Evidências psicométricas da escala de crenças e pensamentos sociais

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by marked fear or anxiety in social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible judgment of others. The Social Thoughts and Beliefs Scale (STABS) is an instrument developed to assess cognitions associated with social anxiety. The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the STABS. The sample consisted of 318 adults (general population: 261; subclinical: 57), between 18 and 60 years old. To assess the internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, test-retest reproducibility, factorial structure and sensitivity of the scale, the research was divided into three phases. In phase 1, the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original scale was carried out, generating its Brazilian version. In phase 2, the 318 participants completed the sociodemographic questionnaire, the Brazilian version of the STABS, fear of negative evaluation scale, public speaking self-assessment scale, Liebowitz social anxiety scale, and the PHQ-9 for screening depressive symptoms. In phase 3, part of the subclinical sample (n = 26) underwent group intervention in cognitive behavioral therapy and completed the same instruments as in the previous phases as pre- and post-test. The Brazilian version of the STABS showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.95 p<0.001), excellent testretest reliability (r=0.88 p<0.05), and a factor structure adjusted to the two-factor model with a correlation between the two latent factors of r=0.91 (Z = 62.0; p<0.001). This study provided additional support for the validity and reliability of the STABS, contributing to the Brazilian scenario with a reliable instrument to measure cognitive symptoms of social anxiety disorder.