Social Phobia Scale (SPS)

Instructions:

For each item, please indicate the degree to which you feel the statement is characteristic or true for you.

Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely
  I become anxious if I have to write in front of other people 0 1 2 3 4
I become self-conscious when using public toilets 0 1 2 3 4
I can suddenly become aware of my own voice and of others listening to me 0 1 2 3 4
I get nervous that people are staring at me as I walk down the street 0 1 2 3 4
I fear I may blush when I am with others 0 1 2 3 4
I feel self-conscious if I have to enter a room where others are already seated 0 1 2 3 4
I worry about shaking or trembling when I’m watched by other people 0 1 2 3 4
I would get tense if I had to sit facing other people on a bus or a train 0 1 2 3 4
I get panicky that others might see me to be faint, sick or ill 0 1 2 3 4
I would find it difficult to drink something if in a group of people 0 1 2 3 4
It would make me feel self-conscious to eat in front of a stranger at a restaurant 0 1 2 3 4
I am worried people will think my behaviour is odd 0 1 2 3 4
I would get tense if I had to carry a tray across a crowded cafeteria 0 1 2 3 4
I worry I’ll lose control of myself in front of other people 0 1 2 3 4
I worry I might do something to attract the attention of others 0 1 2 3 4
When in an elevator I am tense if people look at me 0 1 2 3 4
Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely
  I can feel conspicuous standing in a queue 0 1 2 3 4
I get tense when I speak in front of other people 0 1 2 3 4
I worry my head will shake or nod in front of others 0 1 2 3 4
I feel awkward and tense if I know people are watching me 0 1 2 3 4

Description

The Social Phobia Scale is a 20-item self-report measure of fear of being scrutinised or observed during routine activities such as eating, drinking and writing. A typical question in this scale is “I get nervous that people are staring at me as I walk down the street“. This measure is useful in tracking symptoms of social phobia and self consciousness over time.

Validity and Reliability

The SPS has demonstrated discriminant validity, with the scale distinguishing between clinical presentations of anxiety (i.e. social phobia, agoraphobia and simple phobia), and between social phobic and non-clinical (student and community) samples (Mattick & Clarke, 1998). Convergent validity of the SPS is also apparent, as the scale correlates highly with established measures of social anxiety (e.g. FNES and SADS) The SPS has high internal consistency and high test-retest reliability at 4 and 12 weeks. This measure also responds as expected (i.e. total scores decrease) to treatment of scrutiny fears (Mattick & Clarke, 1998).

Interpretation

A raw total score ranging from 0-80 is given as output, with higher scores indicating higher anxiety about being observed or scrutinised. The total raw score is converted into two percentiles, comparing the client to a social phobia sample (n = 243) and an adult community sample (n = 315) (Mattick & Clarke, 1998). A percentile of 50 compared to the social phobia group represents typical symptom severity for someone who has been independently diagnosed with social phobia. A percentile of 50 in the community sample represents the typical score among the population, and is indicative of a normal level of social fear.

Developer

Mattick, Richard P., & Clarke, J. Christopher. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(4), 455-470. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(97)10031-6

Number Of Questions

20

Developer Reference:

Mattick, Richard P., & Clarke, J. Christopher. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(4), 455-470. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(97)10031-6

 

x
LinkedInRedditMessengerTelegramWhatsApp

Related terms:

  1. Social Phobia (Scrutiny Fear) Scale (SPS)
  2. Social Provisions Scale (SPS)
  3. Spirituality Perspective Scale (SPS)
  4. social phobia weekly summary scale
  5. Cognitive therapy competence scale for social phobia
  6. social phobia weekly summary scale
  7. Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI)
  8. Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)
  9. Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI)
  10. Social Phobia