Fear the serpent: A psychometric study of snake phobia.
Millions of people worldwide suffer from specific phobias. Almost any stimulus may trigger a phobic reaction, but snakes are among the most feared objects. Half of the population feel anxious about snakes and 2-3% meet the diagnostic criteria for snake phobia. Despite such a high ratio, only one instrument is commonly used, the Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ). The aim of this study was to develop a standardized Czech translation, describe its psychometric properties and analyze the distribution of snake fears. In a counter-balanced design 755 respondents were asked to complete the English and Czech SNAQ (first or last) with a 2-3 month delay; 300 of them completed both instruments. We found excellent test-retest reliability (0.94), although the total scores differed significantly when the English version was administered first. The mean score was 5.80 and Generalized Linear Models revealed significant effects of sex and field of study (women and people with no biology education scored higher than men and biologists). A cut-off point for snake phobia as derived from a previous study identified 2.6% of the subjects as phobic. Finally, the score distribution was similar to other countries supporting the view that fear of snakes is universal.
National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, Celetná 20, 116 42 Prague 1, Czech Republic. Electronic address: jakub.polak@nudz.cz.
Jakub
J
Polák
National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic.
Kristýna
K
Sedláčková
National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic.
David
D
Nácar
National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic.
Eva
E
Landová
National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic.
Daniel
D
Frynta
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D018153:Czech Republic; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012911:Snakes; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
Assessment; Ophidiophobia; SNAQ; Snake Questionnaire; Specific phobia; Standardization