Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of the Specific Phobia Questionnaire in an Anxiety Disorders Sample

Despite an abundance of self-report measures that screen for the presence of specific phobias, there is a lack of comprehensive, well-validated screening tools for identifying a wide range of fears based on DSM-5 specific phobia types. The current paper reports on the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Specific Phobia Questionnaire (SPQ), a new screening tool for assessing fear of a broad range of phobic stimuli, and the extent to which fear interferes with daily life. An exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors with internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) ranging from .64–.92. The SPQ also demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with measures of worry, depression, and other specific phobias, and good test-retest reliability. Results also suggest that SPQ scores are useful for discriminating individuals with specific phobias from those without specific phobias, and for identifying specific phobia types. Overall, preliminary results suggest that the SPQ can serve as a useful tool in both research and clinical settings, and inform intervention and prevention efforts.