FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE SOCIAL PHOBIA AND SOCIAL INTERACTION ANXIETY SCALES AMONG SOUTH-ASIAN AMERICANS

Prior research has demonstrated a paradox among elevated social anxiety scores on self-report scales of distress and behavioral indicators of impairment for Asian American individuals. The present study attempted to examine this discrepancy by investigating the psychometric ethnic equivalence of two commonly used self-report measures: the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). This study sought to analyze the joint factor structure of the SPS and SIAS in this minority population, as well as the influence of ethnic identity as it relates to the expression of social anxiety in individuals who self-identify as Asian Americans compared to Caucasian American individuals. Results from an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a 3-factor solution for the Asian American sample that somewhat resembles prior research conducted in Caucasian American groups. This data suggests that the measures are ethnically equivalent for Asian Americans. Correlations among measure total scores and individual factors generated by the EFA also suggest that an Asian American individual's overall ethnic identity and view of the self-construal does not influence the expression of social interaction anxiety or social performance anxiety on these self-report scales of distress. The current findings shed light on the significance of measurement equivalence and the cultural underpinnings of Asian American social behavior as they relate to the assessment of distress in this ethnic group.