Appraisal of social concerns: a cognitive assessment instrument for social phobia.
The current study describes the validation of a new cognitive assessment measure for social phobia, entitled the Appraisal of Social Concerns (ASC). Item content is relevant to a range of social situations. The ASC can be used to tailor interventions to patients' idiosyncratic concerns. Data are presented from both clinical (n = 71) and non-clinical (n = 550) samples. Preliminary data indicate that the ASC has good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The construct validity of the ASC is comparable to that of well-established measures in use with social phobics. A strength of the ASC is its sensitivity to the effect of treatment. An exploratory factor analysis yielded three factors tapping concerns about negative evaluation, observable symptoms, and social helplessness. Subscale scores were strongly correlated. Preliminary findings suggest that the ASC is a psychometrically sound, time efficient instrument that can be used for both clinical and research purposes.
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Telch@mail.utexas.edu
Michael J
MJ
Telch
Richard A
RA
Lucas
Jasper A J
JA
Smits
Mark B
MB
Powers
Richard
R
Heimberg
Trevor
T
Hart
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003071:Cognition; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires