Cognitive aspects of public speaking: validation of a self-assessment scale for Brazilian university students

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fear of public speaking is the most prevalent fear in the general population and among persons with a social anxiety disorder (SAD). Nevertheless, studies about the assessment of this specific phenomenon are still needed. OBJECTIVES: To examine the validity of the Self Statements during Public Speaking (SSPS) scale in a general population of Brazilian university students (GP, n = 2314), in an SAD sample (n = 88), and in a non-SAD sample (n = 90). METHODS: The study was conducted in two phases: a) completing a self-administered questionnaire in the classroom, b) participating in a telephone and face-to-face interview. RESULTS: The SSPS showed low/median correlations with the Social Phobia Inventory (GP = 0.22-0.65; SAD = 0.28-0.32; non-SAD = 0.21-0.30), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (GP = 0.18-0.53; SAD = 0.25-0.33; non-SAD = 0.22-0.25), and the Brief Social Phobia Scale (SAD = not significant, non-SAD = 0.23-0.31) in all the samples, especially in the GP sample. Factorial analysis indicated the presence of two factors associated with positive and negative self-assessment. The study of discriminative validity demonstrated that the SSPS has the ability to differentiate between cases and non-cases of SAD. DISCUSSION: The SSPS is an adequate instrument to be used within the Brazilian context. The positive self-assessment subscale seems to be more effective for the evaluation of SAD samples. The negative self-assessment subscale appears to have a better screening characteristic in the general population of university students.