Social phobia assessment tools

Advantages of the SPIN include its brevity, simplicity, social phobia sensitivity, and ease of scoring 56 ; these facets make the measure popular among treatment outcome trials. A limitation of the SPIN is the relatively modest empirical support for its physiological arousal subscale Thus, the Mini-SPIN seems a promising assessment tool for social phobia presentations in time-limited settings.

The SAD 58 , developed before the DSM-III introduction of social phobia, contains 28 items that measure social anxiety, avoidance, and distress associated with social interactions e. The SAD, and Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale described below are two of the most debated assessment measures for social phobia; the SAD has been questioned in its usefulness in discriminating social phobia from other anxiety disorders 70 , 71 and in evidencing treatment sensitivity Subsequent research demonstrated that the SAD has excellent internal consistency based on clinical samples of patients with anxiety disorders; however, the measure did not significantly differentiate patients with social phobia from those with other anxiety disorders The SAD is a reliable measure of general worry and avoidance of social interactions.

Limitations of the SAD include the absence of specific physiological responses to social interactions and the lack of support for its use as a diagnostic aid for social phobia. The FQ-Social is a subscale of the Fear Questionnaire 59 , a item scale that assesses the severity of phobias i.

Each item briefly describes a situation involving being observed, being criticized, or conversing e. The FQ subscale has been empirically supported as a reliable, valid measure of social phobia 59 , 73 , Strengths of the FQ-Social include its brevity and simplicity; its five items effectively differentiate between social phobia and other anxiety disorders 74 , However, the FQ-Social is limited to avoidance ratings and does not fully cover the breadth of social phobia domains.

Furthermore, mixed findings question the utility of the FQ-Social in differentiating between generalized and nongeneralized social phobia 76 , Because social phobia is characterized by fears of negative evaluation, cognitive products—or simply, thoughts— are a core feature of the disorder Individuals with social phobia judge themselves harshly and assume others judge them negatively; these are often the core schema challenged in cognitive therapy Social anxiety is hypothesized to be activated and maintained by dysfunctional beliefs and biased information-processing; cognitive change may be central to optimal outcomes among individuals with social phobia Table 2 provides an overview of cognitive measures of social phobia.

Features associated with social phobia, such as dysthymic mood, generalized anxiety, and lowered life satisfaction often inform the scope, severity, and disability of patients with social phobia. Antony 25 suggests the inclusion of self-report scales of depression, anxiety and stress; Safren, Heimberg, and Brown 83 also highlight the importance of measuring disability, functional impairment, and lowered life satisfaction as part of social phobia assessment.

Quality of life scales often used in psychiatric or medical settings, although having little obvious relevance to social phobia, can elucidate impairment caused by excessive behavioral avoidance i. Table 3 summarizes the recommended, psychometrically sound assessments for measuring associated features of social phobia. This review highlighted the broad array of instruments available for the assessment of social phobia, as well as the key features and limitations associated with each.

Consideration of each assessment approach should be made with the acknowledgement that clinical evaluation is in itself a phobic stimulus for many patients with social phobia Additionally, a skillful assessor maintains multicultural sensitivity when assessing individuals with minority backgrounds, including sexual orientation, such that they are aware of the potential bias es of a measurement tool.

Therefore, the expertise, skill, and professionalism of the clinician will influence the quality of social phobia assessment beyond the abilities of the measure in question. Andrea M. Denise A. Murray B. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. Author manuscript; available in PMC Aug Letamendi , MS, Denise A. Chavira , PhD, and Murray B. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer.

Correspondence and reprint requests to: Andrea M. Copyright notice. The publisher's final edited version of this article is available free at Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. See other articles in PMC that cite the published article.

Abstract Since the emergence of social phobia in DSM nomenclature, the mental health community has witnessed an expansion in standardized methods for the screening, diagnosis, and measurement of the disorder. Introduction Social phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive and persistent fear provoked by exposure to social or performance situations 1. Clinician-administered Scales Clinician-rated psychometric instruments offer the brevity of an itemized scale as well as the flexibility of clinical judgment and qualitative behavioral observation.

Self-report Scales Self-rating methods are the most time-efficient among assessment options. Table 1 Self-rating scales for symptomatic assessment of social phobia. Open in a separate window.

Cognitive Self-Report Measures Because social phobia is characterized by fears of negative evaluation, cognitive products—or simply, thoughts— are a core feature of the disorder Table 2 Self-rating scales for cognitive assessment of social phobia.

Related Variables of Interest Features associated with social phobia, such as dysthymic mood, generalized anxiety, and lowered life satisfaction often inform the scope, severity, and disability of patients with social phobia. Table 3 Assessments of associated features of social phobia. Conclusion This review highlighted the broad array of instruments available for the assessment of social phobia, as well as the key features and limitations associated with each.

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All rights reserved. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Great progress has been observed in the literature over the last decade regarding the validation of instruments for the assessment of Social Anxiety Disorder in the Brazilian context.

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