Social anxiety across ethnicity: a confirmatory factor analysis of the FNE and SAD.
Previous research has established that social anxiety occurs at different rates in African American and European American populations (Grant et al., 2005), while psychometric investigations of widely used measures of psychopathology show differences in factor structure based on ethnic background (Carter, Miller, Sbrocco, Suchday, & Lewis, 1999; Chapman, Williams, Mast, & Woodruff-Borden, 2009). The current study examined response characteristics of 1276 African American and European American undergraduates completing the Fear of Negative Evaluation and Social Avoidance and Distress Scales (Watson & Friend, 1969). Confirmatory factor analyses failed to demonstrate factorial invariance in the two ethnic samples, and Wald tests suggested several items on both measures be dropped for African Americans. Results suggest the FNE and SAD operate differently across ethnic groups. Implications for the cross-cultural measurement of social anxiety and the importance of continued rigorous psychometric inquiry of commonly used measures are discussed.
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States.
Stephen E
SE
Melka
Steven L
SL
Lancaster
Lynette J
LJ
Adams
Elizabeth A
EA
Howarth
Benjamin F
BF
Rodriguez
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult