Factor structure of the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in a clinical sample recruited from the community

Šipka, Dajana; Brodbeck, Jeannette; Schulz, Ava; Stolz, Timo; Berger, Thomas (2023). Factor structure of the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in a clinical sample recruited from the community Research Square 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2643244/v1

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Background: The Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) are widely used self-report questionnaires to assess symptoms of social anxiety. While SPS measures social performance anxiety, SIAS measures social interaction anxiety. They are mostly reported simultaneously, but there have not been consistent results of the joint factor structure and therefore no consistent recommendations on how to use and evaluate the questionnaires. The study aimed (1) to evaluate the underlying joint factor structure of the SPS and SIAS and (2) to test whether SPS and SIAS are reliable scales to assess two different aspects of social anxiety.
Methods: The one-factor, two-factor, and bifactor model were tested in a clinical sample recruited from the community and diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder. Exploratory and con rmatory factor analyses were conducted, bifactor speci c indices were calculated, and the content of the less tting items was examined.
Results: Con rmatory factor analyses showed that the best tting model was the bifactor model with a reduced set of items. The bifactor-speci c indices showed that the factor structure cannot be considered unidimensional and that SPS and SIAS are reliable subscales. A closer examination of the less tting item content and implications for future studies are discussed.
Conclusions: In conclusion, SPS and SIAS can be reported together as an overall score of social anxiety and are separately reliable measures to assess different aspects of social anxiety.

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