Study of the psychometric qualities of the Brief Social Phobia Scale (BSPS) in Brazilian university students.
OBJECTIVE
To perform a psychometric analysis of the Brazilian version of the Brief Social Phobia Scale (BSPS).


METHODS
Hundred and seventy-eight university students of both genders aged on average 21.2 years and identified as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) cases and non-cases was studied, with the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV being used as a parameter. The different instruments were applied in an individual manner in the presence of a rater and of an observer.


RESULTS
The BSPS showed adequate internal consistency (0.48-0.88) and concurrent and divergent validity with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (0.21-0.62), Social Phobia Inventory (0.24-0.82) and Self Statements During Public Speaking Scale (SSPS) (0.23-0.31). Discriminative validity revealed a sensitivity of 0.88-0.90 and a specificity of 0.81(0.83 for cut-off notes of 18/19. Factorial analysis demonstrated the presence of six factors that jointly explained 71.79% of data variance. Construct validity indicated some limits of the scale regarding the diagnosis of SAD. Inter-rater reliability was strong (0.86-1.00, p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The BSPS is adequate for use with university students, although further studies in different cultures, samples and contexts are still necessary.
Osório
F L
FL
Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida dos Bandeirantes, 3900, CEP 14048-900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. flaliosorio@ig.com.br
Crippa
J A S
JA
Loureiro
S R
SR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D014175:Translating; D055815:Young Adult