Social Fears in Adolescence

Abstract

This study describes the development, factor structure, psychometric properties, and validity of the Social Anxiety and Avoidance Scale for Adolescents (SAASA). Two subscales assessing discomfort and avoidance of typical social situations faced by adolescents constitute the SAASA. Both subscales revealed good internal consistency and temporal stability. Convergent validity was determined comparing the Social Anxiety and Avoidance Scale for Adolescents (SAASA) scores to Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents scores (SAS-A), scores for general anxiety (Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, RCMAS), and scores for depression (Children’s Depression Inventory, CDI) . Confirmatory factor analyses supported six distinct factors revealing different dimensions of social fears. The SAASA effectively discriminated between adolescents with social phobia with and without comorbid diagnoses, and adolescents with social phobia from adolescents with other anxiety disorders or without any disorder. These results suggest that the SAASA is a valid instrument to use in the clinical assessment and research on adolescent social phobia.