title: The Brief Social Phobia Scale: a psychometric evaluation.
abstract: The Brief Social Phobia Scale (BSPS) is an observer-rated scale designed to assess the characteristic symptoms of social phobia, using three subscales-fear, avoidance, and physiological arousal-which may be combined into a total score. Each of 18 BSPS items is anchored to a 5-point rating scale. Psychometric evaluation of the BSPS in a sample of 275 social-phobia patients yielded a high level of reliability and validity. Test-retest reliability was excellent, as was internal consistency. The fear and avoidance subscales demonstrated highly significant correlations with remaining item totals; however, the physiological subscale did not. The BSPS also demonstrated significant relationships with other established scales that assess anxiety and disability, and it proved sensitive to treatment effects in a trial of a 5-HT3 antagonist and placebo. Factor analysis yielded six meaningful factors. We conclude that the BSPS provides a reliable, valid, and sensitive measure for the evaluation of social phobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Miner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Veaugh-Geiss
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Tupler
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Colket
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Potts
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D016896:Treatment Outcome