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Psychometric Properties of Fear Survey Schedule-Third Version (FSS-III)
Abbas Bakhshipour, Ph.D.*, Tabriz University
Mansour Bairami, Ph.D., Tabriz University
Amineh Kakaee, B.A., Tehran Psychiatric Institute
Abstract:This study was carried out in order to evaluate the psychometric properties (reliability, validity, factorial structure, and goodness of fit) of the Persian version of the Fear Survey Schedule - Third Version (FSS-III) in an Iranian student sample. The FSS-III is an 87-item self-report questionnaire with the purpose of assessing different types of phobias including specific phobia, agoraphobia, and social phobia along with their degree of intensity. For this purpose, 194 male (mean age 19.94 years, standard deviation 1.08) and 192 female (mean age 19.69, standard deviation 1.13) Tabriz University students wereselected by proportional stratified sampling, and completed the FSS-III and Fear Questionnaire (FQ). Reliability coefficients (internal consistency and test-retest reliability) were found to be satisfactory (0.95 and 0.94 respectively). The convergent validity of the FSS-III was assessed by its correlations with the FQ and its subscales which are blood phobia, Agoraphobia, and social phobia. The correlations were satisfactory and significant (0.47, 0.44, 0.34, and 0.29 respectively; P<0.001). It is worth noting that female students scored significantly higher on the FSS-III compared to male students (P<0.001). Exploratory factor analysis produced a 25-factor solution accounting for 69% of the variance. Examination of the scree plot suggested six underlying factors. Confirmatory factor analysis also verified, based on fitting indexes, among one to six factor models, the six-factor model as having the highest fitting. These factors were named animal phobia, blood/injection/injury phobia, the fear of negative evaluation, social phobia, natural environmental phobia, and agoraphobia, based on their contents. In general, FSS-III precisely assessed overall fear and six specific fear domains.
Keywords: Fear survey; Specific phobia; Social phobia; Agoraphobia; Reliability; Validity; Factor analysis
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