Abstract
The Social Suspiciousness Scale (SSS) is a 24-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess suspiciousness, along with the associated constructs of anger and hostility, within a social context. The present research evaluated the psychometric properties of this newly developed scale. The sample consisted of outpatients with social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 145), unselected undergraduate university students (n = 162), and healthy community controls (n = 46). A principal components analysis suggested a one-factor solution. Internal consistency of the scale was high, and interitem correlations indicated that items were nonredundant. Test-retest reliability was strong. SSS scores were moderately correlated with measures of social anxiety, paranoia, anger and hostility. Moreover, in the outpatient SAD sample, SSS scores decreased significantly following a 12-week cognitive-behavioral group treatment program for SAD. The SSS may be a useful tool for measuring suspiciousness, anger and hostility across a variety of social contexts, particularly in individuals with SAD. This research contributes more generally to a broader understanding of SAD, and supports the importance of considering the role of mistrust and suspiciousness in this disorder.
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Minor changes were made to diagnostic criteria for Social Anxiety Disorder from the DSM-IV to DSM-5. These changes include: (1) adults no longer must recognize that their anxiety or fear is excessive or unreasonable; (2) symptoms must now have been present for at least 6 months for all ages for a diagnosis to be made; (3) the “generalized” specifier of the disorder has been removed and replaced with a “performance only” specifier.
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Andrea Linett, Jennifer Monforton, Meagan B. MacKenzie, Randi E. McCabe, Karen Rowa, and Martin M. Antony declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Appendix: Social Suspiciousness Scale
Appendix: Social Suspiciousness Scale
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Linett, A., Monforton, J., MacKenzie, M.B. et al. The Social Suspiciousness Scale: Development, Validation, and Implications for Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 41, 280–293 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-019-09724-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-019-09724-3