Turkish adaptation of the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire: Reliability and validity in non-clinical samples

Booth, Robert W. and Peker, Mujde and Oztop, Pinar (2016) Turkish adaptation of the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire: Reliability and validity in non-clinical samples. Cogent Psychology, 3 (1). ISSN 2331-1908

	Text 23311908.2016.1144250 Download (351kB)
	Text 23311908.2016.1144250 Download (351kB)
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Abstract

The rapid, objective measurement of spider fear is important for clinicians, and for researchers studying fear. To facilitate this, we adapted the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) into Turkish. The FSQ is quick to complete and easy to understand. Compared to the commonly used Spider Phobia Questionnaire, it has shown superior test-retest reliability and better discrimination of lower levels of spider fear, facilitating fear research in non-clinical samples. In two studies, with 137 and 105 undergraduates and unselected volunteers, our adapted FSQ showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .95 and .96) and test-retest reliability (r = .90), and good discriminant validity against the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory—Trait (r = .23) and Beck Anxiety Inventory—Trait (r = .07). Most importantly, our adapted FSQ significantly predicted 26 students’ self-reported discomfort upon approaching a caged tarantula; however, a measure of behavioural avoidance of the tarantula yielded little variability, so a more sensitive task will be required for future behavioural testing. Based on this initial testing, we recommend our adapted FSQ for research use. Further research is required to verify that our adapted FSQ discriminates individuals with and without phobia effectively. A Turkish-language report of the studies is included as supplementary material.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Cogent OA in Cogent Psychology on 15th February2016, available online: https://www.cogentoa.com/article/10.1080/23311908.2016.1144250.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education
Depositing User:	Pinar Oztop
Date Deposited:	18 Jan 2019 09:47
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2024 14:47
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/2752

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