Variable
This scale measures ‘anxiety and fear at the prospect of being observed or watched by other people, and in
particular, where the individual expresses distress when undertaking certain activities in the presence of others’
(Mattick & Clarke, 1998 , p. 457). For example, people may fear scrutiny while eating, writing, signing their name,
using public toilets, or simply being observed. We warn readers that use of the label, ‘social phobia,’ for this mea-
sure is unfortunate because the items do not measure social phobia in the way that term is typically defined.
Rather, the scale assesses a narrow range of social-evaluative concerns that deal specifically with being watched
by others. Most researchers would probably view this scale as a measure of concerns regarding social scrutiny.
Sample
Scale development involved an unselected sample of college students enrolled in psychology courses
(n5482), an unselected sample of community members ( n5315), and three clinical samples who were diagnosed
with social phobia ( n5243), agoraphobia ( n513), and simple phobias ( n516) (Mattick & Clarke, 1998 ).
Description
The SPS was developed at the same time as the SIAS just described. The initial item pool included items modi-
fied from existing measures of social anxiety and socially-related fears, as well as newly-written items. Item anal-
yses resulted in 20 items for which respondents indicate the degree to which the statement is characteristic or
true of them on a 5-point scale (0 5not at all ;45extremely ). Thirty-seven items were administered to the five sam-
ples. Based on item-total correlations and efforts to minimize semantic overlap across items, 20 items were
retained for the final Social Phobia Scale.
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Results from the five initial samples showed that Cronbach’s alpha coefficient exceeded 0.88 for all samples.
All 20 corrected item-total correlations exceeded 0.30 for the unselected samples and all but one item did so for
the social phobic sample (‘I become anxious if I have to write in front of other people’).
Test-Retest
Test-retest reliability was 0.91 over an interval of four weeks and 0.93 over a 12-week interval, although these
data were based on small samples ( ns536 and 9, respectively) ( Mattick & Clarke, 1998 ).
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Scores on the SPS correlated highly with scores on other measures of social anxiety, including the Social
Interaction Anxiety Scale ( r50.72), the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale ( r50.54), and the social phobia sub-
scale of the Fear Questionnaire ( r50.69). The SPS also correlated positively with both the state and trait versions
of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory ( rs50.42 and 0.57 for state and trait anxiety, respectively). Respondents who
were clinically diagnosed with social phobia scored significantly higher on the SPS ( M540.0) than unselected
samples of college students ( M514.1) and community members ( M514.4).
Divergent/Discriminant
The SPS successfully distinguishes people who fear social scrutiny from those with other anxiety disorders
(Mattick & Clarke, 1998 ). Respondents who were clinically diagnosed with social phobia scored significantly
higher on the SPS ( M540.0) than individuals who were diagnosed with agoraphobia ( M527.6) or simple phobia
(M510.3).
Construct/Factor Analytic
A factor analysis was conducted on responses from 243 social phobics, revealing three factors that were
subjected to an oblique (oblimin) rotation. The first factor reflected a general concern with being observed or
attracting attention in public places, such as being stared at, entering a crowded room, sitting across from others
on public transportation, doing something to attract attention, and simply being watched. The second factor
involved specific behaviors such as writing in public, drinking in public, and being seen as trembling. The third
factor dealt with fears of being viewed as sick, odd, or having lost control ( Mattick & Clarke, 1998 ).459 OVERVIEW OF THE MEASURES
IV. INTERPERSONAL STYLES