Psychometric Properties of Farsi Version of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)

Abstract

This study investigated the psychometric properties of Farsi version of SPIN in Iran. The measures were administered to a sample of 330 participants with (n=30) and without social phobia (n=300) ranging from 18 to 38 years of age. The mean (SD) of the SPIN total score for clinical and nonclinical subjects was 41.87 (6.32) and 14.18 (9.56). Internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.66 and 0.87 for clinical and non-clinical group respectively) and 2-week test–retest reliability in non-clinical sample (r = 0.89) were both good. A cut-off score of 29 resulted in balanced sensitivity (0.96) and 1-specificity (0.087). Good convergent and discriminant validity were established by examining correlations with other conceptually related and unrelated scales. Also, factor analysis supported a four factor solutions in non-clinical group. Although the cut-off is different from those in other countries, the SPIN is a both reliable and valid measure for screening and evaluating social phobia severity.