title: Psychometric properties of the social phobia and social interaction anxiety scales: evidence of construct equivalence in an African American sample.
abstract: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Social Phobia Scale and Social Interaction Anxiety scale in a community sample of African Americans. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of the combined scales comparing the data to 2- and 3-factor solutions commonly reported in the literature. The results indicated that neither solution produce an adequate fit to the data in this study. We then proceeded to conduct an exploratory factor analysis within a confirmatory framework of both scales. While we were able to extract a 2-factor solution from the data, the item composition of the factors was somewhat different for African Americans than what is typically reported in non-Hispanic White samples. While we conclude that use of the two social anxiety scales is warranted, we make recommendations regarding the interpretation of both scales with African Americans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, American University, United States. Electronic address: mcart@american.edu.
authors.forename: Michele M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Disparties, Uniformed Services University, United States.
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sbrocco
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, American University, United States.
authors.forename: Dickson
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, American University, United States.
authors.forename: Frances M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rekrut
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, American University, United States.
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Condit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: African Americans; Factor analysis; Social anxiety