won’t know what to say in social situations. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 16 | I am nervous mixing with people I don’t know well. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 17 | I feel I’ll say something embarrassing when talking. | |
| 0 | Not at all characteristic or true of me | |
| 1 | Slightly characteristic or true of me | |
| 2 | Moderately characteristic or true of me | |
| 3 | Very characteristic or true of me | |
| 4 | Extremely characteristic or true of me | |
| 18
19 20 |
When mixing in a group, I find myself worrying I will be ignored. |
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| I am tense mixing in a group. | |
|
|
| I am unsure whether to greet someone I know only slightly. | |
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Description
The SIAS is a 20 item self report scale designed to measure social interaction anxiety defined as “distress when meeting and talking with other people” (Mattick and Clarke, 1998, p. 457). This tool is helpful in tracking social anxiety symptoms over time, and may be helpful as part of an assessment for social phobia or other anxiety related disorders.
Validity and Reliability
The SIAS has been compared to other scales that measure social anxiety, including the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI). Peters (2000) found that they were highly significantly correlated (r = 0.86, P<0.001) suggesting the scales tap similar constructs. Clinician-rated severity of social phobia has also been found to be moderately related to SIAS scores (Brown, et al., 1997). The SIAS has been found to have strong sensitivity to treatment change (Cox, et al., 1998). However, it does not distinguish between social phobia and other anxiety disorders (Peters, 2000). Accordingly, it is recommended that the SIAS should be used as a tool to track treatment progress, and should not be heavily relied upon for differential diagnosis.
Interpretation
Peters (2000) defined the cut off score as 36 for probable social phobia. At this score the scale has a sensitivity of 0.93 and specificity of 0.60, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.84 and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.78. The average score among people with previously diagnosed social phobia (n=74) was 55.24 (SD=1.97) while for other anxiety disorders (n=34) the mean was 29.46 (SD=29). Results consist of three scores: the raw score, the raw score converted into a percentile using a social phobia sample, and a percentile in an anxiety sample. A percentile of 50 for the social phobia sample indicates that the client has an average level of symptoms compared to others with social phobia, while percentiles above 50 represent more severe symptoms. There is no standardisation using a normal sample.
Developer
Mattick, R. P., & Clarke, J. C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety1. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(4), 455-470.
Number Of Questions
20
References
Brown, E. J., Turovsky, J., Heimberg, R. G., Juster, H. R., Brown, T. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1997). Validation of the social interaction anxiety scale and the social phobia scale across the anxiety disorders. Psychological Assessment, 1, 21-27.
Cox, B. J., Ross, L., Swinson, R. P., & Direnfeld, D. M. (1998) A comparison of social phobia outcome measures in cognitive-behavioural group therapy. Behavior Modification, 22, 285-297.
Peters, L. (2000). Discriminant validity of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI), the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38, 943-950.
Developer Reference:
Mattick, R. P., & Clarke, J. C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety1. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(4), 455-470.