Social Phobia Scale

What it measures

Measures anxiety when being observed by others while performing everyday activities — eating, writing, working, or simply moving in public. Captures the scrutiny-focused dimension of social anxiety, as distinct from the interaction anxiety measured by the SIAS. Together they cover both major facets of social phobia.

Response format

Likert (0–4, not at all to extremely); total 0–80

Representative items

• I become anxious when eating or drinking in front of even a few people.
• I am worried people will think my behaviour odd.
• I would get nervous if I had to write in front of others.
• I get nervous when I need to speak to a senior colleague.
• I am fearful of doing certain things in public.

Usage notes & scoring

Freely available from Richard Mattick. Used standardly alongside SIAS for comprehensive social anxiety assessment. Cut-off >=24 suggests significant scrutiny anxiety. Together SIAS + SPS provide 40 items covering the two main social anxiety dimensions (interaction and observation/scrutiny).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Mattick, R.P., & Clarke, J.C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(4), 455–470.

Keywords