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Value of the Fear Questionnaire in Differentiating Agoraphobia and Social Phobia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Brian J. Cox ,
Richard P. Swinson  and
Brian F. Shaw
Brian J. Cox*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3, and the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry
Richard P. Swinson
Affiliation:
Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
Brian F. Shaw
Affiliation:
The Toronto Hospital, and Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Toronto
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

The present study examined responses on the Fear Questionnaire (FQ) of 68 patients suffering panic disorder with agoraphobia, 50 social phobics, 75 subjects with ‘non-clinical’ panic attacks, and 188 non-panicking controls. The FQ agoraphobia and social subscales had satisfactory internal consistency and were accurate (82%) in correctly differentiating the patients. In general, the patient and control groups differed as expected. The highest level of social fear was reported by social phobics and the highest level of agoraphobic fear was reported by patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Five items from these two subscales significantly differentiated social phobia from panic disorder with agoraphobia. The results support the reliability and validity of the FQ.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 159 , Issue 6 , December 1991 , pp. 842 - 845
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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